IMPORTANT: This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders. Other applicants need not apply.
The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) was founded in 1977 to help ensure a future for many endangered species worldwide. It funds and commissions conservation research and runs an educational, public events programme to promote conservation and to raise support for its work. See www.ptes.org.
The Trust is seeking an Orchard Mapping Officer to assist in the implementation of its Traditional Orchards Survey Project. This project has been made possible through two grants from Natural England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Traditional orchards are hotspots for biodiversity in the countryside, supporting a wide range of wildlife including BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) priority species, many classed as nationally rare or scarce. The presence of dead and decaying wood is particularly important for saproxylic invertebrates, several hundred of which occur in orchard habitats.
The noble chafer beetle is restricted almost entirely within traditional orchard habitats. Over a number of years now, as lead partner for the noble chafer BAP, PTES has commissioned survey work to establish the current range of the beetle. Locating potential survey sites is sometimes problematical. Ordnance Survey (OS) maps give no indication of the age or condition of particular orchards, and some remnant orchard sites found to be supporting populations of the noble chafer are not marked as orchards on the most recent editions of the maps.
This project aims to conduct an inventory of orchards in England to support the establishment of a new Habitat Action Plan for Traditional Orchards recently confirmed by DEFRA. It also aims to support the noble chafer BAP, to offer information of relevance to other BAP species including birds, bats, lichens and fungi.
A pilot project has been running for 2 years and is largely dependent on the help of volunteers coordinated through a network created and nurtured by the Orchard Project Officer who led the pilot and will lead this new phase. In addition to the Orchard Project Officer, the post holder will work alongside the existing Orchard Mapping Officer and will be responsible for locating traditional orchards by aerial photograph interpretation and for digitising the boundaries of orchard sites in accordance with data capture standards using MapInfo. He or she will also assist the Orchard Project Officer in managing the data received from the volunteer surveyors.
The post holder will be a science graduate, preferably in conservation or a related discipline and must be able to demonstrate strong computing and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) skills. An interest in orchard habitats is desirable.
The post holder will be formally employed and based at the Trust's offices in Battersea, London. In London the Trust employs a team of twelve people covering a variety of functions. The small, committed staff work cooperatively in many areas but this post holder will work most closely with the Orchard Project Officer and the other Orchard Mapping Officer and report to the Chief Executive.
The post will be for a 3-year period starting as soon as possible. The salary will be £20 000 p.a.
Applicants are asked to submit a CV and a short covering letter explaining why they think they are suitable for this post, addressed to Jill Nelson, Chief Executive, People's Trust for Endangered Species, 15 Cloisters House, 8 Battersea Park Road, London, SW8 4BG, or jill@ptes.org to arrive by 5.00 pm on Thursday 26 June 2008. Short-listed candidates are likely to be invited to interview (date to be confirmed). All applications will be acknowledged.
Interested applicants are welcome to telephone Anita Burrough or Jill Nelson for further information on 020 7498 4533.
Job Description
We are looking for a highly organised individual to assist in managing the traditional orchard survey database and to digitise orchard boundaries in accordance with Natural England's digitising standards.
Tasks will include:
. locating traditional orchards by aerial photograph interpretation
. digitising orchard boundaries in accordance with data capture standards using MapInfo
. assisting with management of the orchard survey database
. producing maps of survey sites for volunteers
. inputting data received from volunteer surveyors
. assisting the Orchard Project Officer with other aspects of the project for example volunteer training days
. dealing with general enquiries about the Trust and the orchard project in particular and directing them to appropriate colleagues or sources of information
. helping with other tasks as advised by the Chief Executive.
Person Specification
We are looking for someone with the following attributes:
. a first degree or equivalent in conservation, land management, environmental sciences, ecology or other relevant discipline
. computer literacy with a good working knowledge of GIS: experience with MapInfo, MapInfo Basic and a modest degree of associated programming or similar experience with a another GIS package
. experience of aerial photograph interpretation would be desirable
. an interest in orchard habitats
. a flexible approach and aptitude for working in a small, cooperative team
|