Assistant Ecologist Training Placement Cornwall 2024

Cornwall Wildlife Trust are seeking two Assistant Ecologists to take part in an exciting 15-month fixed term training placement.

The two Assistant Ecologists will be based with Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s consulting arm Cornwall Environmental Consultants (CEC) Ltd. The training placements will commence in January 2024 and finish on 31st March 2025.

The practice

CEC works throughout Cornwall and the south-west of England. We are a business with a purpose, returning our profits to our parent organisation, Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT). Since our establishment in 1992 we have raised over £1.3m for CWT, allowing them to protect nature and our landscapes.

We work on a variety of projects, from small habitat surveys to complex development projects and everything in between. We provide the ecological input to some of the largest and most complex schemes in the southwest. We have an in-house landscape architecture team to allow us to develop biodiverse planting schemes to achieve Biodiversity Net Gain solutions, and we work on UK wide projects within the wider Wildlife Trust network.

We have the largest team of Building with Nature assessors in the southwest and pride ourselves on the quality of schemes we deliver. In addition to our development work we work with many landowners across the southwest, including statutory and non-statutory bodies and local authorities, to deliver schemes which are purely for environmental gain. These encompass a wide variety of protected and high value sites, from dunes to heathland and parkland.

We are a registered practice with both the Landscape Institute and CIEEM, and we hold ISO Certification, including SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) Approval in ISO9001 – Quality, ISO14001 – Environment and ISO45001 – Health & Safety.

About you

Are you someone with a passion for ecology, a self-motivated individual, able to work alone or as part of a team? If so, we would like to hear from you.

You will hold a BSc or MSc in Ecology (or related subject), have excellent communication skills and scientific writing technique, and be interested in a range of ecological surveys in a consultancy setting. Any previous experience of ecological surveys, conservation voluntary work, knowledge of QGIS and Biodiversity Net Gain etc would be advantageous but is not essential.

You will be willing to travel (occasionally out of county) to undertake surveys, and a full driver’s licence and access to a car is therefore essential for this post.

The successful applicant will be flexible with regard to working hours, as there will sometimes be a need to work outside normal office hours. You will need to have the ability to work within the UK (residency/visa).

About the training placement

CEC provides an excellent working environment, with flexible and hybrid working offered, membership of CIEEM at the appropriate level, pension scheme, friendly colleagues and a beautiful office location near Truro.

The training placement for the Assistant Ecologist roles will aim to give a good grounding in all aspects of ecological consultancy. The training placement will therefore include:

• Protected species surveys (likely to include bats, reptiles, dormice, badgers, otters etc) leading towards gaining Class licences for protected species work Habitat surveys (likely to include Phase 1, Uk Habitat Classification and some botanical identification etc)
• Qgis
• Biodiversity Net Gain calculations
• Canopy cover calculations
• Report writing
• Client communication
• Project management of simple projects
• Attendance at CIEEM training courses and webinars

In addition, Cornwall Wildlife Trust will provide training opportunities including:

• Training at ERCCIS (the local biological records office) in ecological recording and data collection
• Shadowing of CWT Farm advice teams
• Shadowing of field ecologists undertaking work to assess habitats, for example County Wildlife Sites

Further information

The roles will be on a full time 15-month fixed term contract but with the hope that full time permanent roles with Cornwall Environmental Consultants (CEC) Ltd would be offered at the end of the training placement, subject to performance. The salary is £24,000 per annum.

A Time off in Lieu scheme is in operation and we take care to encourage a good work life balance.

To apply

To apply please send a covering letter and CV to Cornwall Wildlife Trust enquiries@cecenvironment.co.uk

The closing date for applications is midnight on the 26 November 2023. Interviews for this role will be held at our HQ in Allet on the 7 December 2023.

Equal opportunities

Cornwall Wildlife Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to ensuring all applications are treated fairly. Applications are sought only from those eligible to work in the UK in the first instance. All offers of employment are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK, and references satisfactory to the organisation.

All applications are subject to our shortlisting process where we only assess information provided against the Person Specification and job requirements as specified in this advertisement. If you are shortlisted we will contact you and invite you to attend an interview.