Forest Craftsperson

Job summary

You will support the beat forester shaping the land we manage doing a range of operations and inspections in the forest, including helping with practical matters that may arise. Be a champion of our health & safety culture demonstrating our value of ‘look out and look after’ in our work.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Operational:

• Restock and establishment work: hand planting, tree guard installation, repairing fences and controlling vegetation.
• Clearing and maintaining trees: high pruning, cutting back and felling.
• Tree safety management: Inspections (LANTRA Basic Tree survey certification), managing forest users (safety signs and safety fencing) and remedial work (felling, prepare for/assist arb contractors).
• Tree survey work related to managing potentially hazardous trees.
• Estate maintenance: vegetation and tree management alongside our roads, rides, rights of way and permissive paths. Installing and repairing gates/barriers.
• Make sure work programmes you are responsible for are delivered effectively and efficiently.
• A variety of surveys and inspections related to timber marketing and forest management; tariffing (timber mensuration), stocking density, ecological, recreation trail inspections and many more.
• When needed, gather operational data accurately and efficiently and maintain appropriate up to date records to the standard required.
• Assist in the delivery of projects centered around Wild Areas and occasional Woodland creation activities.

Team working and health and safety:

• Operate and maintain tools and resources to required standards and make sure work on site meets our health and safety standards.
• By effectively liaising with colleagues and stakeholders, plan, implement and deliver efficient work programmes that help meet Forestry England’s aims and objectives.
• Carrying out risk assessments working to high health and safety standards which are guided by FISA (Forest Industry Safety Accord).

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• Practical experience in forestry or countryside / environmental management.
• General understanding of forestry, arboriculture, nature conservation, outdoor recreation and countryside-related issues.
• Competently use a range of hand tools.
• Awareness of health and safety systems relevant to practical countryside work e.g. risk assessments, Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA) guides and lone working systems.
• Competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, and ability to work effectively alone and as part of a team.

Qualifications

Essential

• City & Guilds NPTC Level 2 Award or equivalent in one or more practical forestry skills such as chainsaw maintenance, cross cutting, and felling and processing trees up to 380mm or equivalent qualification.
• Full UK driving license; however, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

Desirable

• Forestry or land management qualification.
• Further NPTC and Lantra qualifications in Forestry based skills.
• Emergency first aid at work + forestry (F).
• A GCSE in Maths and English or functional skills equivalent

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,959, Forestry Commission contributes £7,810 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

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 –

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

You may also be assessed on Experience, 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.

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing th