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The Trust is seeking a highly motivated and personable individual to join our ambitious and successful Water Team as a Trainee to support the planning and delivery of the Wylye Chalk Stream Project, successful in Round 2 of Defra’s Landscape Recovery scheme.
The Wylye Chalk Stream Project will be the first landscape-scale collaboration of its kind focused on enhancing a large stretch of chalk stream for the benefit of wildlife in Wiltshire. The project will be led by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and delivered in partnership with the Wylye Valley Farmers group and the Wessex Rivers Trust. The project aim is to restore the river’s natural relationship with its floodplain along over 20km of now under-utilised farmland.
About the Traineeship
The Trainee will contribute to several aspects of the Landscape Recovery project. This is likely to involve supporting the Water Team with tasks such as:
- Conducting habitat and species surveys (training will be provided)
- Project planning (e.g. attending project meetings, writing up meeting minutes, updating project documents)
- Supporting the production of project documents (e.g. conducting desk-based research, creating/editing maps in GIS, design drawings)
- Communicating with project partners and stakeholders (e.g. circulating information, events planning and coordination) including eNGOs, farmers, angling clubs, corporate and statutory bodies.
There may also be some opportunities to support Water Team colleagues on other Water Team projects as required.
This is likely to involve tasks such as:
- Delivery of practical river restoration works (e.g. in-channel works, tree planting)
- Management of invasive and non-native species (e.g. removal of Himalayan Balsam)
This role would provide the ideal background for progression into the conservation sector, working as a Project Officer (or equivalent) on projects that involve:
- River restoration and/or natural flood management
- Ecological monitoring
- Stakeholder engagement and partnership working
About you
Essential attributes
- Enthusiasm for nature and wildlife, particularly freshwater habitats and species, and a willingness to learn
- A positive, can-do attitude and ability to work well with others in a team
- A reliable person with excellent organisation skills and the ability to plan and prioritise their workload
- A highly motivated person with the ability to work independently and use own initiative to solve problems
- Ability to consider multiple points of view and to work constructively with others with different experiences and priorities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with good attention to detail
- Some experience creating and preparing documents in Microsoft Office (i.e. Word, Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint)
- Full, clean driving licence (we regret we are unable to shortlist candidates who do not hold a full licence at the time of application) and access to a vehicle
Desirible qualifications
- Educated to degree level (or equivalent) in a relevant environmental or engineering subject and/or the ability to demonstrate significant relevant experience
