Tree Health Pilot Woodland Officer

Job summary

Protecting our country from pests and diseases is vital to safeguard the value our trees provide to the environment, economy and our health. As well as commercial timber, forests and trees deliver many non-market public goods such as carbon sequestration, air pollution absorption, biodiversity, recreation, landscape value, noise, flood and heat reduction and a whole range of other benefits. Delivering and enhancing the public goods delivered by healthy trees is a top priority for the Forestry Commission and Defra as demonstrated in the 25 Year Environmental Plan and the Tree Health Resilience Strategy.

Owing to several factors including climate change and growing globalisation in trade and travel, the threats to our trees from pests and diseases have risen dramatically over the past 20 years. Several of our most prominent broadleaf species are threatened, for example ash from ash dieback, oak from Acute Oak Decline and Oak Processionary Moth and four of our major conifer species are impacted by current outbreaks of Phytophthora and Ips typographus.

This post will complement our existing Tree Health Pilot Woodland Officer and Plant Health Officer from the Forestry Commission’s specialist Plant Heath Forestry operational team working across the south and east of England. In particular, proactively engaging and supporting woodland owners impacted by the eight toothed spruce bark beetle Ips typographus facilitating the removal of spruce trees impacted by the beetle and restocking the woodland concerned.

Job description

Working with the Area Team, Forestry Plant Health and the Tree Health Incentives policy colleagues, the post holder will facilitate and deliver tree health grants to land managers and groups of land managers to help manage tree pest and disease outbreaks and support restocking of trees. They will support the Area team in carrying out core Woodland officer work involving other grants and licences.

These roles are based in either:

• South East England with easy access to either of our offices near Tonbridge or Farnham. The focus of the work will be Kent, Sussex and Surrey, but may well extend beyond this to the wider South East
• East and East Midlands, within a 1 hour commute of either Santon Downham or Fineshades

The successful candidate will be expected to:

Promotion and Engagement

• Lead targeted promotion and engagement of Tree Health Grants with stakeholders and potential applicants, particularly where alternative support to existing grant schemes is required.
• Encourage collaboration between landowners to improve tree health resilience at a landscape scale.
• Use local intelligence, data and evidence to identify pest and disease outbreaks and suitable grant applicants.
• Provide advice on tree pest and disease management as part of wider woodland and tree management objectives.

Protecting and Improving Trees and Woodlands in England

• Support woodland owners and managers in responding to tree pests and diseases, including Ips typographus, Ash Dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, Sweet Chestnut Blight and Oak Processionary Moth.
• Support woodland owners in delivering resilient woodland recovery and restocking following tree health-related felling operations.
• Assess Tree Health Grant applications to ensure they deliver maximum impact, value for money and long-term outcomes.
• Identify and facilitate opportunities to work across the forestry supply chain to promote best practice and maximise the utilisation of timber felled for tree health and resilience purposes.
• Ensure tree health management activities comply with relevant environmental legislation and provide advice on regulatory requirements.
• Promote high standards of biosecurity across the forestry sector.
• Champion the environmental, social and economic benefits of resilient woodlands and support landowners in developing long-term woodland management solutions where appropriate.
• Support the region and colleagues by carrying out core Woodland officer work involving processing other grants , Felling licences and Woodland Management plans

Support Learning from Experience

• Contribute to Forestry Commission and Defra project meetings, capturing lessons learned and helping to shape future incentive packages and support mechanisms for land managers.

Working with Other Schemes and Partners

• Support land managers following tree health interventions by promoting ongoing woodland management and future support opportunities.
• Work closely with partner organisations and stakeholders to maximise collective resources and improve long-term woodland resilience.
• Collaborate with Forestry Commission teams delivering environmental land management support to ensure a coordinated approach to government assistance for the forestry sector.

Person specification

Person Specification – Essential Experience

• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and customers.
• Experience of practical woodland management.
• Ability to prioritise and manage a varied workload effectively.
• Good IT skills, including experience of Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and ArcGIS (or equivalent GIS software).
• Knowledge of field-based health and safety requirements.
• Full UK driving licence.

Person Specification – Desirable Experience

• Knowledge of a range of UK tree pests and diseases and/or relevant operational tree health experience, together with an understanding of current legislation.
• Ability to proactively manage complex and potentially contentious issues involving people, trees and woodland interests, while delivering positive outcomes.
• Experience and knowledge of forestry regulation, grant incentives and plant health.
• Professional membership of the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF), or working towards chartered status.
• Experience of promoting, designing and establishing new woodland.
• Experience of working in partnership with a range of delivery organisations and stakeholders.
• Experience of supporting market development and growth within the forestry sector.

Licences

Full UK driving license

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Proven knowledge and experience of lowland forestry/woodland management
• Degree/Higher Diploma in forestry / land management / countryside management and/or significant equivalent and related experience in forestry / woodland practice

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,537, Forestry Commission contributes £10,874 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• • A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of