Marketing and Communications Manager

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Marketing and Communications Manager

Salary - £32,089 - £32,724

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…

As Marketing and Communications Manager, you will lead marketing and communications activity across a diverse range of channels and audiences driving new and repeat visits to Westonbirt, the National Arboretum. You will demonstrate the ability to deliver the commercial aspects of the role while also inspiring people through the promotion of our good causes of conservation, education and participation.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at a national heritage leisure attraction leading the marketing and communications team. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to work with stakeholders to deliver the commercial aspects of the role such as expanding our visiting audiences and driving events sales. Alongside this they will also inspire people and increase brand awareness of the vital conservation, education and participation work we do at the arboretum. This ranges from international collaboration to save endangered tree species through to supporting local young people to connect with nature to improve their health and wellbeing.

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

Where you’ll work…

We have an exciting opportunity for a Marketing and Communications Manager to join the team at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum. 

Westonbirt is one of Britain’s finest botanical tree collections and is internationally renowned both for its extraordinary tree collection and historic landscape, which is entered on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens as Grade 1. Indeed, it is the greatest example in the world of an arboretum laid out in the ‘picturesque’ style. It was founded in the early 19th Century by Robert Holford, a plant collector and visionary. In 1956, the arboretum came into the care of the Forestry Commission to conserve and continue the legacy for future generations. The arboretum is one of the largest pay-to-enter visitor attractions in the Southwest, welcoming over 550,000 visitors per year. The onsite businesses generate a turnover of more than £14m in which events contributes a large part.

Westonbirt’s mission is to connect people with trees to improve quality of life. This role will support the internal communication and external marketing of many avenues of the work we do on site, all of which are driven by our vision and mission. 

The Arboretum hosts a wide range of established and well-loved events and we have ambitious plans to expand and diversify the programme in the coming years. The arboretum is headed by Andrew Smith, as director, and has 45 Forestry England staff and 300 volunteers.

The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (FoWA) charity was formed in 1985. Based on site at Westonbirt, FoWA works in close partnership with Forestry England, seeking to support and develop the arboretum through providing consistent and reliable financial support.

As membership has grown the charity has increasingly helped the work of the arboretum through advocacy, and financial and practical support to unlock a whole range of opportunities to further the role of Westonbirt as The National Arboretum.

Though your primary place of work will be Westonbirt Arboretum with the option to work some of the week from home, blended working arrangements will be available as agreed with the line manager.

The post will include some weekend and evening working to support delivery. 

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.
• 3 days paid volunteering can be organised to take with team members or externally.

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 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.