About the job

Job summary

We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation’s forests.

Forestry England is an organisation like no other. Our strong values and shared ambition to connect everyone with the nation’s forests, drives all that we do.

Our four values capture how we work:

• Think beyond a lifetime - We make plans today for a better tomorrow, so our business and our forests are sustainable and fit for the future.
• Be adventurous - We approach challenges with creativity and adventure, embracing research and innovation to stay relevant.
• Do it together - We get our best results when we work with others, and we encourage diverse perspectives, so we make better decisions.
• Look out and look after - We care about our colleagues, volunteers, partners, and customers, and we take a stand against unsafe behaviour.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 160 people. Our team contains a diverse range of roles - from wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals, we all contribute towards the management of some 46,000 hectares (ha) of public forest estate and national parks that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight.

Much of this forest is of high national importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity. South England Forest District is therefore responsible for land that includes Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Ramsar sites, and Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB).

The Planning and Environment Team are responsible for creating forest management plans to support the District to design resilient woodlands taking into account key issues such as climate change, and the different ways that people will want to use our forests in future. 

Job description

The Planning and Environment Officer will work closely with our GIS technician to develop and integrate GIS based systems to support colleagues across the South Forest District. A significant focus is spent liaising with teams to provide GIS and IT solutions with the emphasis on analysing information and developing databases. The Planning and Environment Officer will also contribute to the preparation and development of forest plans which will require travel across the District.

If you have expertise working with GIS and Microsoft applications and are ready for a new challenge delivering excellence in sustainable forest management by supporting, updating and developing systems, then we’d love to hear from you.  

Key Work Areas

• Providing ArcGIS Pro support to other members of the team to include forest plans, operational site plans and maintaining operations maps.
• Support individuals and teams to develop the use of GIS systems.
• Take the lead to maintain the relevant GIS system up to date in order to obtain an accurate Production Forecast maintaining operational felling coupes and templates. Run the annual Production Forecast to inform the market plans and implement the use of a system to help monitor the production figures.
• Prepare land management plans that outline future management of the land and forests.
• Provide planning updates in relevant meetings by attending management meetings for East and West teams to provide an update from planning and collect feedback. Assist in the preparation of planning updates for District operations meetings.
• Work with Ecologists to identify efficiencies for monitoring as well as future needs and ensure systems are developed and integrated in a sustainable way.
• Ensure the efficient use of the storage and maintenance of Forestry England and non-Forestry England data.
• Lead and line manage GIS/Data technician.

Person specification

Person Specification

Essential Requirements:

• Experience of using and editing in Forester Web/Forester Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Experience of operating in an environment of competing priorities.
• Confident in building and maintaining highly effective working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Competent in the use of MS Office applications.
• Degree or Higher Diploma level, or equivalent professional qualifications, for example ICF Membership.
  
  
  Desirable:
• An understanding of forestry operations and project delivery by operational teams in a forestry, conservation, or recreational environment.
  
• Experience in forestry or relevant land management field.
• An understanding of forest management plans and their importance in delivering objectives.
  
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,779, Forestry Commission contributes £7,529 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 as follows:

1. A 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.

2. A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience are suitable for the role, with reference to the criteria in the Person Specification.

Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the essential experience requirements within the application responses.

Failure to fully complete both sections (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. The panel will look for applications that demonstrate the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the job description and responsibilities.

Interviews will be held in person at the King's House, Lyndhurst, SO43 7NH. Sifting will take place at the end of January, with interviews scheduled to take place early in February. Please note these dates may be 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 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 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.

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.

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. 

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 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.