Woodland Officer – Yorkshire and North East

The current contingent of Woodland Officers are based on Local Authority boundaries within Yorkshire and the North East. The 2 vacant roles are:

• Woodland Officer (Plant Health focus)
• Woodland Officer (Earth Observation focus)

Both of these roles can be based in either the Yorkshire area or the North East area. If the successful applicant chooses Yorkshire, then they will work in a hybrid homeworking fashion with Foss House, York as the reporting point. If the candidate chooses the North East, they will work in a hybrid homeworking fashion with Tyneside House, Newcastle as the reporting point.

It is important to note that these roles may be subject to minor revisions in geography in the future, depending on the needs of the team.

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.

The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Forestry Commission have setup a joint tree planting programme for England to support the forestry sector, landowners and communities in the delivery of these ambitions.

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.

The Yorkshire and North East Area contains over 212,000 hectares of woodland ranging from important habitat networks of Ancient Woodlands through to large productive conifer forests. In the North East the predominant woodland type is conifer (64.5%) whereas in Yorkshire and the Humber broadleaves form the most significant component (41.5%). This diverse range of woodland types extends over 4 National Parks, 3 Areas of Outstanding National Beauty and through the urban woodland resource is also connected to Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. The Area Team operates from the Defra Office (Kings Pool) in York and the Environment Agency Office in Newcastle.

We are seeking two dynamic individuals to join our team, with experience in forestry and/or land management, and 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.

The vacancies available are described in detail below.

Woodland Officer role (two positions available):

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.

The main job roles include:

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.

Essential technical skills:

• Proven knowledge and experience of upland and/or lowland forestry
• Degree/Higher Diploma in forestry / land management / countryside management or similar, and/or significant equivalent and 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
• Experience in facilitating market growth in the forestry sector
• Membership of (or working towards) a relevant professional institute (e.g. Institute of Chartered Foresters)
• Evidence of maintaining Continuous Professional Development.

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

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

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

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

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• A range of family friendly benefits.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment.
• 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.

Job contact :

• Name : FS Recruitment
• Email : fs.recruitment@forestrycommission.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk