Communications Officer

Job summary

What you’ll do…

We're looking for an experienced Communications Officer to lead and deliver communications across the Forest of Dean, helping tell the story of one of England's oldest and most unique forests.

We are looking for someone who has a strong communications background and a love for the Forest of Dean to continue the positive work of telling the rich story of the Forest. You will be responsible for developing and delivering proactive and reactive communications that support organisational objectives, promote Forestry England's work, and help build public understanding of how we manage the nation's forests sustainably.

The role involves working closely with our wider marketing and communications team, colleagues in operational roles and a range of partners to identify opportunities, develop content, manage media relations, and ensure consistent messaging across a range of channels.

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

Where you’ll work…

This role will be based in our office in Coleford, Gloucestershire.

Some home working would be considered but you will need to spend the majority of time in the office or on-site.

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.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Develop and deliver compelling content to tell the story of sustainable forest management, and our work for wildlife, for people, and for the climate
• Promote good news stories and support key projects with activity including press releases, website updates, social media content, and internal communications
• Lead reactive communications for emerging issues, ensuring messaging is timely, accurate and consistent
• Design and implement communications around forest operations and other works taking place within the forest
• Plan and develop interpretative signage, working with our design team
• Collaboratively manage social media channels, creating content and responding to messages
• Oversee the content and quality of relevant pages of the Forestry England website
• Develop and maintain relationships with external partners, e.g. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, RSPB
• Track and measure the impact and effectiveness of our communications, in line with team KPIs
• Respond efficiently and effectively to emergency situations as they arise, providing crisis management communications support to front-line staff
• Plan work and deliver according to a yearly budget
• Work with the wider district engagement team to plan campaigns and initiatives collaboratively
• Actively engage with local delivery team meetings and build positive working relationships with colleagues in a range of different job roles
• Support internal communications by supplying engaging stories for the district’s intranet and monthly newsletter
  
  And any other task reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential

• Relevant experience in a communications environment
• Relevant experience of developing content in all forms of media (digital and print) to support communications objectives
• Strong digital knowledge and skills, including content creation, promotion, and social media management
• Creative flair and excellent written skills, with proven experience of copywriting and editing for digital
• Proven organisational skills with the ability to work to tight deadlines and balance priorities whilst managing several projects simultaneously
• Ability to work independently, use initiative, and solve problems
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of staff and partners
• Excellent IT skills including word processing, spreadsheets, and using CMS
• Ability to work effectively in a geographically spread team
• Full UK driving licence

Qualifications

Desirable

• A relevant professional qualification e.g. CIM or CIPR or substantial experience
• Relevant experience in a marketing environment

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,854, Forestry Commission contributes £9,807 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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…

We cannot accept applications via email. Please follow the steps outlined below. Any CVs and/or personal statements sent outside the system will not be considered for shortlisting.

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.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Communicating and influencing
• Working together
• Delivering at pace
• Seeing the big picture

You will be assessed on you experience and a technical skill at the interview. The technical element could include a presentation or written task.

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 basic (or equivalent) 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) (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 : FC Recruitment Team
• 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 - Communications Officer (PB5) Opens in new window (pdf, 113kB)