Job Profile: Lecturer in Land-based studies

low sun streaming through the trees over a wetland — Our wetland site, the water meadows (Ellen Riddick)

Name: Ellen Riddick

Employer: City College Norwich

Location: Easton College, Norwich

Job Responsibilities

Teaching a variety of subjects across the land-based sector at levels 2, 3 and access to higher education. Course tutor for the level 2 land and wildlife management group which involves interviewing and enrolling students, organising the course throughout the year and communicating with parents where necessary. Communication with employers in the industry and organising any trips or talks from relevant organisations. One of the most important parts of my job role is to build rapport with students and ensure a safe environment for their learning and development.

Majority of time is spent doing:

Teaching (units include ecological concepts, environmental interpretation, population surveys, bioscience, biochemistry, urban habitats, species identification and surveying, management of British habitats)
Lesson planning
Research to ensure lessons are up to date
Organising practical activities
Pastoral care for students
Getting outside as much as possible!

person in wellies with a rucksack bending over writing on paper — Live fieldwork- minus the clipboard! (Ellen Riddick)

Time is spent mainly indoors / outdoors: The great thing about this job role is that we have the freedom to do both. Teaching a land-based course such as land and wildlife management means that there will of course be both practical and theoretical elements anyway, and most of the students that join prefer the outdoor-based learning. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful site with a range of habitat types on our doorstep, and therefore we try and incorporate this into lessons as much as possible, from surveys to practical management work.

Seasonal variation: We are teaching our students to be industry professionals and therefore ensure our students understand codes of practice and legislation when it comes to seasonal work. Management tasks are undertaken predominantly over winter/early spring, and although we teach surveys year-round, survey assessments are undertaken over spring/summer months.

Qualifications needed:

Relevant qualification in land-based sector (e.g university degree), GCSE grade C/4 or above, teaching experience for a range of levels/abilities. If you do not have a L5 (or above) qualification in education, you will be required to undertake this (at the expense of the college).

There is a push for colleges to employ people from the specialist industries based on their experiences and knowledge rather than directly from teaching qualifications and this is something I was not aware of before applying to this job!

Additional training: Up to date DBS, tickets are not essential but preferred (e.g brush cutting/ chainsaw/ ATV)

Skills needed:

Patience, empathy and understanding- you never know what’s going on behind the scenes that influences behaviour.
Passion and enthusiasm for the subject
Desire to keep up to date with new land-based information, as this is an industry that is constantly changing
Organisation
Team work- our teams are very small, and therefore it is crucial that teamwork spirit is embedded

camera still of an otter coming out of a pond — Camera trap footage from one of our student-lead projects - Otter (Ellen Riddick)

Advice to anyone looking at similar roles

A passion for the subject you teach is essential. The teacher’s attitude will reflected by the students, and although there is a lot of work behind the scenes when it comes to teaching, the moment a student comes to tell you about their weekend wildlife finds or a job offer in the industry it all becomes worth it.

If you have any queries about this role or would like to ask a question of the job holder please contact Ellen on ellen.riddick@ccn.ac.uk

Find out more about the courses at Easton College on the website