Establishment Manager

Job summary

As Establishment Manager you will report to the Head of Forestry, Timber and Woodland Creation as part of the operational delivery team where you will work alongside the Timber Harvesting, Marketing Manager, and Woodland Creation Manager. You will also work closely with the Planning, Environment and Heritage and Civil Engineering managers within the team led by the Head of Operational Support and Nature Recovery. You will lead and direct the Establishment Team, including the tractor fleet engaged on ground prep operations, and, with them, will work to support the Beat Foresters in achieving restock targets.

You will work collaboratively with other teams and functions to deliver the wider Forest District Business Plan and District Strategy, championing improvement in our health & safety culture ensuring that forest operations are managed in line with industry’s best standards and maintaining compliance with UKFS and UKWAS. You will promote silvicultural innovation, taking into account nature recovery goals, climate change adaptation and resilience.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Leadership Responsibility

Provide a clear sense of direction and accountability for the Establishment Team and work in support of Beat Foresters providing leadership, guidance and inspiration. Line manage PB5s across the Forestry, Timber and Woodland Creation Team as required. Promote a positive and inclusive culture in the team and actively foster
cross functional.

Collaboration and Support

Ensure compliance with organisational guidance and procedures and communicate the importance of working safely, to manage risk across operations for staff, contractors, and customers embed a culture of continuous improvement, promoting learning and development opportunities amongst the team as well as a wider network of partners, contractors, and volunteers.

Strategic Responsibility

Develop silvicultural strategies to meet organisational objectives and recognising the challenges of changing weather patterns and increasing threats from pests and diseases. Communicate our strategy and the value of our work to colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders.

Management of Resources

Work closely with the District Head of Finance to manage budgets responsibly and efficiently monitoring spend across the Beats and Establishment Team and reallocating resources as priorities change. Support the beat teams to enable effective delivery of Sustainable Land Management programmes, projects and business as usual operations by efficient management of resources support the preparation of the annual business plan, reforecasting and reporting on budgets and key performance indicators throughout the year leadership of the team of beat foresters.

Stakeholder Engagement, Representation and Communications

Work collaboratively with colleagues across the district and wider organisation and maintain professional and productive relationships with stakeholders across all beat and project interests.

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• A proven track record in leading teams of staff & managing contractors, customer and other stakeholder relations.
• Experience of planning and delivering crop establishment operations in line with industry standards, as well as successfully integrating a collaborative approach to team working.
• Experience of budget management, financial monitoring, and cost control.
• A skilled problem solver, who is open to innovation.
• Knowledge of Forest Resilience and the role that low impact silvicultural systems have to play.

Qualifications

Essential

• A degree or further education in forestry or related land-based discipline or equivalent professional/technical expertise attained through relevant work experience.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission contributes £11,700 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

How to apply…

We cannot accept applications via email. Please follow the steps outlined below. Any CVs and/or personal statements sent outside the system will not be considered for shortlisting.

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Leadership
• Working together
• Managing a quality service
• Making effective decisions

You may also be assessed on Experience, Strength based questions, and/or the Technical Success Profile at the interview. The technical element could include a presentation, practical or written task.

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email [email removed].

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.

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