Visitor Services Officer

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Visitor Services Officer

Salary - £26,123 Pro rata

Contract type – Annualised Hours, Permanent

Hours – 22.2

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 Visitor Services Officer, you will contribute to achieving an exceptional visitor experience, providing outstanding service they leave with lasting memories. Working across our visitor welcome/visitor centre, you will also work with the wider team to maintain our visitor facilities, making sure our visitors have a smooth, inclusive and enjoyable experience. You will help cultivate a supportive and positive work environment that encourages teamwork, productivity and individual growth. You will take opportunities to promote Forestry England’s work including events, membership, legacy giving and volunteering. 

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

Where you’ll work…

East England Forest District, covers an area of 35,000 hectares from North Norfolk to Brighton; including Thetford Forest and the outlying beats of Sandlings, Kent, East Sussex, Chilterns and Thames Chase Community Forest. The District has a varied landholding including the largest lowland pine forest in England at Thetford, community woodland on the outskirts of London at Thames Chase, and a range of mixed woodland, many of which are on sites of Ancient Woodland. 

There are numerous sites of conservation interest designated across the District, including Special Protection Areas to conserve the breeding habitat for the Woodlark and Nightjar, Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Specific Scientific Interest, Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, County Wildlife Sites and Scheduled Monuments. The District offers outdoor recreation, leisure and wellbeing activities for hundreds of thousands of people each year at its recreation centres. Forestry England’s whole freehold estate is dedicated for public access on foot, with numerous small carparks and informal access points.

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. 

 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.