Job profiles

There are many different types of jobs at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, most of them very different from one another and many of them specialist in nature.

To give an idea of the kind of opportunities that we can offer, we have asked some of our officers to talk about their jobs. Click on the job title to find out more.

You could also visit our Ranger Spotlight section to find out who's in the spotlight this week talking about how they came to be a ranger and what's good about the job.

Each of the 12 National Park Authorities in England and Wales (New Forest National Park Authority from 1 April 2006) has control over all planning issues within the area for which it has responsibility.

Katherine Wood first decided she wanted to work here while she was at university and she is now a senior planning officer responsible for development control in the Craven area of the National Park.

“Our job is to guide the public and their agents through the planning system for any new development they want to carry out within the National Park.

Development could be anything from building a house to digging a ditch, from changing the use of land to carrying out a new activity.

There are two main strands to the job. The first is answering general inquiries and giving pre-application advice regarding the acceptability of the development proposed.

The second is dealing with the planning applications themselves, notifying everyone who might be affected and consulting with the relevant organisations like the parish councils.

I collate all the responses, consider the proposal with regard to Local Plan policy and make a recommendation for approval or refusal based on that or, if I feel there is an alternative, I negotiate with applicants.

The planning process often raises conflicts with interested parties. I find the best way to dealing with this is to give everybody the opportunity to comment and to encourage discussion of any matters of concern.

I enjoy working as a planner in the National Park because I think planning helps to maintain its appearance while still balancing the interests of those who live and work here.”

This link will take you back up the page to a list of of other roles within the Authority.

Matt Neale is Area Ranger for Upper Wensleydale and is one of eight Area Rangers who cover the 1,762 sq kms (680 sq miles) of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

“From my teens I always wanted to be a National Park Ranger and I first started working for the Authority in 1992 while I was taking a National Diploma in Countryside Recreation.

A Ranger’s job involves a wide range of different skills – such as conserving wildlife, managing public access, repairing eroded routes and working with school groups.

Our main role is managing public access within the National Park – acting as ambassadors for the work of the YDNPA and encouraging a responsible use of the countryside and an understanding of how it works.

In addition, we are a point of contact for landowners, residents and farmers when they want to talk to someone in the Authority about issues like public rights of way or woodland management.

An important part of the job at the moment is keeping track of some of the new legislation like the Countryside and Rights Of Way Act and we have the power to put in place restrictions to protect an area or the public by excluding access in certain situations.

We also have to mediate between visitors and the people who live and work within the Park and we have to make sure people are not creating a nuisance either to wildlife or to other National Park users.

We are responsible for the Access Rangers, who carry out the practical work on a day-to-day basis, like repairing gates and footbridges, and we also have a team of 150 Dales Volunteers that assists us in our role.

There is a lot of responsibility involved in the job but it is full of variety – and what a place to work!”

This link will take you back up the page to a list of of other roles within the Authority.

Jon Avison started work with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority over 25 years ago as the area warden for Malhamdale. He is now our Head of Park Management and Deputy Chief Executive.

“My key role is to manage the department and facilitate things to allow other people to provide the services they are responsible for. I draw up all the Authority’s access and recreation policies and implement them and I oversee the work we do with Dales Volunteers, on sustainable transport and through the ranger service.

“Most of my time is taken up with meetings either with internal groups of people or with external partners. A lot of my work is with Members of the Authority and with the senior management team developing the policies that will protect and preserve the Park for future generations and give people the opportunity to enjoy it.

“As Deputy Chief Executive I take on specific roles like looking at performance management in certain areas of the Authority and deputising for the Chief Executive.

“I spent years out on the fells doing walling and the practical things. What I enjoy most about my job now is managing people and making sure we have the right staff.

“I think what we do is incredibly worthwhile because the Dales are a wonderful place. Having been brought up here and having worked here all my life, I’m committed to the area.”

This link will take you back up the page to a list of of other roles within the Authority.

Catherine Kemp is the Authority’s Outreach Officer, regularly making contact with and keeping in touch with community groups in towns and cities like Bradford and Keighley.

“I work with people primarily from urban areas that surround the Yorkshire Dales National Park who are either unaware it is here or do know, would like to visit but don’t.

I contact networks of community groups and supply them with information about the National Park, what there is to do and how to get here. I think people have a right to know that it is here for them as much as for anyone else.

I organise visits and walks with Dales Volunteers in the hope the groups will enjoy the experience and come back again and I also arrange a variety of events including cricket matches and play schemes.

I have found many people living outside the National Park know the Dales are here but it isn’t in their minds to come and pay them a visit. They don’t know how they are expected to behave, what they are expected to do, whether they will be welcome or how to get here.

My job is to fill in the blanks and show them the Yorkshire Dales are fun – to provide the information and then the experience to back up that information.

As well as improving mental and physical well being, I think it’s really important for people to have access to the countryside for their sense of belonging – it’s what these communities have lost.”

This link will take you back up the page to a list of of other roles within the Authority.

The Trees and Woodland Officer is responsible for implementing the Dales woodland strategy which is drawn up by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

We need robust, healthy woodland within the National Park. There are a lot of important, ancient, semi-natural woodlands – areas which have had trees on them for at least 400 years – and they have developed their own, unique groups of flowers which are almost impossible to replace. Woodland can also be of benefit to wildlife and domestic livestock that use it for shelter.

The main aim is to preserve what we have and to extend it. We have to help identify the sites that need managing or planting and make it happen.

We do this by encouraging landowners and farmers to manage the woodlands in such a way that they can be used – if possible generating an income – and therefore regenerated.

The majority of our work involves talking to the landowners, farmers and partners like the Forestry Commission and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to bring together the projects and the funding for them.

We give advice on the types of trees that should be planted and work closely with other Authority staff responsible for protecting the wildlife.

This link will take you back up the page to a list of of other roles within the Authority.