Conservation Ranger

Job description

The Estate

Situated 6 miles south of York, Escrick Park Estate has been owned and managed by the same family for 350 years. The current owners are committed to a programme of diversification and conservation to ensure the sustainability of the Estate for future generations. Over 7,000 acres in size, Escrick Park is an award winning Estate business with activities including agriculture, forestry, conservation, commercial and residential property lets, Hollicarrs Holiday Park, an equine course, and land hire for weddings and events.

The Job Context

Escrick Park Estate is striving to be a beacon of conservation activities and a hub for nature markets. The estate manages the 650 acre Skipwith Common SAC, SSSI & NNR, one of the last remaining bastions of lowland heath in the north of England, over 800 acres of woodland under HTCS and a number of other CS agreements. Significant works on Skipwith Common NNR have recently been approved, alongside agreeing a nationally significant sale of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units securing 30 years of funding to deliver the creation of a heathland and wetland mosaic buffering and enhancing Skipwith Common. The initial works for this 400 acre BNG site are due to be delivered over the coming 12 months. This link illustrates the vision that the successful applicant will be working to create in the coming years.

The position

Reporting to the Conservation Lead, Mark Hewitt, the successful applicant will make a significant, positive contribution to the Escrick Park Estate mission, supporting the owners in the ongoing development of the business to enhance and promote nature restoration across the estate with a particular focus on Skipwith Common NNR and its surroundings. Working alongside a small but dedicated team, they will undertake a wide variety of conservation related tasks developing specialist practical conservation skills that are increasingly required for the scale of this type of opportunity. The successful applicant will be at the heart of delivering landscape scale nature restoration.

The Location

Main Office: Escrick Park Estate, The Estate Office, Escrick, York, Y019 6EA

The Team

There is a small in-house team at Escrick Park who focus on different elements of the business’s diversified portfolio.

The post-holder will be responsible for on-the-ground conservation activities across the estate, with the aim of enhancing the quality of the natural environment whilst engaging with the wider public to help them understand the why and the what.

The Candidate

We are looking for a candidate who is seeking a new challenge and the next step in their career. This is a busy Estate with plenty going on and you will need to be a motivated self-starter.

You will have the opportunity to focus on a wide range of activities and projects, working both within the team and autonomously. You will be good at interacting with others and building relationships, demonstrating a sociable, confident, resourceful, pragmatic and innovative personality. Above all you will have a range of practical skills and a willingness to learn more to deliver your responsibilities.

The successful candidate is likely to have the following attributes:

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• A keen, demonstrable passion for wildlife, countryside management, and nature conservation.
• Minimum 5 years’ relevant experience in conservation/farming/land management.
• Excellent time-management and prioritisation skills: the ability to work well under pressure and simultaneously manage multiple points of contact.
• Someone who relishes the opportunities within a progressive rural business and can take a long-term perspective and has the appetite to develop further.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a team, with a proactive, solution-focused mindset.
• Practical skills – knowledge of a wide range of conservation techniques e.g. hedge planting/management, fencing, scrub/vegetation management, installing access infrastructure.
• Practical qualifications – experienced in the use of a range of relevant machinery e.g. tractors, telehandlers, chainsaws and brush-cutters alongside relevant vocational qualifications (e.g. NPTC or LANTRA or equivalent).
• A full UK Driving Licence
• Basic IT literacy, including smartphone use.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of independent management of contractors.
• Sociable with a willingness to lead volunteers.
• Stock handling.
• A basic understanding of relevant legislation e.g. nature conservation regulations (SSSI legislation), protected species and other relevant regulations.

The Package

A competitive salary and accommodation (if required) to be discussed with the successful candidate dependent on experience, in addition to:

• Company pension
• Company health insurance
• 32 days holiday (inc. bank holidays)
• Holiday buy-back scheme (up to 5 days)
• Increased additional holiday with time served

Normal working hours: Monday to Friday 0800-16:30, although from time-to-time some flexibility will be required depending on the needs of the business.

Closing Date

Mid-day 29th May 2026