Pickering, Yorkshire and the Humber, YO18 7EL
Job Summary
What you'll do…
You will direct timber trading and forest management activities in Yorkshire, inspiring and leading the Sustainable Forestry Team to deliver Forestry England's Business Plan and Strategy. This requires close collaboration with other teams in Yorkshire and nationally, to ensure a resilient, productive and financially sustainable forestry estate, with high quality environmental outcomes and increased natural capital value. You will champion improvement in our health & safety culture, work to maintain our UKWAS accreditation, encourage effective and efficient delivery of programmes, champion innovation, and climate change adaptation and resilience.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you'll work…
The post will initially be based at Forestry England's Yorkshire Office in Pickering. It will move to the Dalby Forest Office in autumn 2027. Regular travel around Forestry England's estate in Yorkshire will be required. There will be occasional trips outside of Yorkshire for Forestry England-wide meetings, which may require an overnight stay.
Job Description
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Leadership & Management
Exemplary leadership - Provide clear leadership, accountability and direction in Yorkshire, in respect to UKWAS compliance, forestry operations, timber marketing and sales. Deliver excellent results aligned with the Business Plan, Strategy and wider organisational objectives. This includes leadership of the Sustainable Forestry Team and line management of three operational managers.
Deliver & collaborate – Lead the team to work collaboratively across Yorkshire Teams and with the National Operations team, to deliver significant and complex forestry programmes. Embed shared delivery of goals and Key Performance Indicators in demanding and busy environments.
Culture - Champion a positive and inclusive culture. Actively foster cross-team collaboration. Support and empower staff to take responsibility and make decisions through trust and delegated authority.
Health and safety - Champion a safety-first culture and ensure H&S policy compliance.
Compliance - ensure compliance with organisational guidance and procedures and communicate the importance of working safely, to manage risk across operations for staff, contractors, and customers.
Innovate & improve - Be a role model for innovation, measured risk taking and openness to change. Embed a culture of continuous improvement, promoting learning and development opportunities amongst the team as well as wider network of partners, contractors, and volunteers.
Strategic Responsibility
Direction - constantly develop the strategic direction for Sustainable Forestry in Yorkshire, ensuring that it is consistent with emerging national priorities, with specific reference to the future availability of timber volume, species diversification and resilience to forest pests and diseases.
Communicate - communicate our strategy and the value of our work to colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders.
Forestry and silviculture
Accountability – For implementing the agreed plans, which require the coordinated input of staff with diverse skill sets, including but not limited to forestry.
Deliver a quality service - Ensure all forestry operations are integrated, efficient and cost effective through preparation of rigorous plans based on effective use of high-quality data, effective procurement and the application of professional forestry and land management knowledge.
Forests for the Future - Deliver the long-term changes in forestry practice necessary to ensure a resilient and highly productive multipurpose forestry estate that delivers for people, nature and the economy.
Management of Resources
Business plan and delivery performance monitoring – Own, review and regularly update the Forestry Business plan and investment pipeline, accurately construct, monitor, reforecast and report on budgets throughout the year, based on the production plan, timber marketing plan and Long-Term Contracts.
Budget management – ensure efficient use of resources, by budget oversight, financial modelling and cost control, to enable effective delivery of the district delivery plan and BAU operations.
Contract management – Ensure robust management of forestry contracts within Yorkshire to protect Forestry England's position and uphold legal positions, ensuring decisions and dealings are even-handed, sustainable and fairly applied to all customers.
Stakeholder Engagement, Representation and Communications
Internal – role model collaborative colleagues across Forestry England to optimise delivery and efficiency.
External - maintain professional and productive relationships with stakeholders across the full range of land management interests
Engage - proactively and respond constructively to existing and prospective customers. Ensure our marketing approach generates the best possible outcome for sales of timber, venison, and other products
Promote – Forestry England's work in Yorkshire to colleagues, customers & other stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Leadership & Management
Exemplary leadership - Provide clear leadership, accountability and direction in Yorkshire, in respect to UKWAS compliance, forestry operations, timber marketing and sales. Deliver excellent results aligned with the Business Plan, Strategy and wider organisational objectives. This includes leadership of the Sustainable Forestry Team and line management of three operational managers.
Deliver & collaborate – Lead the team to work collaboratively across Yorkshire Teams and with the National Operations team, to deliver significant and complex forestry programmes. Embed shared delivery of goals and Key Performance Indicators in demanding and busy environments.
Culture - Champion a positive and inclusive culture. Actively foster cross-team collaboration. Support and empower staff to take responsibility and make decisions through trust and delegated authority.
Health and safety - Champion a safety-first culture and ensure H&S policy compliance.
Compliance - ensure compliance with organisational guidance and procedures and communicate the importance of working safely, to manage risk across operations for staff, contractors, and customers.
Innovate & improve - Be a role model for innovation, measured risk taking and openness to change. Embed a culture of continuous improvement, promoting learning and development opportunities amongst the team as well as wider network of partners, contractors, and volunteers.
Strategic Responsibility
Direction - constantly develop the strategic direction for Sustainable Forestry in Yorkshire, ensuring that it is consistent with emerging national priorities, with specific reference to the future availability of timber volume, species diversification and resilience to forest pests and diseases.
Communicate - communicate our strategy and the value of our work to colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders.
Forestry and silviculture
Accountability – For implementing the agreed plans, which require the coordinated input of staff with diverse skill sets, including but not limited to forestry.
Deliver a quality service - Ensure all forestry operations are integrated, efficient and cost effective through preparation of rigorous plans based on effective use of high-quality data, effective procurement and the application of professional forestry and land management knowledge.
Forests for the Future - Deliver the long-term changes in forestry practice necessary to ensure a resilient and highly productive multipurpose forestry estate that delivers for people, nature and the economy.
Management of Resources
Business plan and delivery performance monitoring – Own, review and regularly update the Forestry Business plan and investment pipeline, accurately construct, monitor, reforecast and report on budgets throughout the year, based on the production plan, timber marketing plan and Long-Term Contracts.
Budget management – ensure efficient use of resources, by budget oversight, financial modelling and cost control, to enable effective delivery of the district delivery plan and BAU operations.
Contract management – Ensure robust management of forestry contracts within Yorkshire to protect Forestry England's position and uphold legal positions, ensuring decisions and dealings are even-handed, sustainable and fairly applied to all customers.
Stakeholder Engagement, Representation and Communications
Internal – role model collaborative colleagues across Forestry England to optimise delivery and efficiency.
External - maintain professional and productive relationships with stakeholders across the full range of land management interests
Engage - proactively and respond constructively to existing and prospective customers. Ensure our marketing approach generates the best possible outcome for sales of timber, venison, and other products
Promote – Forestry England's work in Yorkshire to colleagues, customers & other stakeholders.
Person specification
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Essential professional and technical experience
A proven track record in leading teams of staff & managing contractors, customer and other stakeholder relations is essential for this post
Experience of translating strategy into plans that deliver commercial forestry programmes, with significant income generation.
Successfully integrating a collaborative approach to team working
Experience of building and managing budgets, financial monitoring, and cost control
Experienced in maintaining and improving approaches to health and safety and environmental protection.
Skilled in relationship building and a strong communicator.
Desirable Professional And Technical Experience
Professional level experience in sustainable forest management, wildlife management and contract negotiation
Familiarity with the breadth of forestry operations and the technical aspects of timber measurement, yield modelling and operational site planning.
Experience of delivering externally funded projects.
Qualifications
Essential criteria
Higher national diploma (or higher qualification) in Forestry or a closely related discipline.
Desirable criteria
Chartered forester or member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters or be working towards chartered status.
Project management qualification.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving
Managing a Quality Service
Making Effective Decisions
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
Candidates who are invited to interview will be provided with a short technical test and five questions ahead of time, which they will be asked to answer at the interview. They can prepare and answer using any method they wish.
Alongside your salary of £48,765, Forestry Commission contributes £14,127 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience 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.
Interview process
Candidates who are invited to interview will be provided with a short technical test and five questions ahead of time, which they will be asked to answer at the interview.
They can prepare and answer using any method they wish. This will be followed by questions from the panel assessing experience and behaviours. The total interview will last no more than 1 hour.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
Seeing the big picture
Changing and improving
Managing a quality service
Making Effective Decisions
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.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
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.
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) (opens in a new window)
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 (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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.
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) 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.