Land Use Advisor

Never has there been a more important time for trees and forests to help tackle the climate emergency and provide a much-needed sanctuary for people and wildlife.

The Land Use Advisor role will inform and encourage farmers and other land managers, to consider how woodland creation and management can help meet their objectives for their land. You will work closely with a broad range of land managers and stakeholders and will have a sound understanding of land management and/or agriculture complemented by an understanding of forestry.

If you are passionate about the role forestry can play in creating a better future for England, and want to play a part in that, we want to hear from you. You will be joining a team of committed colleagues, and you will have the opportunity to build on a wealth of expertise to take our ambitious programme of woodland creation forward.

You will be able to make your mark by helping the Forestry Commission reach new audiences and accelerate the rate of woodland creation in England.

Our staff engagement levels are consistently well above the Civil Service average and staff turnover is well below.

We hope you will join us for the challenge.

KEY WORK AREAS

• Plan and prioritise engagement with landowners and managers based on Area plans and priorities, and relevant data available, working closely with Area team colleagues.
• Meet landowners and managers to assess their business requirements, conduct whole holding or business reviews, where appropriate and identify woodland creation and management opportunities that meet the landowner’s objectives.
• Develop a local network with the forestry and land management sector, sharing skills and knowledge with advisors and those supporting land-use decisions.
• Approach and engage with local advisors/agents/stakeholder networks offering information on woodland creation.
• Attend events to talk directly to farmers/landowners engaging in proactive lead generation/targeting and to provide advice on woodland creation.
• Lead on the planning and delivery of local networking events and agricultural shows.
• Engage with existing and new customers and stakeholders to strengthen understanding and awareness of the woodland creation offer, building on established relationships there might be with other Area team members.
• Manage customer journey from initial engagement through to the point of proceeding with woodland creation project, liaising with Area team members.
• Keep lead tracker system information up to date, following up on all leads and tracking prospective customers.
• Support the roll out of a new Customer Engagement Tracker.
• Collect and feedback intelligence to inform development or improvement of promotional tools, and to inform improvements to the woodland creation offer.
• Provide content input to promotional materials as subject matter expert.
• Maintain an overview of current agricultural economics and markets and those for forestry to enable an understanding of challenges and opportunities in the land management sector.

The role will report to the Regional Promotion and Engagement Manager.

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.

If your home is outside the Forest Services Northwest area you will be expected to travel to your work area in your own time and at your own cost.

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 2028 with possibility of extension or permanency, but no guarantee.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• A personal statement – in no more than 750 words please provide details of how you meet the relevant skills and experience as set out in the person specification and your preferred location.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interviews will be face to face held in our held in our Cheshire office - Delamere, Linmere, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 2JD.

At interview you will be assessed on Experience, Behaviours, Strengths and Technical Skills. You may be asked to prepare a presentation at interview stage.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

This role is full time only. 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.

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.