Arboriculturalist

**About Us**

West Sussex is the second most wooded County in England, with many of these trees in council ownership. Our Arboriculture Team sits within the Local Highways Operation Service, who provide operational management of Highways, Countryside, and Public Rightsof Way for West Sussex. The Arboriculture Team manage the Country-wide tree stock with responsibility for health of trees, ensuring the network is safe and serviceable for highway users. The Team provides technical and legal guidance on arboriculture issuesand manages customer requests and enquiries.

For more information about West Sussex County Council, please visit our **WSCC About Us** page.

**About The Job**

**Salary**: £32,020 to £34,723 per annum
**Working Pattern**: 37 hours per week
**Contract Length**:Permanent
**Location**: Clapham, Hickstead or Drayton (Local Area Highways Office)

**You must be able to travel throughout the County including to locations that are not always accessible by public transport_._**

In this role you will provide expert advice about trees and their maintenance as well as identifying defects and hazards, initiating appropriate actions. You will work independently to undertake inspections and assess highway trees in all seasons. This includesproperty, pavements, and roads to make judgements of any damage, advising on remedial and repair works.

You will regularly liaise with contractors, colleagues within WSCC and our district and borough councils, tree wardens, and conservation groups about tree issues and how to avoid damage.

You will also provide estimates for all contractor work whilst making recommendations in terms of costing and prioritising needs within the constraints of a medium sized budget.

We are looking for someone who has a thorough knowledge of trees, along with an aptitude for anticipating problems and forming solutions. You will need personal resilience and the ability to deal with pressured situations, with a high level of customer-focusedskills.

The ability to travel around the County to remote locations and the ability to undertake tree inspections are essential.

**Experience and Skills**

**Key Skills**:
- Sound communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to create effective working relationships in order to interact effectively with a range of clients who will at times have strongly held views with regards to trees in the landscape.
- Ability to anticipate problems, plan solutions and make sound pragmatic problem-solving decisions which are based on solid evidence or research findings.
- Ability to demonstrate initiative, think laterally and to adapt to unexpected or changing situations.
- Ability to meet set deadlines and to understand when problems need to be referred upwards.
- Sound and accurate IT skills, including a good working knowledge of Word, Excel, GIS, and Confirm (or equivalent packages) for the integral use of word processing, data processing, report writing and maintaining computer databases at a high level, as wellas the ability to utilise bespoke mapping systems, read maps and scales.
**Qualifications and/or experience**:

- Thorough practical and theoretical knowledge of trees and their habitats, including their roots, types of soil, weather patterns and need for irrigation; advanced knowledge of how to care, treat and maintain trees.
- Good understanding of the range of benefits trees deliver, whilst appreciating the impacts they play in the overall infrastructure, and their links with roads, pathways, utilities, buildings and other parts of the landscape.
- Educated to Degree standard, or equivalent qualifications, or experience.
- Specialist qualification in forestry, arboriculture, or related discipline.
- A good understanding or working knowledge of the corporate and statutory legislative framework and other relevant guidance within which this role would function.
- Membership of a professional organisation, such as the Arboricultural Association - **Desirable**:

- Experience working as an Arboriculturalist, or with trees in a related discipline, such as landscaping or forestry.
- Experience in one or more of the following: supervising a member of staff, allocating works to contractors, or managing a budget.

**Rewards and Benefits**

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewardedfor the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

- 26 days annual leave + bank holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
- Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme
- A range of flexible working options

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our **Rewards and Benefits** page.

**Further Information**

The reference number for this role is **EIE00810.**

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Brian Lambarth, Maintenance & Inspection Manager, at

**How to Apply**

To apply, upload your CV and cover letter explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our websiteas, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.