Job Profile: Contractor - Site Supervisor

Name: Rosalyn Joyce

Location: Based in Huddersfield, covering Northern England.

Employer: ELMS (Environmental Land Management Solutions Limited)

 

Job Responsibilities:

My role involves leading a team of operatives to deliver practical conservation works to a high standard and ensuring projects are completed on schedule. I also manage health and safety whilst on site to ensure my team, the public and anyone else on site is kept safe. I maintain site records and monitor progress often utilising tools like QGIS for mapping and data tracking. Collaboration and camaraderie within our team is vital especially when faced with challenging weather conditions and I am very lucky to have an amazing team who all support each other.

Working for a private contractor means partnering with many different organisations, carrying out practical work for organisations such as Wildlife Trusts, Moors for the Future, Forestry England, River Trusts, National Trust and also private landowners. The variety means we get to work on sites all across the country in some of the UK’s most special landscapes, though this does sometimes mean working away from home or longer travel days.

 

All of my time is spent outside doing practical tasks which depending on the time of year may include:

• Peatland Restoration: Activities like sphagnum planting, building timber dams, air marshalling for helicopter lifts, taking stone drops for stone dams and brash spreading on bare peat.
• Forestry work: Woodland maintenance, felling, operating woodchippers and tree planting.
• INNS/scrub clearance work: Spraying Giant Hogweed, clearing Rhododendron with chainsaws, removing Himalayan Balsam, mowing bracken or bramble with our remote-controlled Green Climber.
• River restoration work: Implementing erosion control, pond creation and natural flood management solutions.

This job is very seasonal which is something I love and keeps the job interesting as there is so much variety. Our busiest period runs from late August to the end of March. During this season we do lots of peatland restoration work and this timing avoids ground nesting bird season.

 

Qualifications needed:

A relevant degree or diploma is useful although being able to show your passion for the sector in other ways like volunteering, seasonal work, or internships is also an option. I have a degree in Environmental Science and did some relevant seasonal work prior to starting this position.

Additional training:

There are lots of tickets which are useful for this job, some of which include:

• Chainsaw Crosscutting and Felling
• Pesticide application PA1 and PA6
• Brushcutter
• Remote controlled mower
• Woodchipper
• Tractor
• Excavator and dumper

Skills needed:

• Passion for conservation.
• Excellent teamwork skills and able to motivate others.
• Resilient to weather conditions and physical work - you don’t need to be an athlete! The most important thing is that you have the determination to keep going even when the weather is bad and the work is physically demanding.
• Organised and good time management to keep projects on schedule.
• Able to adapt plans quickly and problem solve - unexpected issues may come up which sometimes need to be solved innovatively!

 

Advice to anyone looking at similar roles:

Contracting jobs are not widely known about, however can be a really good foot in the door if you are struggling to get a job in the conservation sector. Often these jobs are advertised at the end of summer, as staff are often hired in preparation for the busy winter season.

 

If you have any queries about this role or would like to ask a question of the job holder please contact Rosalyn by email here

 

Website: www.elms-contracting.co.uk

Instagram: @elmsolutionsltd

Facebook: @ELMSolutions