Overview

Job type: Full time, Permanent
Salary: £27,291 rising to £30,324 over 2 years + 11% employer pension contribution
Job Reference: HS589392TheBBSO
Location: This position is based at our HQ in Thetford, Norfolk, although you will be able to work from home part of the time on a hybrid working regime.

We are looking for an enthusiastic National Organiser to be responsible for the successful running of the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey, working in the Surveys team. They will deliver key outputs of these high profile surveys, including summaries of results, the annual report and updating web pages. The work involves overseeing the BBS and WBBS volunteer network, liaising with the network of Regional Organisers, supervising ongoing development of the survey, BBS Online, maintaining a series of volunteer, bird, mammal and habitat databases, and managing the BC/CEH/BTO/JNCC Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on BBS squares.

The successful candidate will be familiar with bird surveys, bird identification and distributions, well-organised, competent in computing, particularly database management and Excel. They will have excellent communication skills as the post involves cross-team working at BTO, and working with a wide range of volunteers, funders, external organisations and the general public.

Purpose of the role
This position as BBS National Organiser is part of BTO’s Surveys Team. The post-holder is responsible for the successful running of the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey. The postholder will be line-managed by the Head of Surveys (Dawn Balmer) and will work closely with Senior Data Scientist (Dr Dario Massimino) and members of the Information Systems and Communications teams. They will deliver key outputs of these high profile surveys, including summaries of results, the annual report and updating web pages. The work involves overseeing the BBS and WBBS volunteer network (>3,000), supervising ongoing development of BBS Online, using
BTO’s Supporter database Civi, maintaining and disseminating a series of volunteer, bird, mammal and habitat databases, managing the BC/CEH/BTO/JNCC Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on BBS squares, and working with the Regional Network (c.120 volunteers).

BBS and WBBS results are used in a variety of national and international initiatives including conservation status assessments, wild bird indicators, spatial models of bird abundance and applied
studies of the effects of factors such as changes in land-use or climate. The ability to interact with a wide range of stakeholders, partnership organisations and give presentations to audiences including scientists, volunteers and the media, is required. The successful candidate will be familiar with bird surveys, bird identification and distributions, well-organised, competent in computing, particularly database management and Excel, good at problem-solving and learning new software, and would be expected to contribute to other BTO work as required. Writing, desk-top publishing and design skills would be an advantage.

What you will deliver:

  • To successfully run the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey; this involves overseeing the activities of over 3,000 volunteers directly (e.g. via email) and via the Regional Network, to collect the required data from the stratified sample of sites, ensuring the return and verification of records to maintain data integrity by running computer checking programs, and organising the input and storage of data. In addition this requires negotiating with suppliers and dealing with enquiries, Regional Organisers, BTO staff, external organisations and the general public
  • Support and lead on the integration of other add-on elements to BBS, including Upland Rovers, Upland Adjacent squares, SWBBS squares, working with local projects to increase coverage in return for local reporting and other one-off surveys on BBS squares (and some non-random squares) as they occur
  • Line-manage the BBS Support Officer (two days a week)
  • Manage and promote the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on BBS squares. Work with the WCBS partners (BC, CEH, and JNCC) and contribute as needed to WCBS reporting and UK BMS Steering Group meetings. Service WCBS volunteers surveying BBS squares, as well as BBS volunteers undertaking the survey, including creating guidance material and online videos and training
  • To be responsible, jointly with the IS team, for the development of the BBS Online application and the BBS and WBBS components of the online Oracle database, ensuring the integrity of user and BBS and WBBS count data
  • To be responsible for the production of the annual BBS Report which includes WBBS and WCBS reporting, data preparation, timing of annual data analysis, writing, production and distribution to volunteers, survey partners, stakeholders and online reporting. The reports content includes official statistics and requires close liaison with staff at JNCC and RSPB, as well as BTO colleagues, as strict management is required to maintain embargoes and precise delivery and publication timing
  • To maintain and develop the BBS and WBBS web pages to provide information, instructions, results and research outputs for a broader audience, as well as pages for the Regional Network, in collaboration with the Head of Surveys
  • To take responsibility for communicating BBS, WBBS and WCBS progress and results to the media and wider public through press releases, semi-popular articles in journals/newsletters and social media, and interviews on television, radio or newspaper, working with Communication staff as needed
  • To contribute to the development of the BBS and WBBS work plans to increase operational efficiency and develop scheme coverage and effectiveness, in collaboration with the Head of Surveys, Principal Data Scientist and the BBS/WBBS’s funding partners (JNCC and RSPB)
  • Input to the State of the UK’s Birds, WCBS Report, UKBMS and assist with PECBMS as required.
  • To provide a main point of contact for the BBS and WBBS, for volunteers, the Regional Network, colleagues and other conservation organisations
  • To liaise with research staff and external conservation agencies on matters concerning BBS and WBBS methodology, the use of BBS and WBBS data and their interpretation. Promote and monitor the use of BBS and WBBS results through the electronic provision of data summaries and results to bird clubs, amateur researchers and NGOs
  • Respond to and contribute to data preparation and reports in response to Data Requests from consultancies, researchers, students, publications, colleagues, local bird clubs and landowners. etc .
  • To promote the BBS, WBBS and WCBS through talks at scientific conferences and bird club
    meetings or events, and by organising and conducting training workshops. Required to use
    own initiative in this work, often undertaken in the evening or at weekends
  • To query and undertake analyses using the BBS and WBBS database as required and feed into BBS/WBBS research papers
  • To undertake such other duties as may be required commensurate with the level and purpose of the role

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list; the role holder will agree objectives with their line manager.

Essential skills

  • A degree in biology, ecology or a related field, or equivalent experience
  • Good understanding of survey design
  • Good understanding of the ecology of British birds and conservation issues relating to them
  • Good communication skills; the ability to lecture to a wide range of audience types, from scientists to the general public, and to be interviewed effectively on TV or radio
  • Expertise in a range of computer packages including word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentational software
  • Ability to work closely with volunteers and communicate enthusiasm to them
  • Ability to communicate by writing in popular and semi-popular publications
  • Ability to work under own initiative
  • Experience and knowledge of census work, and expertise in the identification of British birds
    in the field by sight and sound
  • Good personal organisation and management skills.

Desirable skills

  • Experience and ability in organising bird surveys, or able to demonstrate aptitude for such
  • Knowledge of (or aptitude to learn) basic-level use of R, SAS, GIS and SQL for data management and manipulation and an understanding of relational databases
  • Ability to learn the use of new computer packages as required such as Adobe InDesign
  • Ability to deal with the media, often concerning sensitive/political issues
  • Good understanding of broader issues related to data recording (e.g. data confidentiality, ownership)

Closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 15 August at 09:00  and Interviews will likely be held remotely or in Thetford on Thursday 25 August.
If you have any questions, please contact recruitment@bto.org

If you have a disability or long-term illness that otherwise prevents you from meeting any of the essential criteria, please contact us to discuss whether a reasonable adjustment could be made.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

We recognise that candidates from minority ethnic groups are under-represented in our organisation, and that there are often additional barriers present for people from these groups when applying for roles in the charity sector and beyond. We are committed to taking positive action to expand the diversity of our staff team, and if you meet the essential criteria for a role and are from a minority ethnic background, you’ll be guaranteed a first stage interview.