Forest Craftsperson

Job summary

The Forest Craftsperson will support the Beat Forester in shaping the land we manage by undertaking a range of operation and inspection work in the forest, including assisting with practical matters that may arise. Be a champion of our health & safety culture through exercising our value of ‘look out and look after’ within our work.

Job description

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

Operational duties:

• Planting- Restock and beat-up planting of establishment sites across the beat

• Manual vegetation control- Brush-cutting, knapsack chemical application and hand weeding of competing vegetation on establishment sites

• Mechanical vegetation control- tractor based vegetation control of forest rides and establishment sites

• Estates- maintenance of forest infrastructure i.e., forest gates, fences

• Tree clearance and maintenance – chainsaw felling, manual and mechanical pruning of trees.

• Ensure the effective delivery of work programmes.

• Surveying, including measuring/tariffing and beat-up assessments.

• As required, gather operational data accurately and efficiently and maintain appropriate up to date records to the standard required.

Team working and Health and Safety

• Operate and maintain available tools and resources to required standards and ensure that a safe working site and safe methods are maintained for health and safety purposes.

• Through effective liaison with other staff and stakeholders, plan, implement and deliver efficient work programmes that satisfy the aims of Forestry England.

• Engage proactively and respond constructively to existing and prospective customers and present the highest standards of professionalism when representing Forestry England in the marketplace.

• Carrying out risk assessment and able to work to high health and safety standards which are guided by FISA (Forest Industry Safety Accord).

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

Person specification

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Essential Professional and Technical experience

• Practical experience in forestry or countryside / environmental management.

• General understanding of forestry, arboriculture, nature conservation, outdoor recreation and countryside related issues.

• A familiarity with a range of hand tools and ability to demonstrate competence in their use.

• Good interpersonal and communication skills, and ability to work effectively both alone and as part of a team.

• Awareness of health and safety systems in connection with practical countryside work e.g., risk assessments, Forestry Safety Accord (FISA) guides and lone working systems.

• Basic technology and computer skills.

Qualifications

Essential

• Full UK driving license. The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

Desirable

• Forestry or land management qualification

• NPTC and Lantra qualifications in Forestry based skill

• Previous tractor driving experience

• Emergency First Aid at Work + Forestry (F)

• GCSE at level C or above in Maths and English Language or equivalent

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,959, Forestry Commission contributes £7,810 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 experience, a technical skill and strength based questions during your interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

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 : fcrecruitmrntteam@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

FE Job Description - Forest Craftsperson - Operations Craftsperson Opens in new window (pdf, 197kB)