Northern Wildlife Operations is part of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, however, most of the work our team does is outside of national parks. We work with contentious wildlife including crocodiles, cassowaries and flying foxes. In saying that, much of what we do is people management, as we strive to help communities live alongside wildlife by reducing conflict, educating and enhancing public safety.
We often work in remote locations with few luxuries, dealing with difficult situations including fatal crocodile attacks on people and cassowary vehicle strikes. It can be challenging both physically and mentally, however, we have a great team, supportive management and get to see some amazing places throughout northern Queensland.
There is no set path or background that the Northern Operations Wildlife team. We pride ourselves on having a very diverse team with a broad range of skillsets.
Most of our team have a degree (usually Ecology, Zoology, Marine Biology etc), but not all. It's certainly not a requirement, and some of those who do have degrees have qualifications in other disciplines altogether. A good understanding of ecology is key, and we recognise this knowledge can come from a number of other avenues outside of formal training.
There are a number of selection criteria that we formally look for as part of any application process, but there are a number of other attributes within those that might not be immediately apparent or specifically asked for:
Teamwork – we often work in difficult situations and with dangerous animals, and we expect on team players to get the job done safely and support each other.
Communication skills – Our job is minimise conflict between humans and wildlife, which leads to better overall conservation outcomes. We need officers who can effectively communicate with the entire spectrum of the general public - and their belief systems - to lead towards positive outcomes for (or at least a balance between) humans and wildlife.
Attitude – Are you an expert? Do you think someone with your background should be doing more important tasks? Or do you jump in and give everything a go? Do you demonstrate initiative and want to learn more? Attitude is very difficult to quantify, and even more difficult to demonstrate in an application, but it's one of the most important aspects from our perspective. One example is doing unpaid volunteer work to get more experience or contacts. Another example might be persistently applying with the department, even if you are not successful the first few times. We notice that stuff.
Critical thinking skills – Our officers are required to deal with a variety of situations and tasks, and the ability to critically analyse the information in front of you (or know when to seek more) to make a sound decision or recommendation is very important to our day to day business.
Resilience – This is a critical attribute for all our officers. Wildlife Officers are frequently in challenging situations with the public, and sometimes in very stressful situations. We take this very seriously and have a number of support structures to assist our officers. We don't need robots; we need people who have the capacity to recover, deal with frequent challenges and can bounce back from setbacks.
Our entry-level role earns approximately $54891 - $58309 annually, with opportunities for overtime and travel allowances. Many entry-level positions are on short-term contracts but should not be overlooked as extensions are fairly common.