Field Manager (Landscape Recovery)

The Forestry Commission are the government’s forestry experts and we work to protect, improve, expand and connect England’s woods and forests. We do this by providing policy advice to government and leading delivery through regulation, incentives and protecting tree health. The Environment Act set a target of increasing tree cover in England to at least 16.5% by 2050 and recognition of the benefits that trees and woodlands provide for the environment, society and the economy is increasing. We await the revision of the England Trees Action Plan.

The Field Manager role, as part of Forest Services, is responsible for leading a team of Woodland Officers based in their area and for ensuring the effective coordination of our incentives and regulatory activities. Field Managers play a critical role in delivering a step change in our woodland creation levels, and in supporting the woodland management activity across the area. This includes working closely with Natural England, Environment Agency, Rural Payments Agency, Forestry England and Forestry Commission Admin Hubs.

This Field Manager role will also lead on some and help coordinate Landscape Recovery activities across the North West and West Midlands area. You will also work closely with the Areas other Field Managers and local area specialists such as ecologists, deer officers, historical advisors and Land Use Advisors.

Field Managers lead and support teams of Woodland Officers effectively to expand, protect, improve and connect woodlands across the area and ensure the effective use of Forestry Commission incentives and regulations. This Field Manager will support Landscape Recovery across the North West and West Midland.

Responsibilities

• Team working and Managing People – Provide leadership and support to the Woodland Officers, Landscape Recovery Woodland Officers, Regulations & Incentives Support Officers and Technical Support Officers to ensure the effective delivery of our incentives and regulatory programmes.

This includes working alongside Area Operations Managers, attending regular meetings, providing feedback on workloads, prioritizing a range of workstream approvals and sharing topical updates with your team including leading local area meetings.

• Delivery of Government aspirations for trees and woodlands - play a key role in supporting the operational delivery Forest Services Business Plan. This includes work to help promote the opportunities of the Forest Service’s Strategic Framework and working with delivery partners.
• Manage Incentives and Regulations – Oversee the delivery of incentives across the area through supporting their area team and partners by building positive working relationships to ensure the effective promotion and delivery of our incentives programme. Including seeking support from technical specialists to process complex cases and influencing the evolution of new initiatives to best deliver government forestry policy. Support with the areas incentives and regulation workload.
• Engaging with stakeholders and partnership working - Work with the Area Management Team to identify the partnerships to engage in order to deliver appropriate sector support in identified priority areas. Developing and maintaining good working relationships with advisers and stakeholders.

Landscape Recovery specific responsibilities

This role will help ensure a consistent standard of delivery across the nine NW & WM Landscape Recovery (LR) projects and is funded through the Farming Programme (FP). As appropriate the post holder will support and provide guidance to within the Area team and to each LR project team and the farmers and landowners within each LR project.

Work with the Landscape Recovery (LR) project to adopt a one team working approach with colleagues across the Defra group (Defra, Natural England, Environment Agency, Historic England) to improve both grant design and delivery, ultimately delivering better environmental outcomes.

Build and maintain relationships between Forestry Commission’s Landscape Recovery team and FC subject matter experts from other grants, regulations, policy and operational teams.

Identify and enable the linkages between scheme design and operational delivery from central government to FC’s national office and area based operational teams.

Analyse and manipulate project data, helping to inform Landscape Recovery’s role in reaching Government environmental targets.

Semi-regular presentations to a diverse range of internal/external stakeholders.

• Vision and Culture – Support the overall work of the team to ensure the effective delivery of our vision and culture ambition and to help lead on the development of a proactive Health & Safety culture. Play an active role in the wider work of the team including supporting Management and Area Team Meetings.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Fixed Term Appointment until 30th March 2027 with possibility of extension or permanency, but no guarantee.

As part of the application process, you will complete the following online:

• A tailored CV (curriculum vitae) setting out your qualifications, career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. The CV should be split into 3 parts and provide: Job History, Previous Skills/Experience, Full Qualification Details.
• A personal statement – in no more than 750 words showing how you meet the relevant skills and experience as set out in the Person Specification.
• A statement, of no more than 250 words, providing an example of how you have demonstrated the key behaviour of communicating and influencing.

The sift will be conducted using your CV, Personal Statement and lead behaviour: communicating and influencing. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the essential role requirements within the application behaviour responses.

Should you be successful at this stage you will be progressed to interview stage. These interviews will consist of a mixture of behaviour and strength based questions. Candidates will also be asked to undertake a technical assessment at interview stage.

Applications will be sifted on week commencing the 1st September. This date is subject to change.

Interviews will be held week commencing 7th or 14th September. These dates are subject to change.

Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.

Travel options include:-

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

The Forestry Commission is actively working to reduce the carbon emission of official travel and applicants should be aware of the broad principles which are being applied to reduce carbon emissions to less than 50gCO2/km. FMs maybe provided with an FC fleet vehicle that can only be used for business mileage.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Forestry Service 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Existing Civil Servants (excluding Forestry Commission employees) and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, and will only be considered on a loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant.

Existing Forestry Commission, Forestry England and Forest Research employees are eligible to apply for this Fixed Term Appointment and will only be considered if there is written confirmation from their line manager and HR that their current role will be temporarily backfilled or held open before commencing the application process.

This role is full time. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Where a role has been identified as one which falls under the scope of the Public Sector English Language Requirements, within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English. Applicants will be assessed in the selection process in accordance with the requirements.

This post will involve regular travel including to more remote areas, therefore applicants need to hold and continue to hold, a full current driving license that enables them to drive in the UK and should be willing to stay away from home overnight. The Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants which would allow them to do the job by any other means.

Reasonable Adjustment

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.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via FCERecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

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.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.