Research Assistant - Forest Ecology

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.

A Research Assistant position is available to support a portfolio of forest ecology research projects. The post-holder will be based at the Alice Holt Forest Research (FR) station in Surrey within the Centre for Forest Management and will work as part of a multidisciplinary team. The role will involve a combination of field, laboratory and office-based activities, contributing to the delivery of research that improves understanding of forest ecosystems and informs sustainable woodland management.

Job description

Fieldwork activities

These will include ecological assessments of biotic and abiotic variables across diverse forest habitats (e.g. wet woodlands, plantations and ancient woodlands) and agroforestry systems. Environmental data collection will include measurements and sample collection to characterise site conditions (e.g. soil sampling for physical and chemical analysis). Biological assessments will include standardised multi-taxa biodiversity surveys (e.g. ground vegetation and fungi assessments, arthropod trapping, bat and bird acoustic monitoring). Activities may also include minor construction, installation and maintenance of equipment and infrastructure at long-term field experiment sites. The successful applicant should enjoy working outdoors in varied weather conditions and be flexible to travel regularly across Great Britain, including occasional overnight stays.

Laboratory-based work

These will involve supporting with the management and daily workings of the Ecology Laboratory at Alice Holt. Specific lab-based activities will include processing and preparation of ecological samples (e.g. mammal eDNA samples, ectomycorrhizal root tips, bulk arthropod samples) prior to downstream environmental DNA (eDNA) molecular analyses. Some of the work will involve the cleaning and sterilisation of equipment used for eDNA and other molecular sampling. The post-holder will have the opportunity to learn basic species identification skills for multiple taxonomic groups (e.g. bryophytes, fungi, arthropods).

Office-based activities

These will include support with survey site selection and fieldwork preparation (e.g. accommodation and travel logistics, and data sheet preparation). The post-holder will also have opportunities to contribute to data analysis, the preparation of reports and scientific outputs, and the development of external funding applications.

The Centre for Forest Management leads FR's research into climate change, urban forests, silviculture, land use and ecosystem services, and the ways in which society values trees. Within the Centre for Forest Management, the science teams that the candidate will be supporting deliver evidence, methods and tools to help policymakers and practitioners understand how land use and climate change affect the biodiversity, resilience and ecosystem services of wooded landscapes, now and in the future. We combine spatial analysis with ecological and forestry knowledge to deliver scientifically robust insights relevant to policy and practice.

The post-holder will contribute to the delivery of several research projects over the coming years. The role will involve a combination of field, laboratory and office-based work, undertaken in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams of forest ecologists, climate change scientists and other specialists across FR. The successful candidate will be expected to work as part of a team, receiving training, guidance and mentorship from PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and senior scientific staff. Projects the post-holder might support with include:

• Trees Outside Woodland (ToW) which aims to improve the identification, monitoring and ecological assessment of Ancient and Veteran (AV) lone trees and other ToW across Great Britain.

• Forest Wilding which monitors changes in biodiversity as landscapes are allowed to naturally progress towards a more natural, unmanaged state with and without supporting interventions.

• Large-scale Ecosystem Recovery Network (LERN), a large-scale long-term field experiment to study the ecological outcomes of woodland creation under a range of management approaches.

• Supporting Woodlands into Management (S-WiM) is a project investigating the links between forest management, woodland ecological condition and biodiversity, working also at improving trackside linear woodland biodiversity gains.

• Biodiversity Across Forest Types (BioX4Types) is a project assessing the composition of multiple taxonomic groups as shaped by distinct forest types across Great Britain.

Key Work Areas

The successful applicant will be required to:

• Liaise with colleagues and project managers to develop realistic work schedules.
• Support field site selection, logistics, equipment procurement and delivery of field campaigns.
• Undertake ecological field surveys across Great Britain, including travel and overnight stays where required.
• Conduct multi-taxa biodiversity monitoring using standardised methods, including ground vegetation and fungal surveys, arthropod sampling, bat and bird acoustic monitoring, and ecological assessments of Ancient and Veteran trees.
• Process ecological samples in the laboratory, including environmental DNA (eDNA), bulk arthropod and other biological samples prior to downstream analyses.
• Prepare, maintain and sterilise field and laboratory equipment, ensuring quality assurance and contamination control for eDNA sampling.
• Support with managing laboratory standards in the Ecology Lab at our Alice Holt Research Station.
• Assist in the preparation of technical reports, scientific publications, presentations and other research outputs.
• Work effectively within a multidisciplinary team while maintaining high standards of health and safety, scientific integrity and data quality.
• Carry out minor construction, installation, and maintenance of equipment and infrastructure at long-term field experiment sites.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Undergraduate degree or similar relevant qualification (e.g. Foundation Degree) with substantial content in ecology, environmental science, forest science, physical science, or biological sciences, or equivalent relevant professional experience
• Experience of ecology fieldwork, ecological sampling techniques, and the measurement of physical variables
• Excellent organisational, sample/data handling and record keeping skills
• Experience in good laboratory practice including the use of microscopes, H&S processes
• Willingness to undertake seasonal fieldwork throughout the year across Great Britain, including regular travel and occasional overnight stays *

Travel and overnight stays are estimated to be required up to 3 weeks per month. However, this will not necessarily be continuous and likely to be broken up with days in the office.

* Due to the nature of the role, we require applicants to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK.

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.

• Experience in collecting and analysing UK forest ecology data
• Experience in the identification of ground vegetation, fungi and/or arthropods and/or bioacoustic monitoring techniques
• Experience in forest science, forest ecology, forest biometrics and/or restoration ecology
• Practice with sample collection for DNA metabarcoding and/or eDNA metabarcoding
• Experience with practical construction, repair, and maintenance activities including the use of light hand and power tools
• Experience in the use of GIS software such as ARCGIS/QGIS or similar

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,105, Forestry Commission - Forest Research 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 (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% of 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, you will be asked to supply:

• A CV – setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role
• 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
• Submit a statement of up to 250 words on each of the three following behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace and Working Together.

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 will take place week commencing 12 October 2026.

Interviews are planned to take place week commencing 19 October 2026 atAlice Holt Lodge, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LH.

At the Interview stage, you will be assessed on your experience and the 3 following behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace and Working Together.

If we receive a large volume of applications, then we will sift on CV (Experience) andLead Behaviour (Making Effective Decisions). Candidates will be expected to answer questions on the two behaviours listed at the interview stage.

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.

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

Success Profiles_ Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK Opens in new window (pdf, 502kB)