About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to join England’s largest land manager and play a leading role in the shaping the future of the nation’s forests in Yorkshire. The Head of Recreation and Visitor Experience is part of the Yorkshire Forest District’s senior leadership team, helping to steer and drive the delivery of Forestry England’s strategy. As the strategic lead for engaging people with the nation’s forests in Yorkshire, you will be at the forefront of working towards Forestry England’s vision of ‘our forests being living treasures for everyone, deeply connected to people’s lives and improving the health and wellbeing of the nation’.

The role is accountable for the very busy Forest Centre at Dalby Forest, as well as creating and managing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy our wider estate. You will develop our offer to meet the needs of existing customers, attract new visitors and enable a wider range of people to enjoy the nation’s forests.

The Head of Recreation and Visitor experience will ensure that our visitor offer is supported by a sustainable financial model, including through agreements with commercial partners. They will also develop fundable projects and opportunities that enable underrepresented audiences to enjoy the nation’s forests, which will include collaboration with not-for-profit partners.

The role will be challenging and rewarding, and we seek someone with the motivation and enthusiasm to drive social benefits, grow our recreation business, build a strong culture of cross-team working and empower their team to share responsibility for success.

Job description

Role Accountabilities:

• To develop and implement a clear, ambitious but achievable plan for the district’s strategic aims for the nation’s forests, growing engagement and enabling our visitors to reflect the diversity of our communities.
• To provide value-led, inspirational leadership to the Recreation and Visitor Experience Team. Developing a positive team culture, growing staff skills, empowering people to take responsibility and improving cross-team working.
• To set and manage the department budget, meeting, and where possible exceeding, annual targets for net income and delivering growth over a 5-year period.    
• To set and achieve the business plan’s strategic objectives for recreation, visitor experience and engagement.
• To develop our recreation and visitor offer through productive partnerships with commercial and not-for-profit organisations that can support the growth of net income and/or deliver of our strategic objectives.
• To embed the district’s delivery plan into team workplans, directing capacity away from low priority activities and ensuring that decisions are based on the financial and social Return on Investment.  

 

Role Responsibilities:

• To be a proactive member of the district’s Senior Leadership Team, contributing to Business Unit management, strategic decisions and problem solving.
• To role-model Forestry England’s values.
• To act on market insight and performance data to inform business planning and future forecasting of our recreation and visitor businesses.
• Managing the delivery of internal and external communications, in collaboration with the Forest Management Director, district senior leadership team and national team colleagues

Wider Responsibilities:

• Keeping Health and Safety matters as the overriding determinant at all times and in all circumstances
• Ensuring application and adherence to Forestry England Policies and Procedures
• Improvement of environmental sustainability within the Recreation and Visitor Experience Team.
• Any other tasks, reasonably requested by the Forest Management Director.

The post will be based at Forestry England’s Yorkshire district offices in Pickering. It will also be required to work from the Dalby Forest Visitor Centre. The post will be subject to Forestry England’s blended working policy, with at least two days per week working in the office, at least one of which should be in Pickering.

Person specification

Essential:

• Broad knowledge of visitor experience and public engagement approaches.
• Experience of managing visitor facilities for both informal public access and commercial recreation activities.
• A track record of successful team leadership, setting strategic direction, motivating, and supporting staff to meet agreed objectives.
• Experience of Business Planning, budgeting, and financial monitoring.
• Experience of working collaboratively across functional teams and stakeholders, and able to inspire others to do the same.
• Competent IT user with experience of the MS office suite of applications.
• Excellent workload organisation, prioritisation, and delegation skills.
• A good standard of written and verbal communication.

Desirable:

• Able to inspire people about the social benefits of engaging with the natural environment.
• Experience of building and managing commercial partnerships, including knowledge of procurement and contract management.
• Project management experience
• An effective stakeholder manager and negotiator.
• Knowledge of coaching approaches.
• Knowledge of applying health and safety legislation in a recreational environment
• Track record of innovating to solve problems and create opportunities.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,311, Forestry Commission contributes £11,738 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 and Experience.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 750-word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

1. A CV (maximum 2 sides of A4) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements for each role. Please ensure you have provided  reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2. A personal statement (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal experience, skills and qualities are relevant to this role. Please demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the person specification.

Interviews will be conducted in person. Candidates will be further assessed on Behaviours and Experience at interview. 

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Should a large number of applications be received, an 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 Information

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

Any move to Forestry 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.

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.

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.

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

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 fcerecreuitment.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.