Location
Post 1 – The successful candidate will have a blended working approach between the office and home, living within the Area with regular travel required across the Area to facilitate field team support. The parent office for this role will be one of the 4 offices in the South East and London area of Wendover, Bucks Horn Oak, Bedgebury or Nobel House London.
Posts 2 and 3 – The roles could be based in one of two office locations (Santon Downham in Suffolk and Fineshade in Northants) with flexibility for some optional blended working or may be based at home anywhere within the 12 counties of the East of England and East Midlands. Please be aware that these roles can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Regular travel will be required across the Area and to attend national meetings.
About the job
Forest Services as part of the Forestry Commission are the Government’s forestry experts. We advise nationally and locally on how to unlock the full potential of woodlands and support the forestry sector to protect, improve and expand England’s valuable woodland assets, ensuring that they continue to provide benefits to people, the environment and the economy.
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. We aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, reflecting England’s contribution to meeting the UK’s overall target of planting 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. This acceleration in current planting rates in England will contribute to meeting the net-zero by 2050 ambitions, and to government’s wider environmental targets.
Key priorities include the increased delivery of woodland creation to build the region’s natural capital, to help tackle climate change and to support an increase in the resilience and management of the existing woodland resource.
Post 1 – The SE&L covers London, Kent, East & West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It contains 325,000 hectares of woodland, half of which is ancient woodland and half of the country’s ancient woodlands. Woodland cover is significantly higher than the national average at 15.6%, and there is 22% tree canopy cover when taking into account non-woodland trees. The woodland managed by Forestry England make up 11% of the total area in the SE&L. The area is highly designated with 2 National Parks and 9 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, – most of which are defined heavily by their woodlands – and there are 55,000 hectares of woodland designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Post 2 – The East & East Midlands Area stretches from Essex to the Peak District and contains over 250,000 hectares ofwoodland, 86% of which is owned and managed outside of the Forestry Commission’s estate. We are full of contrasts: have the two least-wooded counties in the UK; some areas are under sea level but others over 600m; we have internationally important ancient woodlands and very productive commercial plantations; we have number of important community initiatives and valuable peri-urban woodlands.
