Job Introduction
We are Forestry England.
We live and breathe forests.
Job title – Wild Areas Officer
Salary – £33,854
Contract type – 3 year fixed term with the possibility of extension or permanency
Hours – 37 hours per week
Vacancy closes – Monday 27th April 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…
Forestry England’s Biodiversity Plan sets out a bold ambition of nature recovery in the Nation’s Forests. Working across five principal focus areas, Forestry England aims to restore resilient biodiversity in the nation’s forests, delivering our vision to ensure that these forests provide the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England.
Established in 2022, Forestry England’s Forest Wilding Programme brings together two of these focus areas as part of a co-ordinated effort to deliver a step-change in nature recovery. Our species recovery work focuses on the reintroduction of key influential species, with more than 30 projects nationwide to re-establish populations of beaver, wildcat, pine marten, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle and wood ants. Alongside this nationwide effort, we have established Wild Areas on over 14,000ha of the nation’s forests, bringing innovative approaches together with a sound evidence base to recover and enhance nature through restoring natural processes.
Working as part of the national Forest Wilding Programme team, and with the Wild Areas Manager, you will use your skills and experience in nature recovery and project management to implement work packages aligned with the strategic delivery of Wild Areas across England.
You will work as part of Forestry England’s Forest Wilding Programme Team, a small but growing group of dedicated professionals, whose primary focus is implementing evidence-based nature recovery on the ground. Though dispersed across the country, we work closely and collaboratively together and with our district teams, to seize the opportunity presented by our Defra funding, to bend the curve on nature recovery, working at scale and pace. We work alongside colleagues whose focus is on improving designated sites management, accelerating the restoration of ancient woodlands, establishing nature networks, and improving the resilience of timber production across the nation’s forests. Making a difference for nature is our passion, but so too is our wellbeing, and we have a supportive working environment, which champions mutual support, and maintaining a good work/life balance.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
This is a National role. You can be based anywhere in the country from any Forestry England office, but we support hybrid working from home.
The duties of this post require the post holder to travel across England regularly, and occasionally to other parts of the UK. Whilst we encourage use of public transport wherever possible, some of the locations you will need to visit include remote locations that are not accessible by public transport. You will therefore need to hold a full and current driving licence that enables you to drive in the UK and be willing to stay away from home. We are willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by other means.
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 a technical skill, experience, ability and strength based questions during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
- Seeing The Bigger Picture
- Delivering At Pace
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
If candidates pass the interview but are not the leading candidate they can be placed on a reserve list. We may offer candidates on the reserve list for this role the opportunity to be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands.
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.
This role is funded by DEFRA rather than through Forestry England generated revenue, and is therefore subject to government spending reviews. While DEFRA has indicated long term support for the Biodiversity Programme and we expect funding to continue, it is possible that funding levels may change at the end of any financial year depending on DEFRA’s budget allocations. In the event of funding changes, we would prioritise retaining staff posts wherever possible. This approach is consistent for roles within publicly funded organisations. We are committed to keeping staff informed and supported through any changes.
