About the job

Job summary

Forestry England 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. See our plans to ‘Grow the Future,’ Forestry England five-year strategy https://www.forestryengland.uk/growing-the-future.

The Central England Forest District has responsibility for the management of some 30,000ha of the Nation’s Forests within a triangle formed by Liverpool, Hull, and Milton Keynes. This gives rise to a large diversity of users, customers, neighbours, and pressures, all of which are interacting on a varied backdrop of land uses.

The District has a large resident population and manages 6 significant Visitor Centres as well as three Community Woodland areas and a high number of other accessible woodlands. We have hundreds of volunteers helping across the District contributing over 50,000 hours of volunteer time each year.

The post is located at Delamere Forest, the largest forest in Cheshire, which lies between the Manchester, Liverpool and Chester conurbations. The site has excellent transport links and is a very popular destination for visitors wishing to undertake numerous outdoor activities. The visitor facilities include car parks, café, cycle hire, education, Go Ape, waymarked trails and several long-distance Public Rights of Way that cut through the forest.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Delamere Recreation team. We are looking for someone who likes to be part of a team and enjoys working with the public.

Job description

Job Summary

The successful candidate will join a busy Recreation Team, providing exceptional customer service and contributing to the management of the recreation offer at Delamere Forest.

The Recreation Ranger will play an active role in managing, promoting, and developing recreation facilities and opportunities on site. They will apply themselves to tasks both individually, and as part of the wider Visitor Services team.

The role will include supervising staff, contractors and volunteers, and building excellent relations with 3rd-party businesses.

Regular weekend and Bank Holiday working is required.

Key Work Areas

Provide a built estate that’s fit for purpose

• Complete facility and trail inspections and ensure defects are recorded and rectified in a timely manner.
• Carry out maintenance tasks and engage with contractors where necessary.
• Liaise with and support District and National teams (e.g. Civil Engineers, Land Management and Estates Teams) to aid timely delivery of scheduled works, and address any reactive works required to reduce impact on the visitor experience.

 Embed a ‘safety-first’ culture in our teams

• Adhere to Health & Safety policies to guarantee your safety and the safety of others.
• Record and investigate accidents, incidents and near misses in the appropriate systems. Such live incidents (e.g. lost children, visitor accidents, antisocial behaviour) will be dealt with professionally and efficiently.
• Use Risk Assessments to ensure safe working practices and safe provision of facilities.

 Increase our capacity and effectiveness through partnership working

• Build good relationships and provide a point of contact for nominated 3rd-party businesses.
• Liaise with external companies to ensure the smooth running of our car parking facilities.

 Increase our value for money, and maximise opportunities to grow income

• Procure goods and services in line with Forestry England guidance.
• Supervise and monitor nominated service contracts.
• Support in the planning and delivery of business plan objectives within the allocated financial year.
• Support in the development, promotion and delivery of the events and activities programme (may include some evenings).

 Provide others with a clear purpose and equip them to do their jobs

• Supervise volunteers to ensure a safe and positive experience.
• Act as site Duty Manager on a weekend rota and supervise and support other team members.
• Contribute to regular team meetings to share information and best practice.

Key work areas listed are the typical duties expected of the role but are not an exhaustive list. The post holder may be reasonably requested to undertake other duties by their manager.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Experience of working in an outdoor setting with an emphasis on safety, efficiency, and excellent customer service.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for liaison with internal and external personnel.
• Excellent team working skills.
• Competence in the use of MS Office applications and social media platforms.
• A good understanding of relevant health and safety best practice.
• Ability to complete tasks involving physical work such as carrying equipment and materials, general maintenance tasks and regularly walking long distances on uneven terrain.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience in using a variety of tools and equipment to carry out repairs and maintenance.
• Experience of supervising staff or volunteers.
• A recognised qualification, preferably in countryside management or recreation and/or significant relevant experience.
• Good understanding of contract management requirements.
• Proven ability to manage competing demands and prioritise workloads

Other Information

The successful candidate must be self-motivated and able to work alone and with others to deliver excellent customer service to our visitors.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,534, Forestry Commission contributes £7,191 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.

This is a Temporary Appointment for 12 months with the possibility of extension or permanency but no guarantee. 

To apply for this role, your application should be submitted via Civil Service Jobs and completed no later than 23:55 on Sunday 25 February 2024. As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement as follows.

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for gaps within the last 2 years.
2. A Personal Statement (no longer than 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience are suitable for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

The behaviours listed will be assessed at interview. 

Sift results will be released week commencing Monday 26 February 2024. Interviews to take place on Wednesday 06 March 2024 at Delamere Forest.

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 circumstance 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.

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. This includes grade on return.

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 are 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.