Administration Officer

We are looking for two administrative officers to work within the Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Forestry (PHF team).  The successful candidates will provide administration support in relation to the delivery of operational, legislative, and policy-led plant health activities.

Forest Services as part of the Forestry Commission 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.

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.

The Plant Health Forestry team supports healthy trees, woods, and forests, now and in the future. We work together to prevent entry, provide early detection, and minimise impacts of harmful tree pests and diseases, and to ensure traceability of forestry planting material. These roles support maintaining and improving resilience, biosecurity and the interests of the forestry sector. The team has an important role at the border and pre-border and provides specialist targeted surveillance and outbreak management inland. We implement and advise relevant policy and regulation, working with our partners to contribute to and act upon current scientific evidence. We seek to embed and improve biosecurity through engagement and communication with the sector, and we work to identify, mitigate, and prepare for risks on the horizon.

These Administrative Officer posts focus primarily on the provision of support to the Plant Health Forestry team, to ensure Plant Health statutory actions are processed and progressed efficiently and precisely.

Work is varied and fast-paced and the successful candidates must be able to adapt to seasonal peaks and troughs in workload across the year in a dynamic way, working to established protocols and procedures.

The role will also involve helping the PHF team adapt to new ways of working using Office 365 and SharePoint technology, and the transition of sensitive case material from old to new systems.

Key Work Areas: 

• Handle enquiries, by email and telephone, from members of the public and other stakeholders, relating to imports, exports, pests or diseases.
• Support the administration of PHF28 ‘Certificate of Clearance’ forms and related phytosanitary certificates, including generating customer invoices.
• Obtain quotes, raise purchase orders, process invoices, and maintain an accurate record of quotes, financial commitments and payments.
• Provide support to the operational team to include management of an email inbox, booking meetings and conferences, planning and assisting with training events, ordering stock and consumables, printing / scanning, and other ad hoc tasks as appropriate.
• Work with colleagues to support a consistent response to pest and disease outbreaks across England by accurately recording information and data, producing reports, and sharing data as instructed.
• Provide assistance to other Plant Health Forestry Administrative Officers during periods of high demand such as data cleansing exercises, peaks in public reporting, and implementation of new systems or processes.
• Work with other members of the team to ensure our business processes are clearly defined. Keep processes under review, and identify, test and implement process improvements. 
• Process survey and inspection results using mapping software (ArcGIS) and Microsoft programmes (Access and Excel) and produce reports. Maintain databases and review / cleanse stored data.  Monitor incoming data, and request updates from partner organisations (e.g., Forest Research).
• As required, lead on, or participate in, workstreams or projects related to the work of the business support team, both within Plant Health Forestry and the wider Forest Services.

ESSENTIAL

• Experience working in an administrative post or posts
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to coordinate multiple work streams
• Excellent attention to detail
• Comfortable working with numbers and large data sets
• Competent IT user with a good working knowledge of standard MS Office applications including Outlook, Word and Teams.
• Experienced user of MS Excel, with experience of managing data, generating reports and collating management information
• Experience of working at pace, and independently managing caseloads

DESIRABLE

• Experience of working within the UK forestry or environmental sector.
• Experience of handling customer queries over the phone and in writing.
• Experience of using ArcGIS or similar mapping software
• Experience reviewing processes and / or systems, assisting with development, and implementing change.

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace

• A Civil Service pension.
• 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. Further information will be available for candidates invited to interview.

Job contact :

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

Recruitment team

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