Harvesting Manager (Direct Production)

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Harvesting Manager (Direct Production)

Salary- £35,580 - 38,338

Contract type – Permanent

Hours – 44 per week

Vacancy closes - 23:58 on June 16th 2025.

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…

The DP Harvesting Forester leads the Direct Production Team within Forestry England South District to deliver the DP Harvesting programme.  

The Harvesting Direct Production team of three is responsible for the planning and harvesting of c.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.

You will be responsible for developing, planning and managing all DP harvesting operations, working collaboratively with other teams and functions to deliver key targets and to achieve the South District Business Plan.  

With the assistance of two Works Supervisors you will oversee contractors in preparing the timber for sale, and work with a variety of customers to increase our timber revenue.  

Working from our Lyndhurst, Bucks Horn Oak or Micheldever Office you will liaise with eight Beat Teams and directly manage the two DP Work Supervisors to ensure monitoring of production and stock levels. You will also set and monitor the standard for high quality work in all aspects of our DP Harvesting Operations, with a particular emphasis on Health and Safety and environmental standards.

This role reports to the South District Operations Manager (Harvesting and Marketing).

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

Where you’ll work…

We are Forestry England. We are the country's largest land manager, caring for the nation's forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation's forests.

This post will be based at one of our main offices in South District which are at Lyndhurst SO43 7NH, Bucks Horn Oak GU10 4LS or Micheldever SO21 3BP.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 170 people with a diverse range of roles - from foresters and wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals. We all contribute towards the management of 46,000 hectares of public forest estate that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight. Nearly all of our forests are within either a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much of this forest is of high national importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity. South England Forest District is therefore responsible for land that includes Special Areas of Conservation (for habitats), Special Protection Areas (for birds) and Ramsar sites (for wetlands). We also provide public access and recreation in our forests, with nearly 50 million visits every year to South England Forest District. 

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 a technical skill and strength 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.

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.