About You
Do you want to work hard for people and wildlife, and look back in years to come knowing that what you did helped in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss? We are looking for someone who wants to make a long-term commitment to this place, its hills and its community. You will be practical, fit, self-motivated and happy working alone on the hill or as part of a small, collaborative team. Above all, you will be someone who takes real pride in a job done well.
Here is what we are looking for:
Impact
Deer control: a confident, safe and ethical stalker, DSC1 held, with DSC2 either held or genuinely underway, and your own current Firearm and Shotgun Certificate — ready to be our boots-on-the-hill presence on herbivore management day in, day out.
Practical all-rounder: genuinely handy across estate, farm, forestry or maintenance work, with real ability across trades and machinery and the judgement to know when to crack on and when to call in a specialist. You'll also need a full UK driving licence to get yourself across the estate and beyond.
Environment
Adventure
Comfortable with a rhythm that shifts with the land: No two weeks look the same here. You might be out through the evening during the cull, up before dawn to catch the best window on the hill the next day, or lending a hand elsewhere on the estate when it's needed. The work follows the seasons and the land, not a fixed clock — and you're someone who finds that exciting rather than unsettling. and that includes the fitness and self-discipline to work safely on the hill, often alone.
Together
We believe in recruiting exceptional people and building the role around them. We are committed to a genuinely diverse team drawn from all walks of life, with a wide range of lived and learnt experience. You might have skills in some, but not all, of the areas above. Whatever your skillset, we would love to hear from you if you think you can make a real difference with Oxygen Conservation and the communities where we are fortunate to work.
About The Role
Invergeldie sits in Glen Lednock, above Comrie in Perthshire. It surrounds Loch Lednock Reservoir up to the summit of Ben Chonzie, across roughly 4,735 hectares of open moorland, deep peat and blanket bog, grassland, heath and native woodland. It holds two Sites of Special Scientific Interest and a wildlife list that includes mountain hare, various birds of prey and rare arctic-alpine plants. It is a special place, and we are restoring it at scale.
There is a great deal happening here. We are creating 1,008 hectares of new native woodland, planting 1.5 million trees inside a 2,133-hectare enclosure protected by 38 kilometres of new deer fence. We have 520 hectares of degraded peatland going into restoration. We are re-meandering a straightened section of the River Lednock to bring back its floodplain and wetland. We run a small herd of Highland cattle for conservation grazing and we are building nature credits and carbon projects across the estate. Keeping herbivore numbers under control. We also have multiple long term lets, and will soon be bringing eco-tourism lets as well, which will require maintenance!
As Ranger, you will be our in-house lead on the day-to-day of deer control. Strathearn Wildlife will remain our specialist contractor, coming up through the season to take the larger numbers. Your job is the daily work between and alongside their visits: out on the hill, keeping deer moving and pressure on, culling to plan, and working shoulder to shoulder with Strathearn Wildlife on the ground. Alongside the stalking, you will be one of the small team who keep this estate running – fencing, property and building repairs, machinery, and the hundred other jobs that a place like this throws up.
You will work alongside our Estate Ranger and Estate Manager. It is a role for someone who wants variety, responsibility and the chance to shape how a landscape like this is looked after for the next generation.
Key Responsibilities
Deer and herbivore control: carry out safe, humane, planned culling; move and manage deer across the estate; work alongside our specialist contractor; and help deliver the annual herbivore management plan and its records.
Property and building maintenance: keep our ageing built estate in good order – repairs and upkeep to houses, lodges, outbuildings and estate infrastructure, turning your hand to joinery, roofing and general building work.
Machinery, vehicles and plant: operate and maintain quads, tractors, chainsaws and small plant safely and keep them well looked after and ready for work.
Estate presentation and operations: help keep Invergeldie looking cared-for and running smoothly, from tracks and drains to gates, signage and lawns; the general upkeep of a working conservation estate.
Health and safety: plan and carry out your work safely, follow risk assessments and safe systems of work, and look after yourself, your colleagues and estate visitors, including when working alone.
Working together: support the Invergeldie team, our contractors and the wider Oxygen Conservation team, and represent the estate well with tenants, neighbours, visitors and the Comrie community.
Room To Grow
We invest in the people who invest in this place. Wherever you're starting from, we'll help you build:
If you already bring some of this, brilliant — it means less time training and more time on the hill. If you don't, we'll help you get there.
About Us
We are building the UK's first genuine natural capital portfolio – acquiring large landscapes, restoring them, and creating investable natural capital such as premium carbon credits, biodiversity units, renewable energy partnerships and ecotourism experiences. Oxygen Conservation was founded in 2021 by Oxygen House Group and Dr Rich Stockdale, with the mission of Scaling Conservation. We buy land at scale to deliver positive environmental and social impact, generating profit as a result, not as the purpose, of what we do.
In just a few years we have grown to around 50,000 acres across twelve estates, with the ambition to protect and restore 250,000 acres by 2030. Our work has been recognised along the way: Start-Up of the Year at the 2022 Business Leader South West Awards, Team of the Year at the 2023 Edie Awards, and ESG Deal of the Year at the 2024 Insider South West Dealmakers Awards for our nature funding agreement with Triodos. Our founder and CEO, Dr Rich Stockdale, features in the ENDS Power List as one of the top 100 UK environmental professionals driving significant impact.
Key Information
Term: Full-time, permanent.
Location: Invergeldie Estate, Glen Lednock, near Comrie, Perthshire. This is a role that lives and breathes the estate and would require you to live within a sensible commute of the estate.
Closing date: Until we find someone awesome!
About The Next Steps
To help you prepare for interview, here are some questions we have used in previous recruitments. Here is the twist: they might come up in our conversation, or they might not. Consider this a sneak peek, an insider's tip to help you feel ready and excited for interview.
Health, safety and wellbeing: talk us through how you plan, prepare and carry out a piece of fieldwork safely – a cull, a fencing job, a working-at-height task.
We hope the information on our website, and in this pack, has inspired you to apply. Please be bold, be creative, and most importantly, be yourself throughout the whole process. Good luck.
