About the job

Job summary

Background

The Corporate Affairs team mission is to develop a trusted, accountable, compliant and effective organisation. This is still a relatively new team within Forestry England, the organisation charged with stewardship of the nation’s forests.

The Corporate Affairs team provides the corporate functions for Forestry England that includes the CEO office, strategy, policy, governance, risk, compliance, performance, insight, and knowledge information. This is a critical role that will provide high quality support across the team, and wider senior leadership of the organisation. This role is working in a very visible, fast paced team directly in contact with the Chief Executive, Senior Team, and wider organisation.  This multi-disciplinary team leads on a portfolio of programmes and projects that ensure Forestry England operates as and remains an outstanding organisation. We are committed to investing in people in our team to enable them to meet their potential.  This role will be working between the National office and homeworking with the occasion to travel across the country.

Purpose of job

Working as a key member of the Corporate Affairs team, to provide high quality administrative and project support to the Forestry England corporate affairs office, Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Director of Corporate Affairs, Executive Team, and the wider Forestry England senior team to help ensure that they function efficiently and effectively and report into the PA to Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer and Parliamentary Support.

Provide support for all Forestry England and executive senior governance meetings and visits.

Job description

Key work areas

1. Provide high quality, timely administrative support for members of the Corporate Affairs team, Executive and Senior Team. This will include organising the detail across a large number of meetings, events, visits, travel and accommodation.  
2. Work with the PA to the Chief Executive and Corporate Affairs Support Officer to maintain and action the Forestry England governance calendar including: sending calling notices, requests for agenda items and papers, following up actions, preparing papers. Where required attending and taking meeting minutes. Track and monitor non-executive engagement and meeting costs.
3. Support the team with ad hoc requests which could include updating and maintaining guidance documents; data-gathering; running reports; records and files reviews and responding to general enquiries coming into and arising from Corporate Affairs.
4. Co-ordinate Corporate Affairs team meetings and agendas, deadlines, and actions. Must have experience in using excel spreadsheets.
5. Support team members in correspondence and complaints management process, monitoring and updating risk register, audit actions, action logs, data collection and other processes as required.
6. Management of the Enquiries mailbox, recording complaints and fielding to relevant parties within the organisation. Ensuring response deadlines are adhered to, providing weekly reports on complaints data to the Corporate Affairs Team and working closely with the Knowledge and Information team to manage and record FOIs/SARs’.
7. Provide more specialised project support, problem solving, and research as required.

Support project managers and project teams by providing project administration, maintaining project documentation, project team and stakeholder communication support and monitoring and tracking against project plans and outputs.

Provide a professional and welcoming first point of contact to the CEO Office and Corporate Affairs providing signposting, research and problem solving support as required.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strong administration and business support experience.
• Experience of working in a project environment
• Excellent attention to detail and accurate implementation of processes and procedures.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Proven experience of taking ownership for own work and being proactive and self-led in successfully delivering quality outcomes.
• Proven ability to prioritise tasks and manage your time in a fast-changing operating environment.
• Can – do problem solving approach.
• Proficient in Microsoft office packages.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,534, Forestry Commission contributes £7,164 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application and sift process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Those who pass the sift will be progressed to interview. 

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.
2. A Personal Statement (in no more than 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience are suitable for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification.

Your application will be sifted on the CV and Personal Statement.

During the selection process applications will be assessed against the application and at interview where you will also be asked to complete a desk exercise assessment which will be given on the day in addition to being assessed against essential and technical skills on the application form.

Sift will take place w/c 8 January.

Interviews to take place w/c 15 January and will be held face to face in the Bristol Office - 620 Bristol Business Park, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol.  BS16 1EJ.

Please note - above dates are subject to change.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

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.