Second Climber

Why Southwark?

Southwark is one of London’s most dynamic and diverse boroughs - a place of energy, creativity, and ambition. We’re proud of our commitment to fairness, equality and opportunity, and we’re working every day to make Southwark a place where everyone can thrive.

Southwark is a dynamic, diverse and ambitious borough, and our Licensing Service plays a vital role in supporting safe communities, vibrant businesses and a thriving night-time economy. We are looking for an organised, customer-focused Unit Support Officer to join our Licensing team and help deliver a high-quality, responsive service to residents, businesses and partners.

What You'll Be Doing

As Second Climber, you will work closely with the Lead Climber and arboricultural team to ensure tree works are delivered safely, efficiently and to a high standard. When the Lead Climber is working at height, you will provide on-site supervision, support safety management and be ready to carry out aerial rescue if required.

You will undertake a wide range of arboricultural tasks across parks, highways and housing sites, while acting as a professional ambassador for Southwark Council.

Key responsibilities

You will:

• Carry out a full range of tree care duties, including pruning, crown reduction, thinning, felling, stump grinding, root and basal growth removal and tree aftercare.
• Undertake aerial rescue operations when required and support safe working practices on site.
• Operate and maintain specialist arboricultural equipment, including chainsaws, chippers and stump grinders.
• Drive non-HGV vehicles with trailed equipment where licensed, carrying out daily vehicle checks and reporting defects.
• Complete associated groundworks, including minor fencing, paving and surface repairs.
• Apply herbicides, insecticides and fungicides safely and responsibly in line with PA1 and PA6 requirements and environmental best practice.

What We're Looking For

You will be an experienced arborist with the skills and confidence to support and supervise tree work operations on site. You will bring:

• Proven experience working as an arborist within the industry.
• A comprehensive range of NPTC/LANTRA certificates, including chainsaw operation, climbing, aerial rescue, MEWP use and pesticide application.
• Strong knowledge of arboricultural operations and standards, including BS3998.
• Sound understanding of health and safety legislation and safe working practices.
• Excellent tree and shrub species identification skills.
• The ability to work independently, prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.
• A professional, customer-focused approach and strong communication skills.

A full, clean UK driving licence with C1 + E entitlement.

Additional Information

Benefits and more information:

Salary Range (Full time equivalent)£35,373 - £41,637pa.

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Closing date: 25/01/2026

Interview date: 02/02/2026

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

*Please note, we reserve the right to close applications prior to the closing date indicated above - please apply as soon as possible - we look forward to receiving your application.

Attachments

• Please Click Here For the Job Description and Person Specification