Details
Reference number
430032
Salary
£26,123 - £26,123
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Administrative Officer
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
FC - Forestry England
Type of role
Other
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
South Downs & Chiddingfold Beats
About the job
Job summary
What you'll do
You will drive a tractor carrying out flailing & mowing, post knocking & light timber forwarding operations for approximately 80% of the time. The other 20% will be spent working with the other forest craftsperson using a range of practical and countryside skills including chainsaw/clearing saw work, grass strimming, fencing, planting, applying herbicides, path maintenance and basic surveying.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you'll work
The post covers two geographic areas and time will be split evenly between these areas.
The South Downs beat covers 4,300 ha of mixed woodland that varies from pure beech on the South Downs to ancient broadleaf woodland - remnants of the Royal Hunting Forest of Bere. The woodlands are spread across East Hampshire and West Sussex and include well used recreation sites, conservation areas and sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Beat team are based at Forestry England Operations Yard, Liss, GU33 7QP.
The Chiddingfold beat covers 2,800 ha of mixed woodland ( 60% BL, 40% conifer) that varies from designated ancient woodlands in the west to areas of production conifer in the Surrey Hills to the east. The woodlands are spread across Surrey and East Hampshire. They are well used for recreation and contain nationally important conservation areas consisting of sites of Special Scientific Interest and SNCI's. Much of the beat area is contained within the Surrey Hills AONB. The Beat team are based at Forestry England Operations Yard, Farnham, GU10 4LS.
Job description
• operate the district tractor to carry out a range operation including mowing & flailing of roadsides, post
knocking for fences & barriers, and lightweight small scale timber forwarding.
• carry out a diverse range of practical estate maintenance to a high standard meeting health and safety and
environmental guidance, including planting trees, felling trees, repairing fences and barriers, maintaining
signs, weeding and cleaning.
• work effectively as part of a small team and responding quickly to unexpected work and issues raised by
supervisors and foresters.
• deliver essential plants, materials, consumables, etc. to work sites.
• maintain, restore, and create various habitats for ecological benefit and to improve the landscape. The
work will include the felling and planting of trees and shrubs and the management of vegetation, which
will include fencing, chainsaw use and the application of pesticides.
• monitor and collect data such as general surveying, fence-line and boundary inspections and assessing tree
densities on restocked and newly planted sites.
• represent Forestry England well when talking to contractors, customers, visitors, stakeholders and when
working with volunteers.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
Person specification
Essential professional and technical experience
• experience of operating a tractor.
• experience of practical work in the countryside and a general understanding of forestry, nature
conservation and countryside-related issues.
• a familiarity with a variety of hand tools and ability to demonstrate competence in their use.
• full UK driving license.
• experience with a flail, grapple, or post knocker
Desirable professional and technical experience
• all-terrain counterbalance forklift
Qualifications
Essential
• a GCSE in Maths and English or functional skills equivalent.
Desirable
• qualification in first aid at work willing to be suitably trained.
• NPTC forest machine operator's certificate in base machine (wheeled ridged).
• NPTC forest machine operators certificate in mechanical flails and mulchers.
• NPTC (or Lantra equivalent) in the safe use of pesticides using trailed or vehicle-mounted equipment
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Managing a Quality Service
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
* Basic operation of a tractor and attachments.
* Understanding and awareness of risks in the forest environment
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, 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.
You will be assessed on experience, a technical skill and behaviour based questions during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
* Managing A Quality Service
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the interview process:
* Basic operation of a tractor and attachments.
* Understanding and awareness of risks in the forest environment
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.