About the job

Job summary

South England Forest District manages some 46,000 hectares of the public forest estate across West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset & South Wiltshire. The varied, mixed woodlands produce some 80,000 m3 of timber each year, of which 20,000 m3 is hardwood. The land management team have responsibility for an extensive programme of habitat restoration, principally ancient woodland and lowland heath.

Much of the land is of high importance for nature conservation, supporting some 29,000 hectares (ha) deemed to be of national importance for wildlife of which approximately 28,000 ha are also designated as being of international importance for biodiversity as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Ramsar sites. The majority of the land managed by the District is also within areas designated for their landscape value, including 4,000 ha within AONBs and 31,500 ha across two National Parks.

The area receives some 20 million day visits by the public each year and includes two major Forest Centres at Moors Valley Country Park and Alice Holt Woodland Park.

The Public Forest Estate is managed around the three pillars of sustainability; people, nature and economy. The Land Management Team play an important role in applying these objectives to ensure that we meet the highest standards of sustainable land management delivery.

The Harvesting Direct Production team of three is responsible for the planning and harvesting of 50,000m3 of timber per year across the geographic spread of the Forest District. Working closely with the Land Management and Planning teams, its role is to deliver Forest Design Plan and conservation objectives while fulfilling supply contracts to our sawmill customers.

The majority of the volume is shortwood produced by a mechanised harvesting contractor, but it also includes an element of mature hardwood felled using traditional motor manual techniques.

Job description

Your role will be to provide support to the DP Harvesting Forester, through front line supervision and site management of DP operations. You will assist in setting and maintaining standards in all aspects of DP harvesting.

You will:-

• Assist in leading and managing staff and contractors to deliver outputs and results.
• Assist in setting and maintaining operational / Health and Safety standards.
• Assist in the planning of work programmes by attending to site and operational needs.
• Co-ordinate the production and dispatch of wood for the DP Unit and liaise with customers.
• Act as Duty Officer providing 24 hr emergency contact cover for a period of one week in approximately every 14 weeks i.e. approximately 4 times per year.

Person specification

Essential Experience
• Relevant experience in forestry or land management.
• Competence with a wide range of IT applications including Microsoft Office Suite.
• Competence with GIS applications.

Desirable Experience
• Hold a recognised Forestry qualification to at least National Diploma level.
• Good understanding of and experience in the application of Health & Safety in forest operations.
• A sound understanding of and experience in the application of contract management.
• Experience of using Sales Record Package (SRP)

Professional membership of the Institute of Chartered Foresters or another relevant professional body is desirable.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,534, Forestry Commission contributes £7,164 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, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement of up to 500 words. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the essential role requirements within the personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sifting will take place in the week commencing 24/01/2024, with interviews scheduled to take place in the week commencing 29/01/2024. Please note these dates are subject to change.

Candidates will be further assessed on their Experience and Behaviours at interview, in addition to the below Technical Skills:

Contract management
Health & Safety

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

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.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe 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.

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.