Change Manager

Job summary

As part of the Forestry Commission (FC), Forest Services (FS) are the Government's forestry experts. We advise nationally and locally on how to unlock the full potential of woodlands and support the forestry sector to protect, improve and expand England’s valuable woodland assets, ensuring that they continue to provide benefits to people, the environment and the economy.

The Business Transformation team within Forest Services is responsible for driving transformational change and continual business improvement. It includes teams of change and project management professionals alongside development teams (teams of business analysis professionals headed up by development managers).

We are looking for enthusiastic experienced change professionals to help us develop and implement business transformation projects, from developing new systems and processes to improving our ways of working. We encourage applications from those with experience of supporting IT and systems change, as well as broader cultural and transformational change.

Job description

The Change Manager role supports the delivery of business transformation projects across Forest Services, undertaking change management activities which enable staff and stakeholders to embrace new ways of working. The role works closely with colleagues in project management, business analysis, and delivery teams, to deliver high quality projects which help to achieve our organisational vision: more and better protected trees and woodlands that deliver for society, the climate, nature and a greener economy – for today and for future generations.

Your key work areas will consist of:

• Facilitating and delivering change activities at all stages of the project life cycle, from vision, through to readiness, training, benefits realisation and project closure
• Managing a range of change projects, identifying dependencies and ensuring that changes are understood, implemented and embedded as business as usual
• Gathering information about projects being delivered across the organisation, to help us better coordinate, assess, and prioritise organisational change
• Supporting rollout/implementation of Change Management tools and templates, to ensure a consistent approach across the organisation
• Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, building and maintaining good working relationships to help meet forestry objectives
• Helping to promote cross-team working through effective engagement with teams outside of your immediate work area

Person specification

A positive and enthusiastic change professional, you will have:

• Experience of managing and delivering organisational and systems change projects across the project lifecycle
• Evidence of strong communication and interpersonal skills used to implement change successfully
• Experience of developing tailored engagement strategies for working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to manage a busy workload and quickly respond to emerging or changing priorities
• Change management qualification(s), and/or significant equivalent experience
• Project management qualification(s), and/ or significant equivalent experience

Please clearly demonstrate how the above applies to you throughout your application.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Knowledge and applicable understanding of formal change methodologies and techniques for effective Change Management.

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 (opens in a new window) with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• A range of wellbeing benefits including discounted Civil Service Healthcare, access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme, plus many more.
• 25 days annual leave, with 1 additional day for each years’ service up to 5 years (pro rata), plus 10.5 bank holidays/privilege days (pro rata).
• Ability to buy or sell 5 days annual leave.
• 3 days volunteering per year (pro rata).

We aim to provide a great place to work, whichever location you work from. Blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. It is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home, and some of the week from our Forestry Commission workplaces, subject to role requirements, business needs, and regular review. Informal blended working arrangements will be available as agreed with the line manager. Further information will be available for candidates invited to interview.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Fixed Term Appointment until 30th March 2027 with possibility of extension or permanency, but no guarantee.

As part of the application process, you will complete the following:

1. A tailored CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. The CV will be split into 2 parts and request: Job History, Full Qualification Details.
2. A personal statement- in no more than 750 words please provide details of how you meet the criteria of the person specification.
3. You will also be asked to provide a 250-word statement relating to the Technical Skills on the application form.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

At interview, you will be assessed against Behaviours and Experience.

Indicative timeline:

- Shortlisting to take place w/c 21st September 2026

- Interviews to be carrie