Volunteer Administration Officer

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Volunteer Administration Officer

Salary- £26,123

Contract type – Fixed term (12 months, with the possibility of extension but no guarantee)

Hours – 37 hours per week

Vacancy closes - 23:58 Sunday, 13th July 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…

We’re looking for a Volunteer Administration Officer to help support the smooth running of our day-to-day volunteering activities at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum. As our new Volunteer Administration Officer, you will play a pivotal role by undertaking key administrative tasks as well as providing a friendly first-point-of-call for our volunteers. Working with the Volunteer Coordinator you will support individual team supervisors to ensure they deliver volunteer activities that meet business needs and provide the highest quality experience for our volunteers.  

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

Where you’ll work…

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. 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 and over 35,000 members. Our mission is to connect people with trees to improve quality of life and this role will support the 300+ passionate volunteers that support all aspects of our work.

Your primary place of work will be Westonbirt Arboretum, though there is the occasional opportunity to work from home, as agreed with the line manager. This role is on a seven-day contract and flexibility will be required to support occasional volunteer activities at weekends, public and privilege holidays and evenings. 

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 250 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 an enhanced 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.