Rachel Oxenham
Direct Line: (01398) 322 219
Application pack Date as postmark
Dear Applicant,
Field Assistant
In response to your enquiry, I am pleased to enclose the following:-
i) Job Description (Appendix 1)
ii) Person Specification (Appendix 2)
iii) A summary of the Conditions of Service (Appendix 3)
iv) Information about the Authority and team (Appendix 4)
v) An Application Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form
Please note the closing date for receipt of application forms is 9 July at 12.00pm.
Please return your completed application form to:
Personnel Office (Confidential), Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset, TA22 9HL
or via email to
The interviews for this post are planned for 17 July 2012. Interviews will be held at the Field Services Depot in Exford.
For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Tony Mann, Field Services Supervisor, on 01643 831393. If you require this information in a different format, please contact Ellie Woodcock, Personnel Assistant, on 01398 322231.
Thank you for your interest in this post, we look forward to receiving your application.
Yours faithfully,
Rachel Oxenham
Head of Personnel and Corporate Support
APPENDIX 1
Section: / Support to Land ManagersJob Title: / Field Assistant
Reports To: / Field Services Supervisor
Main Purpose of Job: / The successful applicant will join the National Park Authority’s Field Services Team involved with estate maintenance and other practical work. The team maintains 1,750 gates, 318 stiles, 130 bridges and 1,500 signposts on 1130km of rights of way and assists in the management of the National Park Authority’s 4700 ha (12000 acre) estate.
Main Responsibilities and Duties:
Maintaining and creating Public Rights of Way to national standards.
Estate maintenance duties including fencing, stone walling, hedge-laying, banking, drainage, mowing.
[Includes operating specialist mechanical equipment, e.g. chain saws, saw mill, tractors and their mechanical attachments, pedestrian mowers, weeding machines, diggers, dumpers, rollers, and carpenters workshop machinery etc]
Implementation of health and safety measures including having regard to the public safety implications of operations e.g. tree/vegetation clearance, chemical application, and works in car parks.
Occasional liaison with the public and land managers.
Other activities appropriate to the grade of the post in support of other Authority staff, including swaling and pony handling.
APPENDIX 2
Person Specification – Field Assistant
Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Personal QualitiesEssential / Desirable
Experience and practical knowledge of estate/countryside maintenance or general groundwork services. / P
Full driving licence as there will be a requirement to drive Authority vehicles. / P
Operation of complicated and/or specialist equipment, e.g. tractors and their mechanical attachments, pedestrian mowers, weeding machines, diggers, dumpers, rollers, and carpenters workshop machinery
*Please advise on your application form your range of experience / P
Use of chain saws and related operations (NPTC Certificate desirable). / P
Knowledge and understanding of job related health and safety issues. / P
Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and members of the general public. / P
A good level of literacy and numeracy in order to follow written instructions and keep necessary records. / P
Ability to work as part of a team and willing to assist colleagues and work flexibly across the whole of the service. / P
NVQ Level 1 or 2 in Countryside Skills/Forestry/Estate Maintenance or equivalent. / P
An interest in the Countryside and the National Park. / P
APPENDIX 3
Post Title : / Field AssistantOffice Location and Travel: / The postholder will be employed by Exmoor National Park Authority and will be required to work from Exford Depot, Exford, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 7QF.
The postholder must hold a full driving licence and will be required to drive Authority vehicles.
Conditions of Service : / In accordance with the Scheme of Conditions of Service agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical Services as adopted by the Authority together with other conditions of service set out in the Authority's Personnel Policies and Procedures.
Grade and Salary : / The salary for the post will be Grade B, £13,589 to £15,444 per annum.
Hours : / The working week is 37 hours as set out below:
Monday to Thursday 7.30 am to 4.00 pm
Friday 7.30 am to 3.30 pm
with one hour each day for meal breaks.
Health : / The Authority will require the successful candidates to undertake a medical assessment to ensure it is aware of any matters that may affect their ability to lone work or conduct field work using machinery.
Probationary Period : / The appointments will be subject to a probationary period of up to six months.
Leave : / The annual leave entitlement will be 25 working days, any authority recognised public/bank holidays and 2 additional statutory days.
Pension : / The post is superannuable under the Local Government Pension Scheme but membership is not compulsory. There will be a choice on whether to join the Scheme or to contribute to the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme or to arrange a personal pension or a Stakeholder pension.
Notice : / The posts will be subject to 1 calendar months’ notice on either side.
Equal Opportunities : / The Exmoor National Park Authority intends to ensure that no employee or job applicant should receive less favourable treatment than another on grounds of sex, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, political or religious belief or any other protected characteristic. Its recruitment practices will exclude all assumptions, preferences or judgements that are not strictly job-related. Information provided will be treated as confidential.
/ The Authority welcomes applications from people with disabilities. If you require more information about this post, assistance with applying or an application form in a different format, please contact Rachel Oxenham on 01398 322219.
Working Time Regulations : / Authorities are required to ensure that their workers do not exceed a total of 48 hours working time per week. Exmoor National Park Authority is therefore under an obligation to enquire if their workers are also working elsewhere, either within the Authority or outside.
Working in the UK :
For more information about working in the UK, please refer to the up to date advice on the UK Borders Agency Website
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/ / All shortlisted applicants will be required to produce at interview a ‘defined’ document which must be one of the following:-
· A passport showing that the holder is a British citizen, or has a right of abode in the United Kingdom.
· A document showing that the holder is a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland. This must be a national passport or national identity card. If you are a national of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia you will need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme when you take work in the United Kingdom. If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania you must hold a valid accession worker authorisation document.
· A residence permit issued by the Home Office to a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
· A passport or other document issued by the Home Office which has an endorsement stating that the holder has a current right of residence in the United Kingdom as the family member of a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland who is resident in the United Kingdom.
· A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay.
· A passport, identity card or other document endorsed by the UK Borders Agency to show that the holder can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom; and that this endorsement allows the holder to do they type of work you are offering if they do not have a work permit; or an Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office to an asylum seeker stating that the holder is permitted to take employment.
If unable to produce any of the above, candidates must produce:
· a document from a previous employer, the Inland Revenue, Benefits Agency, Contribution Agency or Employment Service containing their name and NI number. This could be a P45, a P60 or a letter from a government agency.
Plus one of:
· a birth certificate confirming birth in the U.K. or Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man (this must be a full birth certificate as a short birth certificate is not acceptable) or a certificate of registration or naturalisation stating that the holder is a British citizen or a letter from the Home Office confirming that the person is allowed to live and work in the U.K
APPENDIX 4
Exmoor
Exmoor was designated as a National Park in 1954, and is one of the UK’s 14 National Parks. As such, it is part of a global family of 6,555 protected areas, covering one million square kilometres or 12% of the Earth’s surface. It is linked to Europe through the EUROPARC Federation – a network of European protected areas with 360 member organisations in 37 countries.
The purposes of National Parks in England were redefined in 1995 by the Environment Act which says that National Parks are:
“for the purpose (a) of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the areas specified; and (b) of promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of those areas by the public.”
In meeting those purposes, the NPA must seek to foster the social and economic well-being of local communities.
Exmoor consists of 693km2 of varied wild countryside, including moorland, woods, farmland, river valleys and a magnificent coastline. About 11,000 people live in the National Park which receives an estimated 1.4 million visitors each year.
Candidates may like to visit the Authority’s website or National Park Portal for more information:
www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/
Field Services Team
The Field Services Team is within the Support to Land Managers Section and carries out practical tasks to conserve and enhance the wildlife, natural beauty and cultural heritage of Exmoor and to enable people to enjoy and understand its special qualities. The Team maintains the National Park’s Rights of Way network – some 700 miles of paths and tracks, ensuring that it is free from obstruction and is signed and way marked. The signs, gates, stiles and bridges used in this work are made by the Team from timber extracted as a by-product of conservation management in the Authority’s woodlands.
The team also carries out practical work to maintain the Authority’s own 12000 acre (4900 ha) estate which includes some of the most important moorland and woodland in the National Park. Most of this land is open to the public all year round and includes extensive moorlands near Simonsbath in the heart of the National Park. Some of Exmoor’s key landmarks are in the team’s care: including Pinkery Pond; the Larkbarrow ruins; the Hoar Oak Tree; Wheal Eliza mine; the West Somerset Mineral Line incline and winding house; Dunster Pottery Kiln; and the historic water-powered sawmill at Simonsbath. The team also maintains car parks and picnic sites throughout the National Park. Some of these are at the most visited locations on Exmoor such as Tarr Steps and the Valley of the Rocks.
Application for employment with Exmoor National Park Authority
Please type or write in BLACK ink for photocopying purposes
Application : Field Assistant Closing Date: 9 July 2012 (12.00pm)
How did you hear about this job? …………………………………… (Please specify which website/newspaper)
If you require acknowledgement of receipt of this application form, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope and tick the box or provide your email address below:
Unless otherwise requested in the advertisement or job details, you are asked not to send curriculum vitae, testimonials or other documents. Further relevant information may be submitted on a separate sheet if there is insufficient space on the form.
Please return your completed application to: Personnel Office (Confidential), Exmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset, TA22 9HL or email to:
PART A: Personal Details (If handwritten, BLOCK CAPITALS please)Preferred Title (e.g. Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr): Family Name/Surname:
Forename(s): Known/preferred name:
(if different to forename)
Home Address:
Post Code:
Date of Birth: ………../………./…………… National Insurance No:
Tel/Mobile No where you can be contacted during office hours (9-5):
Tel/Mobile No evenings (if different from above):
Email Address:
Personal Transport – for posts which involve travel within Exmoor National Park please answer the following questions:
Are you able to travel within the National Park? / YES / NO
Do you have a current full driving licence? / YES / NO
Do you have a car or other means of transport available for work? / YES / NO
Our commitment as a employer
Exmoor National Park Authority welcomes applications from people with disabilities. Wherever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to enable a person with a disability to access the application and appointment process fairly.
Do you consider yourself to have a disability? / YES / NO
If you have answered YES to the above question and are offered an interview, would you welcome a pre interview meeting or discussion to identify any particular needs that you may have?
YES / By telephone / In person / NO
Disclosure of Criminal Offences – Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 gives individuals the right not to disclose details of old offences, which are seen as ‘spent’. Please give details, including dates and places, of pending prosecutions and any convictions, cautions and bind-overs since the age of 17 years, which are not ‘spent’.