Works Supervisor – Habitat Restoration

Job Summary

The successful candidate will join the HLS Team based in the New Forest. As works supervisor you will support the restoration officers to plan and manage the delivery of our landscape-scale habitat restoration programme with funding from the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme. The work programmes focus on restoring and enhancing internationally important heathlands, species-rich grasslands, woodlands and wetlands in the New Forest.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation’s forests.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 170 people with a diverse range of roles – from foresters and wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals. We all contribute towards the management of 46,000 hectares of public forest estate that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight. Nearly all of our forests are within either a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Much of this forest is of high national importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity. South England Forest District is therefore responsible for land that includes Special Areas of Conservation (for habitats), Special Protection Areas (for birds) and Ramsar sites (for wetlands). We also provide public access and recreation in our forests, with nearly 50 million visits every year to South England Forest District.

If the post you are applying for is PB5 or above, you will be asked to join the District duty roster, after a suitable period of time.

•assist restoration officers in planning work programmes and setting up and managing operational contracts to deliver habitat restoration in the New Forest, such as wetland restoration including bed level raising, drain infill, repairing previous restorations, harvesting, tree felling and rhododendron clearance
•carry out day to day supervision of staff and contractors engaged on habitat restoration works, maintaining high standards of delivery this may include contractors delivering the works above as well as ecological and archaeological specialists
•monitor health and safety practices of contractors and Forestry England staff to ensure high standards of safety
•build and maintain excellent professional relationships and communications with Forestry England staff, contractors, stakeholders and members of the public, to maximise effective delivery of the works

The duties of this post require the applicant to travel to remote locations that are not accessible by public transport. You will therefore need to hold a full current driving licence that enables you to drive in the UK. We are willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means. A Forestry England vehicle can be made available for business use only.

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person Specification

Essential professional and technical experience

• relevant experience in countryside management, conservation especially wetland restoration or forestry

• experience supervising operational contracts and resources

• good understanding of and experience in the application of health and safety in land management or forest operations

• able to work in a team environment that includes working collaboratively with teams from other departments

• competent IT user with experience of MS Office

Desirable professional and technical experience

• have a practical experience of habitat restoration and land management techniques to support the supervision of contractors

• an understanding of habitat restoration techniques and issues • have a familiarity with the use of GIS mapping systems

• sound understanding and experience in the application of contract management

Qualifications

Desirable

• hold a recognised land management or forestry qualification to at least national diploma level

To view full job details and how to apply please visit the job listing here.