Overview
Senior Ranger – Tablelands. Ready to lead, protect and inspire? The Senior Ranger is a dynamic, primarily office-based leadership role at the heart of managing some of Queensland's most loved parks and reserves. You'll lead a geographically dispersed team, set clear priorities, allocate resources, and turn strategy into action while tracking outcomes that matter. The role involves shaping local procedures and tackling complex cultural and environmental challenges to safeguard landscapes that include parts of the World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics. The position includes oversight of emergency and incident response in busy, high-visitation recreation areas, management of impacts from both nature and people, and helping deliver safe, memorable visitor experiences. The role spans the Tinaroo, Mareeba and Lake Eacham Management Units, with an exciting expansion on the horizon.
Position details
Senior Ranger - AO5 - Tablelands Management Area. The opportunity combines leadership, big-picture thinking and protection of extraordinary places. While the role is primarily office based, decisions will shape ground activity—setting priorities, allocating resources, tracking outcomes and turning ideas into practical, on-the-ground results. You'll contribute to planning and problem-solving, developing local strategies, procedures and practices that support conservation, visitor safety and sustainable recreation.
Responsibilities
* Lead a geographically dispersed team that looks after some of Queensland's most spectacular and heavily visited parks and reserves.
* Develop local strategies, procedures and practices that support conservation, visitor safety and sustainable recreation.
* Provide expert advice on cultural and environmental matters, including assessing and managing the impacts of natural events and human activity across parks and conservation reserves (some areas fall within the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics).
* Manage emergency and incident response with strong coordination, clear decision-making and positive outcomes for visitors, staff and the environment.
* Guide project management and reporting; provide enforcement and compliance leadership.
* Collaborate with public contact teams and build relationships with local conservation groups, community stakeholders and First Nations corporations to support shared land management and conservation goals.
* Support infrastructure development and maintenance, natural and cultural resource management, and positive public contact across the QPWS estate within the five focus areas: Pest Management, Fire Management, Estate Management, Visitor Management, and Assets and Safety (dependent on operational needs).
Qualifications and requirements
* Experience in leadership roles within parks, forests or conservation environments, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and a dispersed team.
* Ability to develop and implement local strategies and procedures that support conservation, visitor safety and sustainable recreation.
* Knowledge of cultural and environmental matters and the ability to assess and manage impacts of natural events and human activity across protected areas.
* Experience in emergency and incident response, with capability to coordinate effectively in high-visitation settings.
* Strong collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills, including working with communities, conservation groups and First Nations organizations.
* Familiarity with legislation relevant to protected areas ((e.g., Nature Conservation Act 1992, Recreation Areas Management Act 2006, Marine Parks Act 2004, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, Forestry Act 1959) as applicable to the role.
Other information
If you're ready to lead with purpose, protect remarkable places and make a lasting difference, this is the role for you. Applications to remain current for 12 months.
Occupational group Primary Industry & Environment
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