Woodland Resilience Officer

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

- 246514**Salary**:

- £35,870 - £38,842-
**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer- Pay Band 4**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- FC - Forest Services - The Forestry Commission are the Government's forestry experts, and our role is to protect, improve, expand and connect England's trees, woodlands and forestry sector.**Type of role**:

- Environment and Sustainability**Working pattern**:

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

- 2Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- North East England, North West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the HumberAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Forest Services (FS) are Government’s Forestry Experts. We advise nationally and locally on how to unlock the full potential of woodlands and the forestry sector to deliver against a broad range of objectives. Together we Protect, Improve and Expand England’s valuable woodland assets - ensuring that they continue to provide benefits to people, the environment and the economy.

Within Forest Services (FS), the multi-disciplinary Policy and Advice team (PAt) helps the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and other government departments to develop forestry and woodland policy that works. It does so by drawing on all Forest Services’ wide-ranging forestry and woodlands experience, expertise, evidence and networks.

You will be embedded within the Forest Services Area Teams, led by the Area Directors Crispin Thorn and Keith Jones, but report to David White - Woodland & Climate Change Adaptation Adviser in the national Policy Advice team.

You will be expected to travel regularly within your Area and, occasionally, throughout England which could include overnight stays.

This is an exciting job that will play a pivotal role in building resilience into woodlands at a time of climate and biodiversity crises.

In this role you will work with the Area Team, Forest Research, woodland owners, businesses and conservation groups to reduce the long-term impact of climate change on the condition of woodlands. You will work with Field Team members to ensure woodland owners and their agents have the best available woodland resilience advice to-hand when reviewing/developing plans to manage their woods sustainably.

Your role will span research, policy and practice. Coordinating your work with other Woodland Resilience Officers, you will feedback lessons learned to Area and National Teams and this feedback will shape our ongoing response to climate change resilience across the country.

You will share your experiences with woodland owners to promote best practice and encourage positive management.

Working with Forestry Commission (FC) and Defra Communications Teams, you will be responsible for coordinating work that raises awareness of climate change and forestry and how to consider resilience when creating or managing forests, through events, meetings, woodland walks, social media and guidance.

To undertake this role, you will need to work constructively with woodland owners, Local Authorities, Defra Plant Health and Forestry teams, Highways England, Natural England, environmental bodies, trade and membership associations including CLA, Confor, RFS, NFU and other forestry and landowner sector representatives, such as the Forestry & Climate Change Working Group.

**Job description**:
There are two posts available. One post will be based within the Yorkshire & North East Forest Services Area, and will require regular travel to one of the offices in that area (York or Newcastle upon Tyne) and the other post will be based in the North West & West Midlands Forest Services Area, and will require regular travel to one of the offices in that area (Worcester, Cannock, Delamere, Penrith or Ludlow). Applicants should be based within reasonable travel distance from their selected host office. The posts are blended working, and will consist of working from home with occasional visits to the Forest Services office, site visits ,national meetings and training events. Applicants should specify their preferred post.

The purpose of this job is to support the management and creation of woodlands that are fit for purpose and resilient to future climate change, Your work will focus on:

- Facilitating effective woodland creation and management throughout the private and public sector.
- Within the Area team, interacting with and supporting the field staff and management team to ensure local and national priorities related to woodland resilience are met.
- Summarising and disseminating research, guidance and policy related to woodland resilience.
- Supporting the work of the Woodland and Climate Change Adaptation Adviser and the Resilience Adviser.

You will be expected to gain a rapid understanding of the landscape regarding woodland resilience in Forestry Commission, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs),