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Senior Tree Officer (Planning & PES)
About you
Are you passionate about shaping, influencing and creating new opportunities for increasing canopy cover?
Are you an experienced Tree Officer / Arboriculturist who wants a new challenge and the opportunity to deliver and influence tree care and management across one of England’s most beautiful and diverse treescapes?
Do you have experience of the planning process related to trees?
If the answer is ‘YES’ to any of the above, then you could be the person we’re looking for to join our established Tree Service.
Oxfordshire County Council recognises the need for action related to climate adaptation. Proactive tree care, management and canopy growth of our tree assets will enable delivery of key objectives to aid resilience and improve the environmental benefits for residents and visitors across the County.
Rewards and Benefits
- Culture of flexible and agile working
- May be the opportunity for access to a County work van as part of your role, depending on demand and availability
- Technology to support agile working, where role permits
- 30 days’ holiday p.a. plus bank holidays (Increasing to 32 days after 10 years’ service)
- Offer access to a Relocation Scheme, depending on circumstances and conditions, should you need to consider moving closer to or into the County from where you currently live. Further details are available on request
- Option to ‘buy’ additional holiday
- Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
- Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s contribution of up to 19.9%
- Enhanced family friendly policies
- Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
- Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.
About our Senior Tree Officer role
The Senior Tree Officer will deliver planning response to applications and have the opportunity to oversee key processes and management across our Property, Estates and School sites.
The Senior Tree Officer (Planning & PES) post has been created to ensure decision making by leading on complex arboricultural matters throughout development, management and planning processes. These will include:
- Town and Country Planning Act Regulation 3
- Highways Act s278 agreements
- Highways Act s38 agreements
The role will provide specialist knowledge and input is made available to support the Facilities Management Team with oversight of proactive tree inspections across our OCC land responsibilities, primarily Property, Estates and Schools (PES). The role will be varied and enables problem solving in an innovative way. You will promote transparency and build trust with other departments, our communities and stakeholders through our decision making processes.
You will contribute to tree care of Oxfordshire County Council’s tree stock by supporting Tree Officers in the Tree Service to ensure a holistic and consistent approach to tree care across the County. You will help organise the non-highway, cyclical site surveys with the Tree Officers and you will shape projects to deliver environmental benefits through tree planting and retention.
Please read through the job summary for more specific details on the selection criteria for the role to see how you, your qualifications and your experience can help us to deliver our goals.
The role will cover all areas of the County.
Interview date: Tuesday 15/9/2026 – This will be in person at our Sutton Farm site in Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire.
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Until 31/3/2028
Vetting requirements: This role is subject to a Basic DBS Check.
Work location: You will have a base at Sutton Farm, Stanton Harcourt and you may be required to work from this location. We recognise the need for balance and therefore, agile working is offered as part of this role.
Please click here to view the Senior Tree Officer (PES)
Job Summary and Selection Criteria.
You will need to clearly demonstrate how your qualifications and experience meet each of the selection criteria in the Job Summary, using examples where appropriate, in your application submission. Please focus on addressing each numbered bullet point in the selection criteria.
For an informal discussion about the role and how to apply, please contact Andy Lederer (Principal Officer – Arboriculture) by email andy.lederer@oxfordshire.gov.uk
About us
The Tree Service are responsible for ensuring public trees under the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council are maintained for the long-term benefit of the communities they contribute to.
We are responsible for approximately 400,000 public trees along approximately 4600km of public highway, that we manage and maintain.
The Tree Service works closely with a variety of departments and functions within the County to deliver a holistic approach to tree care.
Your office base may be subject to change as we are currently transitioning between temporary and permanent office locations due to the closure of County Hall. If this is applicable to you, you will be notified, but no reimbursement will apply in respect of travel.
Our commitment to: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.
Our commitment to: Guaranteed Interview Schemes
As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.
Our commitment to: Safeguarding
Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.
Our commitment to: Flexible Working
We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, full time and part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.
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Salary range
- £41,771 - £45,091 per year