About the job

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced and talented visitor experience professional to take the strategic lead for our programmes including the facilitation of significant new recreation offers across the nation’s forests in England.

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who has strong leadership, visitor insight, new business development and commercial partnership working skills.  We are looking for someone who is highly experienced at identifying insight led opportunities, developing new commercial recreation-based partnerships and driving business improvement at scale by putting our visitors at heart of all we do.

Job description

Background Information

We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests for people, nature and the economy. 

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.

Forestry England cares for more land and trees than any other organisation in England. From small woodlands on the fringes of towns and cities, to vast areas such as the ancient New Forest, for over 100 years we have been growing, shaping and caring for the nation’s forests.

Our forests are astonishing. They flourish through careful planning and expert management by Forestry England staff, volunteers and partners. They are a vital source of sustainable timber to support jobs and industry, a home for wildlife to thrive and a place for people to connect with nature and enjoy themselves. We are experts in bringing people and forests together.

The nation’s forests are a world-class sustainable living treasure that help us respond to the challenges we face in society. As sustainable, productive forests, they are fundamental as we confront the climate emergency, tackle the nature crisis and support people’s health and wellbeing as the largest provider of outdoor recreation opportunities in the country.

Our (Growing the Future 2021-26) plan sets out our five strategic objectives that drive our work to succeed, thrive and deliver over the next 100 years. The plan identifies our priorities enabling us to achieve more, now and for future generations.

The nation’s forests are managed via six Forest Districts: North England, Yorkshire, Central England, West England, East England, South England, plus Westonbirt Arboretum with the administrative ‘National Office’ being based on the outskirts of Bristol.

There are over 1000 people working in a broad range of roles delivering diverse business functions including world leading sustainable forestry and land management, timber harvesting, property management and development, recreation and events management, and the management of 27 visitor centres. Forestry England has in the region of 300 million visits per annum and significant engagement with customers across a wide range of activities.

Reporting to the Head of Recreation & Visitor Experience and you will be responsible for securing high quality outcomes and contributing to significant business improvement by growing net profit through evolving current and negotiating new, commercial visitor experiences, supporting teams across the business to grow visitor numbers and ensuring outstanding customer service is achieved.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to lead on recreation performance and quality for the largest provider of outdoor recreation in England. You will play a key role in growing the commercial and social impact of Forestry England’s recreation business by providing strategic leadership for visitor experience, customer service and commercial performance.

Our recreation and visitor experience business has an essential role to play in fulfilling the aims of Forestry England, including delivering health and wellbeing for all through connection with nature in our nation’s forests. Forestry England’s recreation business generates approximately £29m in revenue from our national network of forest centres, events and activities and through recreation business partners such as Forest Holidays, Camping in the Forest, Adventure Forest Ltd (Go Ape! high ropes courses).

You will form part of the national leadership team for recreation which is part of Forestry England’s national Operations team. Success in this role will require energetic leadership which develops the “one team” culture across a wide range of activities and is inclusive of national and forest-based staff. The role involves advocacy of the development of Forestry England’s recreation offer.  It requires high levels of visitor experience proficiency so that you can provide technical advice and support to delivery teams including the tendering, negotiation and development of new high-profile facilities, stakeholder development, and business improvement through customer service leadership.

The post holder will report to Bridgette Hall, Head of Recreation & Visitor Experience for Forestry England; and Hayley Skipper, Director of Operations - Commercial Visitor Development who provides strategic leadership for Recreation business growth, setting direction and vision will be the post's Confirming Officer. While the post can be located at any Forestry England office with good transport and IT connections, the post holder will need to travel around England as required.

Purpose of the Job

As the role holder you will take insight led decisions to set and embed the standards for visitor and customer service and delivery across Forestry England’s recreation business.  You will support and motivate teams throughout Forestry England to achieve these standards.  Alongside significant stakeholder collaboration, you will lead cross-functional programmes that drive business growth and efficiency.  You will manage key internal and external stakeholder relationships, tender, negotiate and secure new and improved recreation business relationships with commercial partners to bring memorable experiences and new activities to all of our customers.

Key work areas of the role include:

Leadership

• Champion the Forestry England Leadership behaviours by mentoring and supporting regional recreation colleagues. You will work with the Institute of Customer Service, Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme and others, to set the standards that our customers can expect, driving change through benchmarking and improvement programmes.
• Use your experience to create a Forestry England Customer Service Strategy and support the development of customer service training packages that meet the needs of staff and volunteers across Forestry England and exemplify our approach to delivering exemplary customer experiences for all.

Business Improvement and Innovation

You will take the lead on tendering, negotiation and delivery of new and existing commercial recreation business opportunities at an England level.  You will lead the roll-out of partner-led customer offers and manage their on-going business relationship with Forestry England. 

• You will provide recreation input and leadership into the Forestry England corporate partnerships programme, the Digital and Marketing functions and ensure that the needs of our customers are fully represented in infrastructure projects.
• Gathering and using customer insight and benchmarking from internal and external sources will be the foundation upon which you develop this customer focussed approach.

Provide Guidance, Manage Key relationships, National Agreements

• Work proactively with colleagues to ensure that key parts of the business are equipped with the tools and guidance to undertake local tendering of relevant business opportunities including cafe tenancies, cycle hire and mobile refreshment outlets.
• Provide support to district colleagues to resolve issues with key national stakeholders.

Person specification

Essential

You will have significant visitor experience expertise gained through work within a relevant recreation context.

You will have significant commercial experience having operated in a relevant leisure and hospitality business environment.

Leading customer experience focussed business tenders, working through negotiations and delivering the end product is an essential requirement.

You will have a sound working knowledge of relevant health & safety policies and practices, together with proven expertise in leading an operational team to achieve innovative and quality recreation solutions.

You will have a good understanding or equality, diversity and inclusion and the requirements to consider this in new developments or approaches.

Desirable

Experience of food and beverage and leisure sectors.

Report writing and presentations skills.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,260, Forestry Commission contributes £12,220 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 and Experience.

As part of the application process, you will complete the following:

1. A tailored 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 personal statement - in no more than 500 words please provide details of how you meet the criteria of the person specification.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

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

At interview, you will be assessed against Behaviours, Experience and Strengths.

Interviews will be held in person after the CV & application process.  The location is to be confirmed but is likely to be at the Forestry England national offices in Bristol.

Those invited to interview will be asked to deliver a six minute presentation, the title of which will be sent with interview details.

Indicative timeline:

Shortlisting to take place week commencing 22nd July 2023.

In-person interviews to be carried out during the week commencing 7th August 2023.

Dates may be subject to change.

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 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.

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.