Corporate Services Manager

Job summary

Part of the Forestry Commission family, Forest Research is a world leader in applied forest science, providing evidence and practical solutions to policy makers, forestry practitioners, land managers and anyone with green space, UK-wide. With climate and biodiversity in crisis, and an increasing number of pests and diseases, our research is more vital than ever before. We advise on how woodlands can help combat climate change. We’re identifying tree species that will thrive in the future and ways of safeguarding those species at risk. Our research supports UK timber production because fewer imports reduce carbon emissions. We provide data on forests in Scotland, Wales and England, and provide evidence of the societal benefits of woodland. We do all this working collaboratively with academia, partners and industry, nationally and internationally.

The Forest Research Corporate Services Teams - Finance, Information & Technology, Communications, Human Resources and Programme & Estates, are responsible for ensuring the business systems, processes, governance and reporting are working well and fit-for-purpose. They support the wider business and help manage and deliver some of the corporate plan activities for both Forest Research and connect us with the other parts of the Forestry Commission.

This role will report to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services and will support the director to coordinate the corporate services delivery, including reporting, governance and change projects.

Job description

This role will support the Director of Finance and Corporate Services playing a crucial part in overseeing the delivery of essential corporate services and strategic projects in Forest Research.

This position demands a proactive and highly organised individual capable of managing competing priorities effectively.

As a key member of the multi-disciplinary Corporate Services team, you will collaborate closely with senior colleagues within Forest Research and across the Forestry Commission. You will be expected to contribute to the strategic direction of Corporate Services, ensuring active engagement with stakeholders, and the effective and efficient delivery of a wide range of key corporate and business service outputs.

Person specification

We are seeking a Project Delivery professional with experience of Business Management to join our Corporate Function. The successful candidate will work positively and calmly under pressure, co-ordinating multiple tasks, prioritising, and ensuring accuracy and attention to detail. They will be a self-starter who can work independently whilst having a strong ability to build relationships, working collaboratively and flexibly across teams with others to deliver a common goal.

Essential Criteria:

• A relevant project management qualification e.g. APM Project Management, Prince 2, PMI Project Management and / or demonstrable project management expertise
• Excellent organisational and planning skills, with the ability to reprioritise activities to deliver accurate outputs.
• Excellent communication skills in particular written with the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of staff.
• Expert in developing and managing effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including those with competing interests.
• Ability to quickly assimilate and analyse unfamiliar material, keeping track of multiple activities in a rapidly changing operating environment to deliver sound judgements and recommendations.
  
  

Desirable Criteria:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Understanding of policy, corporate governance, security issues, and strategic analysis to provide challenge and innovative ideas across a broad range of issues.
• Experience of working in a corporate function, understanding corporate policy, governance, and security issues and a good understanding of the requirement to protect confidentiality.
• Experience in improving processes, redesigning process flows and ways of working, carrying out research and data analysis to identify issues and propose solutions.
• Experience of using SharePoint.
• Power BI experience

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £48,765, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £14,127 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).

Your career

Excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role, with paid professional membership subscriptions, mentoring, and Civil Service Learning available to all
access to world class laboratory facilities, as well as state of the art buildings within forest or science park settings

Your work/life balance

flexible working options such as: up to two days flexi leave per month, blended working, part-time working, paid special leave, career breaks, and unpaid leave. Parents and carers will be supported to enable you to manage work and family responsibilities
A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-timers). Plus 2.5 days of additional leave and 8 days’ paid bank/public holidays

Your wellbeing

A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment
A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
We want you to feel part of something bigger and we encourage a community feel in our workplaces, with everything from cookery competitions to Pilates and fell running, plus topical talks at Wellbeing Wednesdays and Feelgood Fridays
Paid volunteering leave of 3 days per year so you can give back to your community and charitable causes by sharing your skills and time

Your benefits

a highly competitive Civil Service Pension of 28.97% your salary
an employee benefits scheme offering discounts on groceries, gym memberships, holidays, days out, online retailers and high street shops
Cycle to Work scheme and Interest free loans
Free parking is offered on-site, alongside electric car charging ports
With maternity, adoption, and/or shared parental leave there’s the flexibility to have up to 26 weeks full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave. Paternity leave of up to two weeks is available with full pay.

Any move to Forest Research from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

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 and Experience.

Please apply at Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK. You will need to successfully pass this to be invited to complete the remainder of the application.

Please allow yourself sufficient time to complete this test. We recommend you do so as soon as possible. You should allow up to an hour, the test is not timed and internet access will be required for the duration of the test.

If you successfully pass the Civil Service Verbal Test you will be invited to complete the second part of your application. You will be asked to:

• Complete a CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years
• Submit a Personal Statement – (limited to 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria as outlined in the person specification
• Provide a 250 word statement for each of the three listed Behaviours: Changing & Improving, Communicating & Delivering at Pace.

We will use this information to assess your application against the essential criteria in the person specification.

Shortlist

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the Essential Criteria set out in the Person Specification. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift is planned to take place week commencing 31st August 2026

Interviews are planned to take place via MS Teams between 7th - 17th September 2026

If we receive a large volume of applications, then we will sift on CV (Experience) and the Personal Statement. However, candidates will be expected to answer questions on all behaviours listed at the interview stage.

Applicants invited to attend for interview will be required to prepare and present on the following topic:

You have been asked to co-ordinate the development of Forest Research’s key deliverables, for 2027-28 including how these will be measured and reported on. Deliver a 10-minute presentation outlining your approach to delivering this task, with a particular focus on how you would work across teams with key stakeholders to identify and prioritise the key deliverables ensuring all parts of the business are represented.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Visa Sponsorship

FR holds a licence to sponsor Skilled Workers under the Home Office points-based immigration system. Candidates wishing to apply should note that the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship would depend on an assessment of this role against defined criteria, which include:

o Whether the Job role has been identified as being a Critical Role in FR, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan, and / or
o Whether the Job role is a known Capability gap, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan for the relevant Centre, and
o Evidence of significant recruitment challenges in filling the Job role previously

Skilled Worker sponsorship may be available, subject to an application and assessment process and the Home Office points-based system.

For further details, please refer to the Sponsorship for Skilled Workers – guidance for applicants and managers on our 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 : hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk
• Email : hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.services@forestresearch.gov.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 FR HR Services by email: hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

CS_Behaviours_2018 Opens in new window (pdf, 1043kB)