Trainee Wildlife Care Assistant

VALE WILDLIFE HOSPITAL & REHABILITATION CENTRE

Station Road, Beckford, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 7AN

Tel: 01386 882288 Charity No: 702888

Email: info@valewildlife.org.uk Website: www.valewildlife.org.uk

JOB DESCRIPTION

FULL-TIME TRAINEE WILDLIFE CARE ASSISTANT - 5 DAYS PER WEEK INCLUDING WEEKENDS

• Assisting with, and carrying out on your own, the assessment and first aid of casualties coming in, and any ongoing treatment required following our strict SOPs, under the supervision of our vet. Note that some horrific injuries have to be dealt with – serious injuries and badly infected wounds. Full training will be given.
• The handling of all species of wild birds and mammals, some of which have the potential to cause serious injury. Attending call-outs to and rescues of sick and injured wildlife, driving the charity vehicles, often unaccompanied. Full training in handling and capture techniques will be given.
• Accurate record-keeping; booking in casualties, keeping patient record sheets and patient location records up-to-date.
• Regular monitoring of animal health and wellbeing and reporting any concerns to a supervisor or manager.
• Daily feeding routines both inside and outside the hospital building. Note that feeding may include the use of dead day-old chicks and mice, crickets, mealworms and maggots, and also fish, all of which may need to be cut into pieces before feeding to a casualty.
• Daily, thorough cleaning of cages inside the hospital and aviaries and enclosures in the outside areas.
• Providing fresh water daily to all animals both inside the hospital building and in the outside areas.
• Ensuring all dishes, trays and other feeding utensils are washed, dried and put away in the correct places.
• Ensuring all towels, blankets etc (animal bedding) are washed and dried.
• The correct and regular disposal of waste, both animal waste, bedding etc and general rubbish.
• Dealing with the public in a proper and polite manner when taking telephone calls or carrying out reception duties.
• Carrying out on-call, overnight duties, staying in the hospital, to deal with casualties brought in out of hours. This is done on a rota system and would not usually be more than once a week.

You are paid an additional £10 for every on call.

• During quieter periods there will be a requirement to carry out other duties including aviary / enclosure building and maintenance, wood treatment application, grass cutting, weeding, envelope stuffing, thorough cleaning of walls and floors inside the hospital and other jobs as required.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as may be directed from time to time by supervisors, managers or trustees.

While at work all employees are required to:

• Take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts and omissions.
• Cooperate with Charity policies and procedures for health & safety.
• Understand and comply with the charity’s Code of Conduct.
• Adhere to the charitable objectives which are to facilitate the rescue, rearing, rehabilitation and release of British wildlife casualties.

ROTA – 5 days per week position to include weekends. 8am-5pm.

PAY – £10.42 per hour, increasing once training is complete.

Full training takes approximately 12 months to complete.

We do not pay overtime. Some unpaid overtime will be inevitable, especially during the spring and summer, due to the nature of the work.

SICK PAY – We do not offer any sick pay. Statutory Sick Pay is payable after more than 4 days absence in a row on production of a doctor’s certificate.

HOLIDAYS – There is an entitlement of 28 days (full-time) per year holiday (pro rata for part-time positions). Bank Holidays are normal working days for us & are worked as such at the normal rate of pay.

Only one Care Assistant will be allowed to take holidays at any one time, decided on a first come, first served basis.

BEFORE APPLYING:

PLEASE CONSIDER VERY CAREFULLY WHETHER YOU COULD COPE ON A LOWER WAGE.

THE WORK IS HARD, OFTEN PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY CHALLENGING –

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO DEAL WITH THIS TYPE OF JOB?

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: £10.42-£10.92 per hour

Benefits:

• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Every weekend

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Beckford, GL20 7AN: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 23/04/2023
Expected start date: 01/06/2023