About the job

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 FS 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 and 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 vary depending on the project(s) you are assigned, but will generally consist of: 

• Facilitating and delivering change activities at all stages of the project life cycle, from vision, through to readiness, training, benefits realisation and close 
• Managing a varied portfolio 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 promote cross-team working through effective engagement with teams outside of your immediate work area

Person specification

ESSENTIAL

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.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,485, Forestry Commission contributes £9,721 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

This is a Fixed Term Appointment ending 31st March 2025 with possibility but no guarantee of permanency or extension.

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 and 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.

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.

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

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

Indicative timeline:

- Shortlisting to take place w/c 13th May 2024 

- Interviews to be carried out w/c 20th May 2024 

Please be aware dates may be subject to change for both sifting and interviews.

We will be conducting online interviews with the use of Microsoft Teams. Candidates would therefore require access to a computer and internet at interview stage.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Forestry Commission from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. 

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Successful candidates if using their own private vehicle for business travel will need to comply with the Forestry Commission travel policy on CO2 emissions (115g maximum CO2/km)

Where a role has been identified as one which falls under the scope of the Public Sector English Language Requirements, within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English. Applicants will be assessed in the selection process in accordance with the requirements. 2022).

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 the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via FCERecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. 

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.