Assistant Ranger - Calanais

Starting salary: £29,622 per year
Contract type: Fixed Term (1 year)
Grade: 2
Location: Calanais Standing Stones, Isle of Lewis
Working Hours: 5 out of 7, 35 hours per week
Interviews: To be held over MS Teams on week commencing 01/06/2026

As Assistant Ranger you will play a pivotal role in engaging with our visitors, communities and groups at the site. You will be a part of the Ranger team, with a focus on the conservation work at Calanais standing stones. This is a new role introduced to support the wider visitor experience at Calanais.

Benefits of joining us at Historic Environment Scotland

• Enrolment onto a Civil Service Pension scheme – 28% employer contribution
• 25 days annual leave, pro-rata (increasing to 30 days after 3 years) + 11.5 public holidays
• Reimbursement for relevant professional subscriptions
• Support for further education and personal development
• Study leave for work related courses
• Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
• Free entry to all of our properties (with up to three guests)
Free entry to English Heritage, Manx and Cadw properties

Key Responsibilities of this role

• Conducting regular patrols of Calanais to provide a world class welcome, dealing with emergencies, providing basic first aid and summoning assistance as necessary.

• Exercising a general duty of care for visitors, staff, over various sites, and to ensure that all the Health and Safety requirements of current policies, legislation and guidelines are followed.

• Leading and tailoring activities such as those for learning and inclusion groups (inc; those with additional support needs), public guided walks, events and deliver talks as required.

• Working with colleagues to support our volunteer programmes and volunteers undertaking a broad range of activities across our sites.

• On occasion, taking reactive decisions around site operations and public safety without the benefit of being able to consult or seek immediate approval from direct line managers or regional heads.

• Working with colleagues across a range of Directorates and organisations to deliver, tailored, formal and informal cultural and environmental learning programmes, public events and guided walk programmes, volunteer opportunities and engage with the local community as well as other groups, pro-actively.
• Assisting with the maintenance of close, links with members of the public, relevant local and regional bodies or organisations in the public, private and voluntary sector, particularly those with a special interest in learning and inclusion, as well as protecting and conserving the natural and build environment.
• Ensuring regular communication with our partnership organisation (Urras nan Turasachan) who operate the Calanais Visitor Centre.
Communicating effectively with a wide range of individual, volunteers, and community groups, stakeholders and external organisations or partners. (Local Authority teams, NGO’s). This will be through personal contact and meetings, print, broadcast, and electronic media.

Key requirements of the role:

In order for you to be successful in this post, we will be looking for you to submit a cover letter which addresses how you can meet each of the essential and desirable criteria (in up to 1,200 words), using examples of where you have demonstrated these criteria previously. Please ensure that you provide real life examples for each of the criteria to be considered for this post. You can use examples of how you have met this criteria from your work life, home life, education or volunteer experience.

Essential:

• A recognised qualification in a relevant field such as interpretation, archaeology, history, heritage education, environmental education, natural science, countryside, recreation or conservation management, although consideration will be given to candidates demonstrating extensive knowledge of cultural or environmental matters, event or public safety management

• Professional knowledge and experience of current cultural or environmental matters, as well as best practice.

• Possession of a current full UK driving licence.

• PVG Membership for Children and Adults

• Experience of delivering activities and projects across a range of topics with diverse audiences.

• Strong and confident communication skills with a focus on public engagement, landscape protection and nature conservation, and be expected to set exemplary standards.

• An approachable, positive, enthusiastic and customer focused approach.

• Strong team working skills to enable effective involvement in diverse and wide-ranging teams.

• Flexibility in work pattern to support site operations and audience needs.

• Ability to demonstrate personal resilience, remaining calm & self-controlled in a variety of challenging situations, which on occasion can be traumatic.

We are dedicated to building a workforce which is reflective of diversity within Scotland. We warmly welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity. In support of our Gaelic Language Plan, we welcome applications from Gaelic speakers.

We want every candidate to have the best chance to succeed during the recruitment process. If you require your application in an alternative format, please reach out to us via email at recruit@hes.scot or call our Head Office at 0131 668 8600 and speak to a member of our People Team.

Please note that, at this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship as part of the recruitment process, therefore you must have current right to work in the UK to be considered for a post.