Invergeldie Estate Ranger: Stalking & Estate Operations

Picture this. You're out on a stalk at first light, red deer moving across the hill and Ben Chonzie lit up behind you. By late morning you are mending a stretch of fence that stands between 1.5 million young trees and the herbivores that would happily eat them. By the afternoon you are fixing a pothole, mending a leak or sanding and oiling wooden signs.

No two days are the same, and every one of them matters.

STOP. Before you file this away as another estate job, let us be clear about what this is. Invergeldie is a conservation estate of 11,701 acres in one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland, and it is the site of an ambitious programme of woodland creation, peatland restoration, river restoration and nature recovery. We are looking for a genuinely capable, practical person who can turn their hand to almost anything, and who wants their work to count.

If that is you, read on.

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:

• 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.

• Exacting standards: a sharp eye for detail and a deep commitment to doing things properly, safely and to a standard you would be happy to sign your name to.

• A feel for the wild: a love of the natural world, rural Scotland and hill country, and a belief in restoring land rather than simply managing it.

• Up for it: fuelled by hard work outdoors in all weathers, and by the idea of helping build something that has never been done at this scale before.

• Steady under pressure: priorities here change with the weather, the season and the deer. You keep a cool head and get the important things done.

• 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.

• A team player: happy working alongside our Estate Manager and Estate Ranger, our specialist deer contractor and a wide range of trades and neighbours.

• Good with people: comfortable representing Invergeldie and Oxygen Conservation well, whoever we are working with.

• Kindness and Approachability: And, of course, you have to be the kind of person people want to share a hill with. Sharing snacks on a long day or a packed lunch out in the rain is mandatory.

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.

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…