Resilience Project Forester

What you’ll do

Job summary

Our vision is that the nation’s forests will provide the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England. We believe in the positive, long-term impact that forests can have on people’s lives, England’s biodiversity, a thriving green economy and our response to the climate emergency.  Central England Forest District encompasses 30,000ha of the nation’s forests within a triangle formed by Preston, Grimsby and Milton Keynes. The area comprises a range of habitats and designated sites; from woodland and wetland, to grassland and heathland. As well as supporting a range of wildlife, the district produces approximately 150,000 tonnes of timber annually and manages seven visitor centres, attracting over 2.5 million visits a year. You will work closely with the planning and operational teams to build a programme of work that will accelerate our Forest Resilience and Plantation on Ancient woodland site (PAWS) restoration programme, focusing on the most challenging sites which are unlikely to achieve our policy targets without additional support.

You will be part of the Central district establishment team, developing and delivering a district-wide programme of forest resilience and PAWS restoration. This will involve working with other teams, including planning, ecology, civil engineering and supporting our beat teams. You will be part of a network of colleagues working on forest resilience across the country.  You will have the opportunity to work with experienced colleagues, passionate about their contribution to sustainable forestry, conservation and the organisation’s overarching strategy. You will help to connect everyone with the nation’s forests, caring for them for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and business to grow. The postholder will be based in the district office at Sherwood Pines, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire (other Forestry England office locations within the district may be considered). A blended working pattern can be agreed.  If the successful applicant is new to Forestry England, then they will need to be embedded within a Forestry England office for a significant proportion of the working week during an induction period. You can expect to spend time outdoors, working remotely and sometimes on your own and you will be expected to manage your own time to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Lead delivery of our Resilience and PAWS restoration programme by establishing a program of works that deliver impact over the 3-year project period focusing on;  
• Restoration thinning, to increase the “nativeness” of our PAWS woodland sites.  
• Working with Beat Foresters and Wildlife specialist to adequately protect planting and natural regeneration. 
• Develop a long-term plan to map out the conversion of our PAWS sites.  
• Prepare and manage contracts as required.  
• Build positive working relationships with colleagues to inspire and engage the whole team. Share knowledge, draw on each other’s expertise, and build trust and understanding. Be open about challenges within the business, and encourage honest, constructive conversations. Engage with district and national colleagues to enable effective delivery of projects.  
• Work proactively with the Forest Planning team to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met ahead of work being undertaken e.g., approval of Felling Licences etc.  
• Deliver a positive and inclusive culture, fostering cross-functional collaboration and support.  
• Positively collaborate with finance and business support teams to maintain clarity on approved expenditure plans and monitoring of spending against delivery.  
• Feed into monitoring and reporting on progress.  
 
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

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