Nature conservation officer : Employers and vacancy sources

Local authorities, government departments, utilities companies and other private companies, such as consultancies, nature reserves, national or country parks, private estates, engineering companies (particularly those concerned with road building) and housing developers are all likely to employ nature conservation officers.

Nature conservation officers are employed in small numbers in a wide range of organisations. Some of these include:

• Natural England    
• Scottish Natural Heritage    
• Field Studies Council (FSC)    
• Environment Agency (EA)   
• Countryside Council for Wales (CCW)   
• Pressure groups, e.g. Friends of the Earth    
• National Trust  
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)  
• British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV)    
• Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH)  
• The Wildlife Trusts  

In the larger public sector organisations, there are likely to be posts for different levels of experience, which offer internal promotion prospects; while in the voluntary sector, jobs may be offered on a fixed-term contract, because they are subject to European or government funding.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Business Eco Network  
• Countryside Jobs Link  
• Countryside Jobs Service (CJS)  
• Ecological Recruitment  
• Eden Recruitment  
• Evergreen Resources  
• The ENDS Report  
• Environment Jobs  
• The Green Directory    
• GreenRoles  
• Government Jobs Direct  
• Guardian Jobs  - Wednesdays.
• People and Planet - Ethical Careers Service  
• Nature Jobs  
• Local press.
• Employer websites.

Recruitment agencies occasionally handle vacancies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.