About the Job at Leeds Coppice Workers

Trainee Coppice Worker at Leeds Coppice Workers

Key Responsibilities

The tasks below cover the range of things we do. We are a small organisation, and our work varies a little from year to year so while we hope to involve the trainee in all of the tasks we cannot guarantee that. Some work may require formal training before the trainee can do them. The work is in its nature physically demanding as it involves being outdoors in all weather and significant lifting and carrying.

• Coppicing
  ○ Assisting the team with coppicing of LCW managed woodland.
  ○ Felling coppice in a safe and efficient manner and creating piles to be processed into products.
  ○ Creating a number of different products to a required standard (see products list on our website for reference).
  ○ Assisting the team on volunteer days as needed.
  ○ Assisting with fencing the coupes to protect from deer
  browsing.
• Hedge Laying
  ○ Assisting members on hedge laying tasks.; siding up, laying and binding.
• Firewood Processing
  ○ Processing firewood including sawing, splitting and transporting logs.
• Firewood Extraction
  ○ Assisting the team to extract firewood from LCW managed woodland and partnered organisations such as Leeds Tree
  Care.
  ○ Moving firewood with truck and trailer safely and efficiently to LCW Wood yard.
• Delivering products to customers
  ○ Filling fire wood sacks and delivering to customers.
  ○ Driving LCW truck or assisting driver with deliveries (i.e. navigation).
  ○ Liaise with comms team about product requirements and logistics
•  Charcoal making
  ○ Assisting the team with charcoaling at various locations.
  ○ Preparing timber for charcoal kilns.
  ○ Lighting and supervision of kilns.
  ○ Grading and filling charcoal bags.
  ○ Making deliveries to charcoal customers
• Workshop delivery
  ○ Assist with the delivery of training or therapeutic workshops as and when required.
• Administration
  ○ Assisting with the routine running of the business, ensuring we are aware of availability and participating in business
  discussions. There will be room to discuss this involvement.

General Responsibilities and Duties

Work at all times towards fostering an atmosphere of encouragement and teamwork based on individual commitment to the aims and objectives of LCW.

• Ensure that all staff, including volunteers work as effectively as possible in carrying out their duties.
• Work at all times in an organised and efficient manner, adhering to timekeeping; communicating effectively with other members and customers and the ensuring clarity in the dissemination of information.
• Ensure all work areas including yard and vehicle are neat and tidy and secure at all times, as well as being maintained to the highest possible standard.
•  Adhere to LCW’s Health & Safety, Equal Opportunities, Diversity policies and compliance with all statutory requirements.
• Attend regular staff meetings and meetings with customers / clients as required.

Person Specification

In your application please try to give specific examples for each of the following traits that apply to you.

Essential

Experience spending time outside in all weathers
Experience using hand tools of some description
Reasonable level of physical fitness
Works well independently and as part of a team
Flexible and able to adapt to changing work plans
Positive mental attitude to problem solving
Good organisational skills
Enthusiasm to learn about coppicing
Enthusiasm to learn about sustainable woodland management
Holds full UK driving licence

Desirable

Access to a vehicle for commuting
Some experience using hand tools with wood
Some experience of processing firewood
Experience of driving off road and/or towing a trailer
Experience leading groups of volunteers
Knowledge of conservation and woodland management
Experience of using IT packages such as Gmail, google drive

Working Hours

28hrs per week on average. As we work outside through the winter with limited light the usual working day is 8am to 4pm.

Please be aware this job is part of our Forestry Roots traineeship which is charitably funded and all applicants must fulfil the below eligibility criteria:

•  Aged 18-30 years old
• Faced a barrier to education or employment
• Not currently gainfully employed, or working within the forestry or arboriculture sector

Please be aware you will need to be available to start work between the 1st of August and 31st September. 

Early submission is encouraged as we reserve the right to close these vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications.