Forest Craftsperson

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Forest Craftsperson

Salary - £26959

Contract type – Permanent

Hours – 37

Vacancy closes - 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…

You will support the beat forester shaping the land we manage, doing a range of operations and inspections in the forest, including helping with practical matters that may arise. Be a champion of our health & safety culture demonstrating our value of ‘look out and look after’ in our work.

The work forms a key part in protecting and enhancing the forest landscape we look after. It can be physically challenging, and you will be working outdoors in all weather conditions using a variety of equipment including vibrating tools. Appropriate on the job training and formal qualifications as well as Personal Protective Equipment will be provided.

The Forest Craftsperson will be responsible for ensuring that work undertaken meets contract requirements & industry standards, satisfies the relevant health & safety standards, is completed on time whilst satisfying the requirements of the business & responding to local stakeholders as work programmes are developed & delivered.

You can expect to spend nearly all of your working time outdoors and will usually be expected to manage your own time to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.

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

Where you’ll work…

The West England Forest District team are custodians of 38,500 ha of the Nations Forests in the west and south-west of England. Our woods can be found from Shrewsbury in the north to the majestic veteran trees of Savernake Forest near Marlborough, and the conifer forests on Bodmin Moor, and ancient woodlands of the Glynn Valley in Cornwall.

The role will be based in the Forest of Dean, working from the Forestry depot at Castlemain in Parkend. The Forest is a stronghold for nature, with large areas of woodland and open space providing a mosaic of habitats for a range of species. 

The Forest of Dean is a historic forest with its origins as a royal forest pre-dating the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Forest has long been used for its timber as well as its rich mineral resources of iron ore, sandstone and coal. While the industrial nature of the Forest was at its height during the late 19th and early 20th Century, quarrying of stone and timber production are still important aspects of the local economy today. 

The Forest of Dean is divided into two beat teams East and West, within West England Forest District, these beat teams are led by the Beat Forester who supports the work of the rest of the team, which includes Work Supervisors, Community Rangers,  Wildlife Rangers, Forest Craftsperson and Forest Warden

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. 

You will be assessed on experience, a technical skill and behaviour based questions during your interview. 

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.