Recreation Ranger

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Recreation Ranger - Cardinham Woods

Salary- £30,105 (pro-rata)

Contract type – Part-time fixed term appointment until February 1st 2027

Hours – 29.6 (4 days) Sunday to Wednesday

Vacancy closes - February 11th 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…

Working four days a week from Sunday to Wednesday within the  Recreation team the Recreation Ranger will apply themselves to tasks both individually, and as part of the wider team. The role has responsibility for managing a safe and welcoming visitor experience through: inspecting and maintaining facilities, working with site partners to ensure a quality offering, service contract monitoring and supervision of staff, contractors and volunteers.

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

Where you’ll work…

Cardinham Woods is a well‑established recreation site located near Bodmin, Cornwall, set within a wooded valley along the River Cardinham on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The site combines commercial forestry, heritage woodland, and high‑quality public recreation within a nationally recognised landscape.

The woods attract a high volume of visitors year‑round, including walkers, cyclists, families, dog walkers and organised groups. Facilities include waymarked walking and cycling trails, car parking, picnic areas, a visitor centre and café, and seasonal events and trails. The site is known for its accessible riverside paths alongside more challenging routes through managed woodland.

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, 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.

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.