Woodland Officer

Job summary

The Forestry Commission are the Government's forestry experts, and facilitate the protection, improvement, expansion and connection of England's trees, woodlands and forestry sector. Never has there been a more important time for trees and forests to help tackle the climate emergency and provide a much-needed sanctuary for people and wildlife.

Our Prime Minister and our government are committed as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan to increasing the tree canopy cover across England from the current 14.5% to at least 16.5% by 2050 – this means 34,000 ha of new tree cover by 2028.

This acceleration in current planting rates in England will contribute to meeting the net-zero by 2050 ambitions, and to government’s wider environmental targets.

Forestry Commission will lead the delivery of the following parts of the tree-planting programme:

Developing sector capacity. Woodland creation on public land. Woodland creation on private land.

If you are passionate about the role of forestry in creating a better future for England, and want to play a key part in realising that, we want to hear from you.

By joining the Forestry Commission, you will become part of a team of passionate, committed colleagues, and be able to build on a wealth of expertise to take this ambitious work forward. You will be able to make your mark by helping the Forestry Commission to revolutionise how we work together and reach new stakeholders.

Our staff engagement levels are consistently well above the Civil Service average and staff turnover is well below. We value our people, we look after them, and we will look after you. We hope you will join us for the challenge.

Job description

We are seeking 2 dynamic individuals to join our team, with experience in forestry and/or land management, who are quick to learn and inspire and enthuse others.

The Woodland Officer (WO) role can be seen as the ‘face’ of the Forestry Commission to landowners, managers and stakeholders. Each team member has their own geographic area of primary responsibility, enabling them to develop a strategic view of the local landscape, a network of local stakeholders and understanding of the challenges and opportunities.

In your ‘patch’, you will be at the forefront of delivering the Forestry Commission’s incentives and regulations, and able to provide advice and support to the private forestry sector in addition to Local Authorities and Defra colleagues. Internal team working is also integral in the Woodland Officer role, for example across the Area Team (e.g. assisting others in ‘alleged unlicensed felling’ incidents) and the wider Forestry Commission (e.g. opportunity for review of national guidance and procedure). Through both, you will have the ability to assist the Forestry Commission build strong working relationships to help create and manage diverse, resilient multi-purpose woodlands.

You will:

1. Expand woodland cover:

• Champion the multiple benefits of new woodland as business opportunities for land owner and as natural capital (including biodiversity, water quality, flood management, carbon sequestration/substitution, etc) for the wider environment and society;
• Facilitate the design and delivery of new woodlands optimising the benefits they can deliver to the owner and as natural capital;
• Administer the forestry Regulations relating to woodland creation (Environmental Impact Assessment); and
• Administer/process applications for grants.

2. Protect our existing trees and woodlands:

• Administer Forestry Regulations to include:
  Forestry Act – Felling Licences to ensure tree felling is carried out legally in accordance with the principles of the UK Forestry Standard as appropriate;
  ii. Environmental Impact Assessments – afforestation, deforestation, forest roads and forest quarries, and
  iii. Habitats Regulations – re forest operations within Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation;
• Advise on the links with other legislation such as those pertaining to European Protected Species; and
• Provide specialist advice to planning authorities re the impact of proposals on existing woodland and how new trees and woodland could be used to enhance new developments.

3. Improve the condition and resilience of our existing woodlands and wider treescape:

• Champion the benefits of actively managed woodland;
• Support woodland owners and managers in responding to key challenges of pests and diseases including Chalara ash dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, deer and grey squirrels;
• Work to increase resilience within woodlands to the challenges of a changing climate; and
• Facilitate closer working across the forestry sector – for instance between markets, contractors, managers, etc

4. Engaging partners, stakeholders and the public:

• Encourage, enthuse and support key partners and stakeholders to help facilitate the expansion, protection, improvement and connection of our woodlands and treescape; and
• Champion the many values of trees and woodland to the wider public helping them understand and appreciate the importance and values of active management.

Person specification

Essential technical skills:

• Knowledge and experience of upland and/or lowland forestry
• Degree/Higher Diploma in forestry / land management / countryside management or similar, and/or related experience in forestry / woodland practice.

Other essential skills:

• Good interpersonal and influencing skills demonstrating the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with internal colleagues and our customers.
• Ability to prioritise and manage a varied workload.
• Good computer skills with experience of MS Office and Excel
• Ability to proactively deal with complex and contentious issues relating to people and woodland interests, leading to the delivery of project outcomes and development of work areas as necessary.

Please clearly demonstrate how the above applies to you throughout your application. Failure to do so will mean that your application is automatically sifted out.

Desirable skills:

• Working knowledge of the UK Forestry Standard
• Experience and knowledge of forestry regulations, incentives and tree health
• Experience of promoting, designing and establishing new woodland
• Experience of working in partnership across delivery organisations, including with stakeholders who may have conflicting views or objectives
• Membership of (or working towards) a relevant professional institute (e.g. Institute of Chartered Foresters)
• Evidence of maintaining Continuous Professional Development.

We welcome applications from candidates who are currently completing a relevant degree or Higher National Diploma. However, successful applicants must obtain their degree or diploma within the first 6 months of employment.

Licences

UK Driving Licence

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

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

• Proven knowledge and experience of upland and/or lowland forestry

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.