Senior Landscape Architect

Job summary

As a Senior Landscape Architect, you join a high performing team of professionals within Forestry England’s national operations team. You will assist, support and lead the delivery of strategic projects, and national and district programmes, which will shape improvements to the nation’s forests, providing a high-quality landscape and visitor experience. You will be responsible for managing specific areas of work and projects set within the scope of the wider team. The role is a mix of desk-based, and travel to the nation’s forests.

Recent projects delivered by the team include; Delamere Visitor Centre, Whinlatter WOW trail, Pedal and Play facilities to introduce young people to off-road cycling, inclusive play at sites including Sherwood Pines and Westonbirt Arboretum and community woodland design.

Please note, this is a Temporary Appointment until 31st March 2027 with the possibility of extension or permanency but no guarantee.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Support the team’s principal landscape architects in workload planning, change management and mentoring while keeping track of your own workload and support tasks.
• Instigate, input and review from peers and experts, putting forward options and recommendations for work based on research and analysis.
• Contribute significantly to internal client relations.
• Lead on complex projects and lead meetings of a complex or sensitive nature.
• Use standard organisational processes and procedures to resolve complex problems.
• Responsible for the set up and scope of individual projects, generating creative solutions from concept design through to detailed design.
• Monitor project interdependencies and key relationships.
• Prepare and deliver internal and external communications and presentations.
• Support the good mental health and wellbeing of team members with whom there is a direct working relationship.
• Guide and brief less experienced members of the team in project work.
• Coordinate project work with other team members, meeting project delivery and deadlines.
• Contribute to project and forest district workload planning and prioritisation.
• May have line management responsibilities.

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

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• Fully qualified Chartered Landscape Architect.
• Extensive, relevant work experience at post-graduate level.
• Technically competent with the ability to work independently and advise other team members in area of expertise.
• Experience and proficiency with AutoCAD and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Experience working on the landscape design and management public outdoor facilities.
• Competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications and other relevant software such as SketchUp.

Desirable professional and technical experience

• Practical experience of design for recreation, woodland management and forestry.
• Line management experience.
• Experience in Global Information Systems (GIS).

Qualifications

Essential

• Fully qualified Chartered Landscape Architect

Desirable

• A full UK driving licence.

Qualifications

Fully qualified Chartered Landscape Architect.

Behaviours

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

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

Technical skills

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

• You will be assessed on a technical skill during your interview. This will be a short portfolio or project presentation.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission contributes £11,700 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, Experience and Technical skills.

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 a technical skill during your interview. This will be a short portfolio or project presentation.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

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

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

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 - Senior Landscape Architect PB4 Opens in new window (pdf, 98kB)