Forest Craftsperson

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Forest Craftsperson

Salary- £26,959

Contract type – Permanent

Hours – 37 hours per week

Vacancy closes - 25th January 2026 23:58

Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.

Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We're providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

What you’ll do…

We are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking and highly motivated team player who enjoys practical tasks in an outdoor environment. You must be able to work independently as well as part of a team. You will be part of the South Downs beat team completing a wide range of management and maintenance tasks to help meet the team's and District's work commitments as instructed by the beat manager.

This role can be physically challenging, and you will be working outdoors in all weather conditions using a variety of equipment including vibrating power tools. 

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

The South Downs beat covers 4,300 ha of mixed woodland that varies from pure beech on the South Downs to ancient broadleaf woodland - remnants of the Royal Hunting Forest of Bere. The woodlands are spread across East Hampshire and West Sussex and include well used recreation sites, conservation areas and sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Beat team are based at Forestry England Operations Yard, Liss, GU33 7QP.

Benefits…

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.

How to apply…

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form. 

During the interview you will be asked questions relating to your skills and experience, and be assessed against behaviours. 

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are – 

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first. 

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website. 

Nationality requirements…

Read more about nationality requirements here. 

Working for the Civil Service…

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative. 

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk.