Area Ecologist

Job summary

Our vision is that the nation’s forests will provide the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England. Our Area Ecologists play a key role in the delivery of that vision by providing ecological advice and inspiring others to support our work for nature. The postholder will provide ecological advice to operational teams to ensure species, habitats and designated sites are managed in accordance with wildlife legislation, policy and best practice guidance. The postholder will also carry out monitoring of a range of habitats and species and support our planning and recreation teams in decision making.

This role reports to the District Ecologist and will be based from the Mortimer Office near Ludlow. 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.

You can expect to spend two thirds of your time outdoors, often independently and remotely and you will usually be expected to manage your own time to maximise efficiency and effectiveness. The role is funded by DEFRA rather than Forestry England generated revenue and is therefore subject to government spending reviews.

While DEFRA has indicated long-term support for Forestry England’s Biodiversity Programme and we expect finding to continue, it is possible that funding levels may change at the end of any financial year depending on DEFRA’s budget allocations. In the event of funding changes, we would prioritise retaining staff posts wherever possible. This approach is consistent for roles within publicly funded organisations. We are committed to keeping staff informed and supported through any changes.

The position is a 3-year fixed term appointment with the possibility, but no guarantee, of extension or permanency. The position is a full-time post to work 37 hours per week. Normal working hours are Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm with an hour lunch break; and Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm with an hour lunch break. This can be worked flexibly by agreement.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Operational Delivery

Work with Beat teams and District staff to ensure operational plans and recreational activities comply with protected species legislation and provide advice on a range of ecological constraints and opportunities. Through the completion of wildlife surveys and assessments inform project managers of wildlife constraints and opportunities associated with forest and management interventions. Foster a positive team working relationship so as to inspire and engage everyone to drive beneficial change for
the benefit of wildlife. Be open and realistic as to the challenges inherent in the business, promoting transparency and constructive dialogue.

Habitat Management and Enhancement

Plan and deliver habitat management across key sites including statutory designated sites, ancient woodland
and priority habitats. Use forest operations as an opportunity to enhance habitat condition and connectivity through collaboration
with the Beat teams. Support the Forest Planning team with preparing Forest Plan revisions and management plans by using local
and expert knowledge to inform management decisions. Identify, develop and implement nature restoration projects ensuring readiness for funding opportunities and supporting both existing and new initiatives.

Monitoring

Deliver strategic ecological monitoring and analysis, contributing to evidence-based decision making and natural capital approaches.

Permissions, Volunteers and Contract Management

Collaborate and build relationships with stakeholders including statutory bodies, NGOs, academic institutions and community groups to support sustainable forest management. Advise Permissions and Beat teams through consultation process on the suitability of permission applications. Manage volunteers and work with contractors and partner organisations to achieve shared objectives. Utilising existing groups and agreements engage with and facilitate groups and individuals to aid habitat management and species monitoring. Proactively liaise with communications and marketing colleagues so as to champion success and promote our work.

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• good wildlife identification skills, especially for protected species.

• experience or an understanding of forestry and woodland management.

• up-to-date knowledge of environmental legislation, particularly biodiversity, and experience of its application to land management.

• excellent team and partnership working, with a track record of interdisciplinary working and with experience balancing ecological requirements with commercial and social objectives.

• competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications.

Desirable professional and technical experience

• experience monitoring schedule 1 birds, particularly raptors

• experience or understanding of the UK forestry sector, the UK Forestry Standard and UKWAS certification.

• experience of managing small nature recovery projects.

• good knowledge of biodiversity net gain and/or experience of the planning system.

Qualifications

Essential

The successful applicant is very likely to have a degree or equivalent in ecology, nature conservation or environmental management or comparable experience.

Desirable

• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

• European protected species licenses (EPS)

• Schedule 1 license

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,105, Forestry Commission contributes £8,721 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%

Things you need to know

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.

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 a technical skill and strength based questions during your interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Working Together
• Delivering At Pace
• Seeing the big picture

If candidates pass the interview but are not the leading candidate they can be placed on a reserve list. We may offer candidates on the reserve list for this role the opportunity to be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands.

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

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.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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 : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

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: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

Forestry England Job Description - Area Ecologist (PB6) Marches Opens in new window (pdf, 155kB)