GIS Technician

As the GIS Technician, you will help Forestry England achieve its objectives by providing an accurate inventory of the district's assets, from which to base future operational planning, and provide technical support on GIS and data matters to the wider forest district to enable them to fulfil their roles within the Forest District.

The GIS Technician works closely with Forestry England colleagues across the Forest District to ensure data is collected and recorded correctly and integrity in datasets is maintained.

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

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Surveys, Inventory and Data -

• Update the sub-compartment and other core ForesterWeb datasets of the GIS, in accordance with the Survey Handbook, and with particular attention to end of year
• Complete data integrity checks and updates as required
• Input survey data to help maintain and improve the ForesterWeb datasets
• Create new digitised layers that will hold and present forest data, from scratch or through georeferencing existing data
• Provide advice and technical support to the forest management team on the use of GIS, including Forester Web, ArcPro and ESRI Field Maps.

Tactical Planning -

• Review and update the Thinning Coupe layer and update sub-compartments following thinning with Beat staff
• Query, analyse and present spatial data for use in the management decision processes, using tools such as spreadsheets, pivot tables and charts, and spatial analysis tools in GIS software, for example producing heatmaps, clipping, merging and buffering data
• Produce presentation maps and data as required.

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 is a Temporary Appointment until 31/03/2029, with the possibility of extension of permanency but no guarantee.

How to apply…

We cannot accept applications via email. Please follow the steps outlined below. Any CVs and/or personal statements sent outside the system will not be considered for shortlisting.

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.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Seeing the big picture
• Delivering at pace
• Working together
• Making effective decisions

You will also be assessed on technical skill. This will involve a short practical exercise loading and interrogating data, using both the in-house Forestry England GIS and ArcGIS Pro - help will be provided from our current GIS technician. Candidates will not need to prepare anything specific in advance for this exercise.

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