Forest Craftsperson

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 251323**Salary**:

- £23,098**Job grade**:

- Administrative Officer- Pay Band 6b**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- FC - Forestry England - North England Forest District**Type of role**:

- Operational Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Full-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Rothbury, NorthumberlandAbout the job

**Job summary**:
North England Forest District has a complement of 132 staff who care for 61,000 hectares of forest and 25,000 hectares of open land. Annual timber production is 550,000 m3 and there is a planting programme in excess of 3 million trees a year.

The District has 45 SSSIs totalling over 10,000 ha and is a major contributor to local and national biodiversity. The District has four visitor centres at Grizedale, Whinlatter, Kielder and Hamsterley. The public forest estate in North England District attracts over one million visits per annum.

Rothbury Beat is comprised of 22 Woodlands ranging in size from 100-3500Ha, with a wide variety of conifer and broadleaf species. All areas are managed for multi-purpose objectives determined by their individual character and location. A number of the woodland blocks are within the Northumberland National Park.

The Beat has an annual restocking programme of around 80 hectares and a timber harvesting programme of around 70,000m3 each year from clear felling, thinning and the management of woodlands for continuous cover. Following Storm Arwen, the beat has an increased harvesting programme as operations are underway to recover significant quantities of windblown timber.

The team is led by a Beat Forester who is supported by a Works Supervisor and 3 forest craftspeople. There may be times where cross function working is required to meet the needs of the wider District team.

**Job description**:
This post is a varied and exciting opportunity to join the Rothbury Beat team, part of North England Forest District. You will play a key role working with the other members of the team to maintain and enhance the Forestry England estate, using a range of practical and countryside skills including chainsaw/clearing saw work, grass strimming, fencing, planting, vegetation control, path maintenance and basic surveying.

**General Estate Maintenance**

Carry out a diverse range of practical estate maintenance works to a high standard in accordance with health and safety and environment guidance. Maintain, restore and create various habitats for ecological benefit and improvement of the landscape. The work will include the felling and planting of trees, vegetation management, fencing, chainsaw and clearing saw/strimmer operations

**Operational Delivery**

Work effectively as part of a small team, and when requested responding quickly to unexpected work and issues raised by the supervisor and forester.

Contribute to the delivery of key programmes by providing a support service in delivering essential plants, materials, consumables, etc. to operational work sites.

Undertake monitoring and data-gathering tasks such as fence line and boundary inspections and the assessment of tree densities on restocked and newly planted sites.

**Customer Care**

Champion the vision and ethos of the organisation when talking to customers, visitors, stakeholders and when working with volunteers.

**Person specification**:
**Essential**
- Experience of practical work in the countryside and a general understanding of forestry, nature conservation and countryside related issues.
- Evidence of ability to develop relevant practical skills through assessed training.
- Evidence of good interpersonal and communication skills.
- Full UK Driving Licence

**Desirable**
- Familiarity with a variety of hand tools and an ability to demonstrate competence in their use.
- A National Vocational Qualification in Forestry or Land Management.
- GCSE at level C or above in Maths and English Language, or equivalent demonstrable experience.

**Qualifications**:
**Behaviours**:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Managing a Quality Service
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions

**Benefits**:

- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- 5 weeks annual leave increasing to 6 weeks after 5 years service plus 10.5 Public, Privilege and Additional holidays.

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:

- This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.-
- We will use your CV and Personal Statement to assess whether you have the Experience we are looking for, so include examples to show us how your past work is similar to the advertised role.
- Your CV needs to list your full job history and include a sh