Beaver Management Officer

Trees for life - context

The Trees for Life vision is of a revitalised wild forest in the Scottish Highlands, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive.

The Trees for Life mission is to rewild the Scottish Highlands by enabling the restoration of the globally unique 

Caledonian Forest which once covered much of Scotland. Integral to our success is the involvement of people.

Dundreggan Rewilding Centre

A Rewilding Centre is being developed at Dundreggan. It will include an innovative visitor experience and education centre, including a café, events and educational facilities. The Rewilding Centre will be an inspiring location where visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds can explore the natural, Gaelic and cultural heritage of the Highlands and be inspired and educated about rewilding and the restoration of the Caledonian Forest.

Overall purpose of the job

This role focuses on facilitating the return of beavers to Highland landscapes by ensuring positive coexistence with people.  

It requires an understanding of beaver ecology and behaviour as well as landowner and community concerns about the potential impacts which beavers can have on agricultural land, property and infrastructure. It will take a hands on and practical approach to addressing those concerns effectively, so the role requires both practical technical skills, the ability to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and adapting plans and priorities in response to feedback from a range of sources.  

Initially with a focus on the proposed translocation of beavers to Forestry and Land Scotland ground in Glen Affric, the post will ensure that the beaver population is monitored, establish positive working relationships with the local community and complement the work of NatureScot in delivering the Beaver Management Framework if practical management needs to be implemented.

Additionally, the role will carry out some initial work with communities and landowners to explore the feasibility of returning beavers to other catchments in the Scottish Highlands, outside of the Cairngorms National Park. This will involve developing and implementing effective community consultation and ensuring that adequate habitat and land use risk assessments are undertaken.

Key liaisons

Internally, this post will liaise with the Nature Restoration team, the Affric Highlands Riverwoods Officer and the fundraising and marketing teams.

Externally, the post will liaise closely with local stakeholders and particularly concerned community organisations, farming and fishing interests to understand their concerns, offer advice and co-develop effective steps to address these. Liaison will also be needed with government agencies involved in implementing the beaver strategy and managing impacts, especially NatureScot’s Beaver Team and Forestry and Land Scotland. 

Scope, Accountability and Resources

The scope of this role spans relationship building in Highland communities to the delivery of practical management techniques on the ground. It will also require the recruitment, training and support of volunteers who will monitor beavers and the use of Trees for Life equipment and financial resources for commissioning technical work and practical management from contracted professionals where needed. It is accountable for the beaver project budget, including funds required for technical work by consultants and any mitigation or practical management of beaver populations by contractors. 

Person Specification  

Knowledge and Experience

• Evidence is required of knowledge and experience of:
• Beaver ecology and behaviour, both theoretical and practical
• Community consultation and stakeholder liaison processes, both theoretical and practical
• The policy context of beavers in Scotland, including the Scottish Beaver Strategy
• Technical beaver impact assessments/risk analysis
• Licence application writing 
• Volunteer recruitment, training and management

Skills and Competencies

• Listening with an empathy for different perspectives
• Eye for detail especially with regard to technical work and writing
• Relationship building and communication skills with different audiences
• Excellent negotiator and motivator

Personal Attributes

• Must be committed to the ethos and values of Trees for Life
• Genuine enthusiasm and a passion for nature conservation.
• Highly-motivated and professional in approach.
• Team player – a readiness to work as part of a team and support colleagues.
• Positive attitude to taking the initiative.

Our values

Our values are at the core of our mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands, informing decisions large and small from the day-to-day running of our office to major conservation projects. We have shared these values so that our supporters, volunteers and partners can gain a deeper understanding of what drives Trees for Life.

We are groundbreaking

We are an ambitious charity with a big mission. For over 25 years we have sought to bring innovation to conservation, and we continue to strive for new and ground-breaking ways to rewild the Scottish Highlands.

We are collaborative

We are an open, friendly and cooperative organisation. We welcome and encourage collaborative working with other organisations, landowners and the wider community. We believe we can always achieve more through teamwork.

We are pragmatic

We seek prudent, sustainable solutions in everything we do. We are always mindful of our duty to our supporters, our volunteers, our staff and above all to Scotland’s wild forest. Seeking a pragmatic approach safeguards our organisation and the work we undertake.