Updates to our FAQs and important information about data security

We've reviewed and updated our FAQs and in light of recent high profile data breaches added information about our data security policies and protocol.  You can click through and read the FAQs in full here.
The new important sections are here:


Does CJS have a Privacy Policy?
Yes: we will not give, exchange, buy or sell your details to any unauthorised party. (See also: Is your database properly registered and our T&Cs)?

Is your database properly registered?
Yes. Data Protection Act Registration Number: Z9570707. Names, addresses, etc*. are held on our computer. Your Credit / Debit card details are NOT held on any of our computers, the web payments are taken by PayPal and WorldPay, please see their T&C. We have an up to date PCI DSS certificate (the Credit Card Industry security standard, read about it here and download our certificate here.)
We will NOT give, exchange, buy or sell your details to any unauthorised party.  Where we have your details on paper and once these are no longer needed we then burn (in the winter when the stove is lit) or shred the paper before it's used as bedding for our various animals and then composted for use on the garden.  That's pretty secure.
*In March this year we blogged about the data we hold about you, what and why, read that post here.

What about data security?
In addition to the registration above CJS has an in-house data security and recovery policy. We operate an automatic overnight backup of all data and a weekly rolling backup of the main data (including all databases). The weekly rolling backup is stored on air-gapped hardware meaning it is not connected to the office network or the internet and thus is secure from hacking.  Should the worst happen the most we would lose is one week of data - and there are paper copies of most things plus emails are stored off site in the cloud so it would be a large but not impossible task to put it all back.

It's Bring your dog to work day

We can't let that go past without comment, even if that comment is woof, woof, bark! The dogs are an integral part of the CJS Team meaning that every day is take your dog to work day here. When we wrote our Meet The Team page they got an honourable mention. "And not forgetting the office dogs! Kerryn's labradors are an integral part of the Team providing light relief and occasional stress busting services! (you really, really need my very stinky soft toy!!, I'm desperate to go out and I think you need some fresh air too...)"

You can meet them on Kerryn's personal blog.

There is a sound reason behind all this frippery as hinted at in their 'introduction'.

"Many scientific studies have concluded that the presence of pets can substantially reduce a person’s stress level in the workplace. Increased job satisfaction, team co-operation and morale have all been reported in employees that spend the workday with their pets. Since 2014, the year we established Bring Your Dog To Work Day, we have witnessed a growing number of businesses across the UK that allow dogs in the workplace.

So in addition to raising funds (for two doggie charities), Bring Your Dog To Work Day is likely to boost the productivity and happiness of the employees within your company. And it means hundreds if not thousands of pets around the UK can now go to work alongside their humans!" From the Bring Your Dog To Work Day website here.

And for many countryside workers out of the office, on their own all day the dog in the van is their constant companion and often an ice-breaker with visitors or when meeting a potentially 'difficult client'.

Challenge yourself to do something wild during the Great Outdoor Month.

A truly American idea, the State and National Parks of this country represent our natural heritage. This June, celebrate the natural wonder and outdoor spirit of America by getting outside during Great Outdoors Month®.  Once you come outside, you’ll never want to go back inside.  Find out more.

It may be a "truly American idea" but that's no reason why we can't adopt it on "this side of the pond".  In fact the Wildlife Trusts have taken it to heart with their 30 days wild challenge. 

Make room for nature this June - no matter where you are or how busy your life! When you sign up to the challenge, we’ll send you a pack full of ideas, encouragement and Random Acts of Wildness. You’ll also receive a funky wallchart to track your progress, a wild badge, and regular blasts of inspiration throughout June to help you make nature part of your life.

The CJS Ed took part for the last couple of years, you can read about it here.  This year the torch has been passed to CJS Team Member Katie and her children. She says: "We have collected flowers and plants with colours from the rainbow. Followed a dragonfly to see where it went. Hunted for mushrooms. Looked in the pond for frogs (although we only managed to see a frog’s leg!). Watched a bee collect pollen from a flower and walked round the garden smelling all the different flowers. This week we are planning to go the seaside and also go to Bempton Cliffs to spot some puffins."

CJS Professional: June edition

The latest edition of CJS Professional is now online, read it in full here: www.countryside-jobs.com/Professional/current.htm   You may need to refresh your browser.

Jobs advertised in this Month's edition:
Conservation Advisor, Avon Wildlife Trust (Bristol)
Assistant Instructor, Sayers Croft Outdoor Learning Centre (Surrey, Residential apprentice post for one year)
Youth Engagement Volunteers, New Forest National Park (voluntary roles 26/6 - 4/8/17)
Heritage Buildings Traineeship, Chiltern Open Air Museum (Chalfont St Giles, Bucks. 18 month Training Placement)
New Forest Apprentice Ranger, New Forest National Park (13 month apprenticeship from October)
2 x Senior Project Officers - Building Better Opportunities Project, Cumbria, TCV (2 year posts, Carlisle & Eden District)
Reserves Officer, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust
Community Development Officer - Green Spaces, Basingstoke and Deane
City to Coast Living Landscape Manager, Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Blue House Farm Warden, Essex Wildlife Trust
Estate Worker Wokingham Borough Council Countryside Service
Woodland & Countryside Manager, Glendale (based Marlborough)
Fruit Tree Expert, Eaton Estate (Chester)
Conservation Farming Traineeship, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (12 month placement from mid-July in South Wiltshire)
Tree and Landscape Officer, Braintree District Council

CJS Notices
CJS Focus on Fundraising and Promotion in association with Environmental Funders Network.
18 pages in total, the lead is provided by the Environmental Funders Network and comes from Hugh Raven, Chair of EFN but also a Trustee of a grant giving foundation. He knows what he’s looking for in a grant application. Richard Witt discusses the preparation needed to succeed with a fundraising ask. We have two job profiles: one from a Visitor Experience Assistant with the National Trust and one from a Consumer PR Executive who works for RSPB, find out what they get up to in their working day. An interview with the Co-founder of Crowdfunder, Dawn Bebe gives some very useful insight in to using this type of platform to raise money. After Nesta’s Rethinking Parks project, they have some tips for successful parks innovation. Groundwork describes how important their Ambassadors are to promoting the organisation within communities. Finally we can’t manage without social media in today’s word of promotion, find out from Jim Hardcastle how best to utilise the tools available.
Read it online here or download a PDF copy.

Advance Notice for CJS Focus on Volunteering in association with RSPB
We know that holidays are just around the corner (going anywhere nice?) so before you get too busy with children's events and guided walks or head off to sunnier climes we'd like to let you know that the next edition of CJS Focus will be looking at Volunteering once again, this time in association with RSPB. The deadline for advertising is 8 September but we're accepting adverts now. More Information, andsubmit your adverts (free options available) here.


Surveys and Citizen Science: . Click here to see additions made during May.
Details of additions to Surveys and Fieldwork section, 18 new listings this month


Top headlines from the past month: Click here to read

Training Calendar Click here to read
Short Courses and Events in August  14 pages
Send information about your training courses today to training@countryside-jobs.com or submit online here. 

Print length this edition: 106
That's a lot to read however CJS Professional is set so that you can skim the headers and pick out the articles that are appropriate for you or use the links above to go direct to each section. and now with navigation at the top of the edition.

The next edition of CJS Professional will be published on: 13 July
Got something to share or want to advertise? The deadline is: 5pm Monday 10 July
Contact us by email: ranger@countryside-jobs.com

CJS Vacancies advertised in May

Use the links to see each sector online.

Administration, support and IT	14	all administration and support roles.
Arboriculture	27	working with and for trees, woodland and in forestry, includes tree nursery.
Community and Volunteers	26	projects looking at community involvement and countryside volunteer management.
Countryside	70	Ranger posts, including those in greenspace and urban parks and estate workers. You'll also find vacancies for countryside officers, rural policy makers.
Ecology	40	roles covering ecology, biodiversity, mitigation, consultancy roles e.g. Ecological Clerk of Works and advice provision also fieldwork such as bat surveys and EIA.
Environmental and outdoor education	29	interpretation, field work tutors, public engagement, adventure activities instructors also higher and further education roles.
Horticulture	25	gardening and plant health vacancies.
Fundraising and Publicity	18	public relations, promotion including social media, grant applications and administration and fundraising. This section also includes membership promotion and recruitment roles.
Rights of Way	2	access and all public rights of way related work.
Visitor Management	13	visitor services and management including event management.
Wildlife work and animal care	20	wildlife projects dealing with one specific species, working with animals such as wildlife hospital workers. also animal handling e.g. zoos and aviculture.

To access all of these adverts you need to subscribe to our Weekly newsletter which also has details of voluntary (42 adverts) and apprenticeship (9 adverts) roles, news for each week, monthly calendars of training and professional events as well as details for forthcoming practical work days and conservation tasks plus lots of other industry relevant information.

• Find out more here
• Request a sample copy
• Subscribe here
• Gain instant access for one week including back issues.

CJS Focus on Fundraising & Promotion in association with the Environmental Funders Network

18 pages in total, the lead comes from the Environmental Funders Network and is provided by their chair, John Raven, who is also a Trustee for the John Ellerman Foundation. John provides us with some tips in writing a successful grant application. Richard Witt was the first professional fundraiser employed by a National Park and has since run fundraising courses. Richard talks about the fact that there is so much more to fundraising than just asking for the money. Jaanika Reinvald is a Visitor Experience Assistant at the National Trust’s Brimham Rocks countryside property. Find out what her day entails and the sorts of jobs she is involved in when working to promote the site. We were lucky enough to get an interview with Dawn Bebe, Co-Founder & Director of Crowdfunder – we asked what crowdfunding is, how it’s different from traditional fundraising methods and how best to do it on the site. Rethinking Parks programme ran until 2016, in an article for CJS Focus, Nesta provides details on the seven tips they have since devised for successful parks innovation. Groundwork is proud of their ambassadors who do very important voluntary work within their local communities to promote the organisation, read about how some of them have made a difference. Jim Hardcastle from Mendip Hills AONB has worked within the world of social media for a long time; he describes how you can use it for promotion and then how you should be able to turn awareness in to fundraising. Last but by no means least we have ‘A day in the life of Jamie Wyver, Consumer PR Executive for RSPB’ – discover the tasks Jamie has to undertake in a very busy day to promote the work of the charity. Read it here

CJS Professional: May edition

The latest edition of CJS Professional is now online, read it in full here: www.countryside-jobs.com/Professional/current.htm   You may need to refresh your browser.

Jobs advertised in this Month's edition:
Business Development Manager, Middlemarch Environmental Ltd (Coventry, West Midlands)
Gardener, Bodmin Town Council
‘Wild About Wakefield’ Project Officer, Open Country (Wakefield, West Yorkshire, initial 2 years)
Ecologist, TACP (Cardiff)
Volunteer & Apprentice Supervisor, Ribble Rivers Trust (Clitheroe (base), with work across the catchment. Until end September 2020 (with possibility of extension))
Seasonal Survey Assistant (x 2), Ribble Rivers Trust (Clitheroe (base), with work across the catchment. 13 weeks, fixed term contract (June – October, depending on start date))
Seasonal Field Surveyors, Ecology Solutions (Based in the Cotswolds working in various locations across the UK. Work may be available until September/October.)
Ecologist / Senior Ecologist, Avian Ecology (based in Lower Stretton (near Warrington))
Open Spaces Warden, Ilminster Town Council
Wayleaves Officer, RSK ADAS (Yorkshire / Lincolnshire)
Learning Engagement Officer, Secret World Wildlife Rescue( Somerset)
YPP Research Assistant and opportunity for post-graduate study at the University of Manchester, The Yorkshire Peat Partnership (Skipton)
Regional Manager - North, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Woodland Sales Manager, Woods4sale Ltd (South East England)
Groundsman/Manager, Small estate in North Cotswolds
Seasonal Ranger, Rockingham Forest Trust ( Stanwick Lakes Nature Reserve. Until 15/09/2017 with potential to lead to a full-time position.)
Teaching Trees Education Officer, Grosvenor Estate. (Eaton and Abbeystead Estates, north west England)

CJS Notices
How do you connect with CJS? We want to know the best way to share our information with you.
Could you spare two minutes to answer six questions? Every reply will go towards planting trees with the Woodland Trust or sponsoring dormouse boxes with PTES. As an added incentive one reply drawn at random will receive a year's subscription to CJS Weekly by email; this could be a group subscription to share with your colleagues or volunteers. Take part here.

CJS Focus on Fundraising and Promotion in association with Environmental Funders Network
Will be published on Monday 22 May.
Watch out for notices on the website, updates on social media or make a note to check back here

Surveys and Citizen Science: . Click here to see additions made during March.
13 new listing this month

Top headlines from the past month: Click here to read

Training Calendar Click here to read
Short Courses and Events in July plus details of courses run regularly or available on an ad hoc basis. 23 pages
Send information about your training courses today to training@countryside-jobs.com or submit online here. 

Print length this edition: 82
That's a lot to read however CJS Professional is set so that you can skim the headers and pick out the articles that are appropriate for you or use the links above to go direct to each section. and now with navigation at the top of the edition.

The next edition of CJS Professional will be published on: 8 June
Got something to share or want to advertise? The deadline is: 5pm Monday 5 June
Contact us by email: ranger@countryside-jobs.com

National Walking Month meets Mental Health Awareness Week.

What better way to bring balance back into your life than to head out into the countryside?

After a busy, chaotic stressful day as Editor of CJS I clear my head and lower the cortisol levels by putting on my walking boots and picking up the dog leads, if it's late or winter possibly a torch too! Not so I can see where I'm going but to make us visible to people in cars as we head off into the darkness.  

We're fortunate that we're surrounded by the wonderful North York Moors the nearest moor is literally a five minute walk from my front door; a ramble across the heather has been my favoured form of stress-relief for as long as I can remember.  When, for whatever reason, I've not been able to get out for a while I know my temper shortens, my spoons get fewer and smaller and just ordinary day-to-day stuff gets even more difficult with an impending meltdown never far away, if I've gone very quiet it's time to leave me alone for a while! As soon as I feel the peat under my feet, smell the heather, hear the pipits and feel the nudge of a wet canine nose under my hand the rest of the world fades away and I can focus on the feeling of the wind or sun on my skin and just breathe once again.  I have two favourite escape points, both are less than a mile from the middle of the village but are sheltered by the landscape leaving the noise of the human world far behind. Although in winter or very late on a summer evening in the dark a bench in the churchyard serves the same purpose, not quite as quiet but there are other attractions, the bats flitting around the church tower (not a belfry unfortunately!), the squirrels chasing around the old yew trees, house martins nesting under the eaves and a peaceful stillness allowing the calm to filter back in and the cares of the world to slip away like an old skin.  A surprising number of problems have been unconsciously solved in or on the way to any one of these three places - including lots of new CJS features!

I'm not alone in finding greenspace a boon to my mental status. The lead article in our Focus on Overcoming Barriers last autumn was titled Nature–based interventions for mental health and wellbeing written by Jane Houghton and Sarah Preston of Natural England on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation Network. Read it here.

More about National Walking Month here and Mental Health Awareness Week here.

Do you own a Labrador or Golden Retriever and want to be involved in some citizen science?

We don't usually do things like this but this is something which has a strong personal resonance and as we're not a faceless corporation but a team of real people why not?

Juno was one of the first official office dogs here at CJS, my beautiful girl was plagued all her life with a dreadful skin condition, she had hay fever and a grass allergy which made her really miserable.  To begin with the only treatment was steroid injections which lasted just over a month, she could only have a shot every eight to nine weeks, ideally it should have been longer but she would scratch herself raw leaving great raking claw marks and weals down her rapidly balding flanks. In later years we kept the worst of it in check with a regime of local honey in her food, multiple ointments and her daily compost smoothie of herbal remedy. At the end of every day outdoors she had a shower which she loved so much she'd lift a leg to say wash this bit and even learnt to open the shower door - woe betide anyone who didn't bolt the bathroom door, you'd find yourself sharing your shower with a very hairy black dog!

Doubly Ninja Juno, must have been a bad day!

In the summer she could only go out into the garden wearing her ninja outfit of baggy t-shirt tied up on her hips and socks on her feet, when the grass was cut poor lass was housebound for up to a day until the sap dried. And even in the evenings when everyone was back inside, feet washed and the shirt came off often the urge to scratch was such that a clean pair of socks went on the back feet to prevent the worst scrabbling.  She was so patient and never grumbled even when some of the treatments smarted, rolling over on request to let me plaster her other side with the goop of the day.

Why am I telling you this?
To ask anyone with a Labrador or Golden Retriever itchy or not to take five minutes to complete the Itchy Dog Project questionnaire.  The hope is that the answers might just put us on the route to finding out why dogs get such itchy skins and one day, maybe, just maybe no other dog will need to suffer like Juno did.

I should add that despite her itchy skin she lived a full, happy life reaching the grand age of 15.  If you want to know more about her you can read her obit (she was that special) on Hebe's blog here. Mum says have a tissue handy!
Thank you for reading and in advance for filing in the survey. Current office dogs Dido and Hester have done theirs!

Read a little more about the project and sign up here.

CJS Vacancies advertised in April

Use the links to see each sector online.

Administration, support and IT	13	all administration and support roles.
Arboriculture	25	working with and for trees, woodland and in forestry, includes tree nursery.
Community and Volunteers	36	projects looking at community involvement and countryside volunteer management.
Countryside	78	Ranger posts, including those in greenspace and urban parks and estate workers. You'll also find vacancies for countryside officers, rural policy makers.
Ecology	47	roles covering ecology, biodiversity, mitigation, consultancy roles e.g. Ecological Clerk of Works and advice provision also fieldwork such as bat surveys and EIA.
Environmental and outdoor education	34	interpretation, field work tutors, public engagement, adventure activities instructors also higher and further education roles.
Horticulture	20	gardening and plant health vacancies.
Fundraising and Publicity	20	public relations, promotion including social media, grant applications and administration and fundraising. This section also includes membership promotion and recruitment roles.
Rights of Way	6	access and all public rights of way related work.
Visitor Management	8	visitor services and management including event management.
Wildlife work and animal care	24	wildlife projects dealing with one specific species, working with animals such as wildlife hospital workers. also animal handling e.g. zoos and aviculture.

To access all of these adverts you need to subscribe to our Weekly newsletter which also has details of voluntary (55 adverts) and apprenticeship (6 adverts) roles, news for each week, monthly calendars of training and professional events as well as details for forthcoming practical work days and conservation tasks plus lots of other industry relevant information.

• Find out more here
• Request a sample copy
• Subscribe here
• Gain instant access for one week including back issues.

CJS Professional: April edition

The latest edition of CJS Professional is now online, read it in full here: www.countryside-jobs.com/Professional/current.htm   You may need to refresh your browser.

Jobs advertised in this Month's edition:
Arboricultural Surveyor, Cheshire Woodlands (Macclesfield)
River Catchment Manager, Dorset Wildlife Trust (Brooklands Farm, Forston, Dorchester)
Head of Gardens, Burghley House Preservation Trust (Lincolnshire)
Part time Ranger, First for Well Being (Northamptonshire Country Parks primarily Fermyn Woods and Irchester Country Park.) Part time / Casual
Senior Reserves Managers, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Community Engagement Officer for Castle Park Project, East Herts Council and Bishops Stortford Town Council in partnership (Based in Hertford and working in Bishop’s Stortford) Fixed term to 9/18
Estate Worker - Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project, Natural England (near Whitchurch, Shropshire & Wrexham) Fixed term to 9/21
Project Support Officer, East Kilbride Community Trust, 1 Year fixed term contract
Senior Reserves Officer,  Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust
Assistant Trail Maintenance Ranger, Northumberland National Park Authority (Based Walltown, Greenhead, Northumberland) Fixed term contract May - October 2017, 3dpw.
Assistant Ecologist / Ecologist, Aspect Ecology (Oxford)
Regional Officer - South West England, BASC (home based ideally in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire or Herefordshire)
Regional Officer - South East England, BASC (home based ideally in Kent or Sussex)
RFS Excellence In Forestry Awards Coordinator, Royal Forestry Society (home based) freelance contract for up to 250 hours per year.
Instructor, Sayers Croft Outdoor Learning Centre (Surrey Hills)
PPO Technical Officer - Biodiversity and Ecology , Shropshire Council

Other adverts:
Cost Free Training in Corsica  Provided by Operation New World Ltd to help young people kick off a career in the environmental sector.

CJS Notices
Advance Notice and call for adverts: CJS Focus - A new area this time, Fundraising and Promotion. In association with the Environmental Funders Network.
We have lots of articles giving a behind the scenes look at the vital work of fundraisers, a sneak peak into the RSPB press office, insight to a most usual form of promotion by the Forestry Commission (think mobile phones and a much loved children's character) and of course a few giving you helpful hints and tips on things to do and those to avoid when running campaigns and making grant applications.

CJS In-depth features: Introducing HighGround a charity started by Anna Baker Cresswell in 2013 to help Service Leavers, Reservists and Veterans to find jobs, careers and vocational opportunities in the land-based sector – outdoor stuff for outdoor people. [more]

Introduce a friend.   Share CJS with your colleagues and volunteers.

Do you manage a group of volunteers; oversee work placements, have friends or colleague who you think might benefit from knowing about CJS?  Perhaps you're running a careers event or hosting an open day in the coming months.  If you have an information resource or supply information to your volunteers would you be interested in including literature about CJS? Contact us. 

Surveys and Citizen Science: Click here to see additions made during March.
15 new listing this month

Top headlines from the past month: Click here to read

Training Calendar Click here to read
Short Courses and Events in June. 12 pages
Send information about your training courses today to training@countryside-jobs.com or submit online here. 

Grants and Funding Click here
33 new funding sources listed

Classified Advertising Click here

Print length this edition: 100
That's a lot to read however CJS Professional is set so that you can skim the headers and pick out the articles that are appropriate for you or use the links above to go direct to each section. and now with navigation at the top of the edition.

The next edition of CJS Professional will be published on: 11 May
Got something to share or want to advertise? The deadline is: 5pm Monday 8 May
Contact us by email: ranger@countryside-jobs.com