Mechanic - Mechanical Engineering Field Service Engineer

Job summary

What you’ll do…

As a Mechanical Engineering Field Service Engineer (Mobile Mechanic), you will deliver an efficient, value‑for‑money service that supports Forestry England in achieving its operational objectives. You will be responsible for maintaining and repairing vehicles and specialist forestry equipment, ensuring the fleet is professionally and cost‑effectively managed to maximise availability and reliability.

The role will involve carrying out inspections, servicing, repairs, welding and fabrication, and recovery work at operational worksites and other locations as required. Equipment maintained will typically include chainsaws, trailers, quad bikes, agricultural machinery such as tractors and associated attachments, as well as cars, vans, and 4x4 vehicles.

This is a mobile role requiring a proactive and flexible approach to supporting frontline operations.

The post reports to the Mechanical Engineering Chargehand / Service Delivery Administrator.

Please refer to the full job description for further details on the role requirements and candidate criteria.

Where you’ll work…

This role is managed from the Bellingham Workshop, located within Kielder Forest, Northumberland. The workshop provides mechanical engineering support to Forestry England’s North, Yorkshire, and Central districts, as well as Delamere Nursery (Cheshire), Forest Services, and Forest Research. As a result, regular travel will be required.

The position is based within the Central District and will cover the full Central District operational area. The role is intended to be based around the Sherwood area, with a Forestry England site used as the primary reporting point.

This is a predominantly mobile role, involving travel across the Central District and, on occasion, into North Yorkshire. A fully equipped Forestry England vehicle will be provided, along with all necessary tools, equipment, parts, and consumables to enable effective delivery of the role.

Central District

Central England Forest District Team manages 30,000ha of the Nations Forests within a triangle formed by Preston, Grimsby and Milton Keynes. We manage a diverse range of forests from ancient oak-wood to new community forests, producing 150,000 tonnes of timber every year and providing homes for a wide range of wildlife. Over 8 million people live within 20 miles of our forests, giving rise to a diverse range of customers, neighbours and stakeholders. We manage seven visitor centres, attracting over 2.5 million visits per year, and 23,000 hectares of accessible woodlands.

Job description

Repair and Maintenance of Vehicles, Machinery and Equipment

• work as a team to successfully deliver high standards of service delivery for the maintenance and repair of assets across your geographical areas of responsibility
• ensure that all maintenance, whether preventative or otherwise, inspections, servicing, and statutory checks (Such as PUWER, LOLER, PSSR, MOT’s, Fuel Bowser, Plant, Trailers, AV’s, etc) are completed in accordance with the manufacturers specifications and internal FC policy
• ensure regular communication is provided to charge hand / service delivery administrator on the status of equipment throughout the repair or maintenance process
• ensure all assets are assessed for lifespan at each scheduled maintenance event and advise line management should repairs exceed financial expectation
• ensure that records of all and any maintenance event, whether scheduled or otherwise, are recorded within the asset management software
• ensure all workshop equipment safety check processes are completed
• assess and carry out all assigned tasks, identifying the most appropriate method of effecting a repair/maintenance whilst considering cost, downtime and ensuring the safety of all

Financial

• identify any parts required and present as much information as possible to charge hand / admin to order if above delegated authority
• comply with delegated authority limits for any purchases, escalating those which may be required
• highlight to charge hand / admin any instances where parts quotations may exceed financial expectation for further discussion and authorisation
• goods receive any parts ordered on receipt of parts
• assist in managing parts, consumable and lubrication stocks of assigned workshop vehicle

Communication

• maintain effective communications across your team, colleagues and suppliers through regular and routine discussions, toolbox talks and scheduled reviews
• ensure end users are kept fully informed of the status of assets under repair via chargehand / admin
• seek honest feedback on your own performance and act on that feedback
• attend training and maintain CPD to comply with business and personal requirements
• create and champion an inclusive working environment where people feel valued, safe to challenge and where contribution and success is recognised

Health and Safety

• complete ‘short job risk assessments’ when they identify additional risk’s to a ‘job specific risk assessment’
• keep records for audit / review purposes
• utilise the COSHH database wherever required
• attend weekly toolbox talk’s with your team on matters such as health & safety and regulatory compliance
• ensure the effective safe working and encourage across the department
• ensure that your workspaces are regularly cleaned and are accessible, inclusive and maintain a positive approach to hygiene and welfare standards

Business Sustainability

• assist your team to successfully deliver business objectives/ outcomes/ targets in accordance with PPG 35 – waste
• identify areas where a reduction of waste could be achieved, and in cases where this is not feasible, recycling of packaging is effective
• encourage an inclusive environment where people feel valued, and where new innovations are openly suggested for future improvements

And any other tasks reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

Essential professional and technical experience

• demonstratable experience working in a customer and technical engineering focused environment
• experience of carrying out maintenance and repair on a wide range of different vehicles, machines and equipment
• experience and knowledge of applying health and safety considerations
• good communication skills

Desirable professional and technical experience

• knowledge and use of fleet management software, including asset records
• experience in working as part of a wider team across multiple geographical areas
• a high level of technical expertise on repair, maintenance and diagnostics of mechanical, electronic and hydraulic systems found on heavy plant machinery and agricultural equipment
• experience in vehicle diagnostics and air conditioning
• diagnostic knowledge for mechanical engineering assets (VME) using husqvarna, snap-on and other tools
• knowledge of electric vehicles
• wielding (arc and MiG) and fabrication skills
• knowledge of risk assessments and COSHH

Qualifications - Essential

• full UK driving license – category B (enables you to drive a manual vehicle up to 3,500kg in the uk)
• mechanical engineering based qualifications, for example: City and Guilds Motor Vehicle Engineering (3905), Plant/Agricultural NVQ Maintenance Level 2, or equivalent

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• There will be a small practical technical assessment where you will be required to carry out a walk around inspection to identify any defects.

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.

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.

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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

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, technical and strength based questions during your interview. There will be a small practical technical assessment where you will be required to carry out a walk around inspection to identify any defects.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

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.

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 – Mechanical Engineering Field Service Engineer (PB6A) (4) Opens in new window (pdf, 93kB)