Details
Reference number
431299
Salary
£26,123 - £26,123
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Administrative Officer
Contract type
Fixed term
Length of employment
12 month FTA
Business area
FC - Forestry England
Type of role
Other
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time
Number of jobs available
2
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Cuddington, North West England, CW8 2GN
About the job
Job summary
What you'll do
You will seed and grow the trees for the nation's forests. You will support the general running of the nursery, including crop husbandry, plant production and dispatch. You will be a champion of our health & safety culture by exercising our value of 'look out and look after' within our work.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you'll work
Central District -
Central England Forest District Team manages 30,000ha of the Nations Forests within a triangle formed by Preston, Grimsby and Milton Keynes.
We manage a diverse range of forests from ancient oak-wood to new community forests, producing 150,000 tonnes of timber every year and providing homes for a wide range of wildlife. Over 8 million people live within 20 miles of our forests, giving rise to a diverse range of customers, neighbours and stakeholders. We manage seven visitor centres, attracting over 2.5 million visits per year, and 23,000 hectares of accessible woodlands.
Job description
Plant husbandry
• be organised and use nursery machinery professionally and efficiently.
• follow spoken/written instructions and guidance from supervisors, and manufacturer's instructions.
• maintain plant and soil health by watering, feeding, weeding, and spraying.
• monitor crops for pests and diseases and report any concerns quickly.
• monitor and control weeds using manual, mechanical and herbicides as required.
• use plant protection products as part of an integrated pest management programme.
Plant production
• sow seeds manually and using machines.
• fill trays and transplant seedlings.
• propagation from cuttings.
• harvesting, packing, and grading trees to customer specification.
• keep accurate records of operational outputs using the methods provided by nursery management.
• collect data and enter it into Forestry England applications.
• report issues promptly.
Health and safety
• follow health and safety training and instructions.
• use checklists and risk assessments when for tasks.
• follow proper lifting techniques and safety guidelines to prevent accidents and injuries.
• correctly and safely use trollies or other manual handling equipment as required.
• follow relevant biosecurity legislation, policies, procedures, and rules provided in training courses.
• make sure members of staff and visitors follow site biosecurity measures.
Team working
• work as part of a team or on your own to achieve nursery targets and goals.
• use your initiative to work proactively to complete tasks.
• provide first level support and direction to seasonal agency staff so that nursery operations are carried out
professionally and effectively.
• be willing to undertake training to improve your skills.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
Person specification
Essential professional and technical experience
• experience working in either a horticultural/agricultural role or within a forest nursery.
• ability to work as part of a team and on your own.
• ability to keep accurate records.
• able to complete manual tasks and work indoors and outdoors.
Desirable professional and technical experience
• IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office applications
Qualifications
Essential
• full UK driving license.
• at least 5 GCSEs at level C or higher (or equivalent grade).
Desirable
• relevant qualification or experience in horticulture, forestry or land management
• PA1 and PA6 pesticide application certificates
• hold industrial masted forklift certificate.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Making Effective Decisions
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
* Changing and Improving
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
* to be confirmed
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £26,123, Forestry Commission contributes £7,567 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
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.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.
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 during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
* Making effective decisions
* Working together
* Delivering at pace
* Changing and improving
Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.
If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
* UK nationals
* nationals of the Republic of Ireland
* nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
* nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
* nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
* individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
* Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name : FC Recruitment Team
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.