Planning and Environment Officer

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Planning and Environment Officer

Salary- £32,089 - £32,724

Contract type – Permanent

Hours – 37 hours

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…

Sustainable Forest Management is at the heart of everything we do, as part of the planning team you will lead on the review and maintenance of the district’s 18 forest plans. Your role will safeguard forest activities guaranteeing they have full approval for felling and restocking and that our UKWAS accreditation is maintained. Working at the forefront of latest policies, legislation and best practice you will lead the way in revising the forest plans, ensuring they are fit for purpose and assist in the delivery of land management across the estate in its widest sense. 

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. 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.

• Prepare land management plans (LMPs) based on a thorough understanding of the land and analysing environmental, silvicultural, financial and social impacts.  Plans are required to meet the UK Forestry Standard and the UK Woodland Assurance Standard.
• Assist colleagues with the planning, delivery and monitoring of programmes for felling, restocking and habitat management. 
• Undertake site visits and collaborate with relevant colleagues to explore land management and implementation options, identify silvicultural requirements, creatively address key problems identified and develop efficient and practical solutions to meeting land management objectives over the required timeframe.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with stakeholders such as community groups and statutory consultees.
• Forest Planners prepare screening information for Habitat Regulations Assessments, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) determination, full EIAs, and amendments to plans for regulatory approval as required.

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 and more details about how to apply are listed on the application form. Candidates selected for interview will be assessed on the below mentioned behaviours along with strength based questions and will be set a task at interview. Information on the task will be shared with all candidates selected for 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.