About the job

Job summary

Passionate about making a difference and playing your part in tackling the climate and nature crisis?  Forest Research (FR) is all about giving top quality evidence and advice to policymakers and practitioners to make a positive impact on the ground. Internationally recognised, we need people who have the skills and passion to work on excellent science and provide practical solutions for nature.

We’re small enough that your voice is heard, yet large enough, as part of the Forestry Commission, that we have everything on hand to get the job done, as well as a variety of career pathways.  Our staff are dedicated to their work and sharing it with others to bring positive change for our planet.  And you will find us a flexible and inclusive employer, so you can have a work life balance that is tailor-made to your circumstances.   Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.  To find out more about FR, visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk.

The postholder will be a member of the Society and Environment Research Group, within the Centre for Forest Management. The Centre leads FR's research into biosecurity threats, ecosystem robustness and resilience, land use and ecosystem services, and the way in which society values and utilises trees. Programmes within the Centre focus strongly on interdisciplinary research, using the mix of disciplines within FR to address some of the many complex social and environmental problems facing those concerned with Britain’s trees woods and forests.

Job description

SERG is a dynamic, agile group of twenty social scientists focusing on four broad thematic work areas:

1) Well-being and woodlands

2) Land manager behaviours in relation to trees and woodlands

3) Social dimensions of forest disturbances including tree health

4) Social dimensions of wildlife management and reintroductions

Cross-cutting issues include climate change, urban forestry and project, programme and policy evaluation.

The group delivers evidence direct to policy and other research commissioners, presents at national and international conferences, as well as publishing in a range of high impact journals.

Person specification

The post holder will carry out social science research that contributes to improving understanding of the values, attitudes, behaviours and actions of land managers, publics and stakeholders across SERG’s four themes.

Key Work Areas:

1. Assist with the design of methods and the collection of data across a number of research projects by contributing social science insights and approaches
2. Assist with and conduct the analysis of quantitative data and qualitative data
3. Contribute to research project management, e.g. procurement and contract management for research services
4. Interpret and report on social science data, including contributing to technical reports, research summaries, website and social media content, and scientific publications
5. Work with other members of the Social and Economic Research Group and in an interdisciplinary way with other scientists across FR and its partners to develop research proposals and projects

Essential Criteria:

• Postgraduate qualification with substantial social science content within an environmental setting or equivalent social research skills and experience gained within consultancy or other environmental sector (min. 1 year)
• Track record of contributing to successful social research e.g. developing research questions, data gathering, data analysis and reporting
• Experience in social science respondent recruitment and data gathering, fieldwork and analysis of data
• Competent user of IT including social science analysis packages
• Proficient in technical report writing
• High standard of verbal and written communication and experience of knowledge exchange with a range of stakeholders

Desirable Criteria:

• Skilled in a range of data collection techniques, and particularly in quantitative data gathering and analysis
• A broad understanding of social science issues and theories as they relate to environmental and forestry issues
• Understanding of social and organisational learning
• Understanding of the use of evaluations and appropriate methods to describe the outcomes and impacts of contributing to specific programmes and policies
• Track record of managing projects successfully to completion and of an ability to work on multiple projects over the same period
• Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-project team environment to achieve results

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,779, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £7,500 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.

Sift & Interview:  Sift will take place on Monday 15th April 2024.  Interviews are planned to take place on Monday 29th April 2024

Candidates invited to attend interview will be required to prepare a short presentation.  Full details will be advised on confirmation of interview.

If a large volume of applications are received, then we will sift on Experience/Technical Expertise and the Lead Behaviour, Changing & Improving. However, candidates will be expected to answer questions on all behaviours at the interview stage. Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

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.