Careers and recruitment

Recruitment 

The Cairngorms National Park is a spectacular place to live and work. As a Park Authority we are committed to being the best small public sector body in Scotland and our dedicated staff team are working hard to take care of this special place.  

As an organisation we firmly believe in equality, and that everyone, no matter who they are, where they come from, what their beliefs or their needs are, should be able to enjoy, benefit from, and take care of the Cairngorms National Park.  

Working for the Park Authority 

The Park Authority has frequently been recognised as an employer of choice, making it to a recent Top Ten Employers to Work for list, the UK’s top “best not-for-profit companies to work for” and achieving recognition at the Family Friendly Working Scotland Top Employers award. These are all signs of our commitment both to the National Park, and our employees.  

The Cairngorms National Park Authority work to uphold four key principles: passion and dedication, community, being pioneering and inspiring leadership. 

We believe in supporting our employees to be the best that they can be, with an excellent benefits package including: 

• Membership of the civil service pension scheme and salary sacrifice schemes, such as cycle to work
• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days, increasing to 30 days after 5 years of service, plus 11.5 public holidays
• Flexible and hybrid working with a default expectation of 50 per cent of working hours spent in the office
• Enhanced support to prioritise staff wellbeing including a wellbeing room providing quiet and private space for staff who need it, free access to an Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders on site.
• Professional development and training opportunities, plus paid days per year to spend volunteering
• Great office facilities including shower rooms, indoor and outdoor drying spaces, secure bike sheds and bike maintenance stations with charging facilities for e-bikes, breast feeding and baby changing facilities and access to a fleet of pool cars.  

Equality, diversity and inclusion  

As an employer, and through our work as an organisation, we recognise that a continued focus on equalities is vital. We work closely with valued partners to ensure that we are continually learning, and acting, so that we can be the most welcoming and inclusive employer that we can be. This strengthens our work as an organisation by ensuring that diverse perspectives inform everything that we do, however there is still lots of work to do in this area. 

This work is supported by our internal Equality Advocacy Group, made up of staff across the organisation who champion equality issues across the Park Authority, and our Equalities Advisory Panel which brings together experts from across the public, private and third sector. Both groups provide evidence-based feedback, guidance and advice, grounded wherever possible in lived experience to improve the work of the Park Authority.  

Equality report 2025

Equality mainstreaming and outcome report 2025

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This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Public Sector Equality Duty Report for 2025-2029. It outlines the organization's work on equality, diversity, and inclusion over the past two years, detailing initiatives like the Lived Experience Panel, new organizational principles, and policies supporting neurodiversity and staff well-being. The report also covers community engagement through the Cairngorms 2030 programme, improvements to visitor infrastructure, and efforts to achieve LGBTQ+ Charter accreditation. It further discusses mainstreaming equality within the Park Authority, including engagement and participation, corporate functions and processes, and service provision, as well as data and outcomes related to the Park Authority's staff and board.

Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.

Equality report appendices 2025

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This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (Park Authority) Equality Report 2025 Appendices. It contains a table of contents, six appendices and data relating to equality monitoring of staff and board members for 2023 and 2024, including equalities surveys, staff recruitment and retention statistics, and staff development statistics. Also, the document contains the equal pay audit for 2024, occupational segregation information, and a progress report on equality outcomes from 2021-2024. The report outlines planned actions for equality outcomes from 2025-2028, aiming to promote diversity, inclusion, and equitable access to nature and opportunities within the National Park.

Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.

Policies and guidance  

Our ambition - and one of our core equalities outcomes - is to have a diverse workforce where equality is mainstreamed throughout our organisational policies, culture and operations. To support this, we offer flexible and hybrid working, and have developed specific policies and guidance to ensure our approach to supporting staff around specific equality related issues is underpinned by best practice, and consistent.  

This includes policies around domestic abuse, neurodiversity, gender diversity and supporting staff through pregnancy loss, as well as guidance around fertility treatment, menstrual health and endometriosis. 

Partnerships, accreditations and memberships  

We’re proud to have partnered with Black Professionals UK, and to be working closely with the team to address the underrepresentation of Black and minoritised ethnic communities within the environment and public sector. 

We’ve also gained foundation level of the LGBT charter with LGBT Youth Scotland and are members of the Rainbow Enterprise Network. These partnerships support our increased focus on LGBTQ inclusion and outreach.  

We are an accredited Living Wage and Disability Confident employer and are committed to the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First criteria, demonstrating our commitment to fair and inclusive work.  

The Fair Work First criteria specifically include:   

• Appropriate channels for effective voice, such as our staff consultative forum. 
• Investment in workforce development through offering opportunities such as modern apprenticeships and supporting staff training and development.
• No zero hours contracts.
• Action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Payment of the real Living Wage to all employees.
• Policies and procedures to offer flexible and family friendly working for all workers from day one of employment.
• Oppose the use of fire and rehire practice.