We are Forestry England.
We live and breathe forests.
Job title – Estates Officer
Salary – £33,854 per annum
Contract type – Permanent
Hours – 37 hours per week
Vacancy closes - 12th August, 23:58
Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.
Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We're providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.
What you’ll do…
As an Estates Officer, you'll play a key role in protecting and managing the Public Forest Estate across South England, with a particular focus on the New Forest. Working closely with Area Land Agents and a wide range of stakeholders, you'll investigate and resolve estate-related issues such as boundary matters, encroachments, unauthorised activities, utility proposals and land-use enquiries. The role combines field-based site inspections with office-based case management, requiring you to gather evidence, provide professional advice, coordinate permissions and agreements, and build positive relationships with local communities, landowners, partners and statutory bodies. You'll help safeguard Forestry England's legal, environmental and operational interests while supporting the sustainable stewardship of one of the nation's most valued landscapes.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
Forestry England is the country's largest land manager, caring for the nation's forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation's forests.
Our South England Forest District is made up of around 170 people with a diverse range of roles, from foresters and wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals. We all contribute towards the management of 46,000 hectares of public forest estate in East Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire. Nearly all of our forests are within either a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Much of this forest is of high importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity which impacts the way we work. We also provide public access to our forests with nearly 50 million visits every year.
The role will be based at King's House, Lyndhurst, Hants SO43 7NH
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.
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 your experience, technical knowledge, behaviour and strength based questions during an interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
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.
Nationality requirements…
Read more about nationality requirements here.
Working for the Civil Service…
Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative.
Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.
Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk.
Salary range
- £33,854 per year