Job Summary

West England Forest District is responsible for the sustainable management of over 36,500ha of the nation's forests in the west and south-west of England. The District extends from the Shropshire Hills AONB south to the majestic oak and beech woods of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire and south-west to Idless Woods near Truro in Cornwall. The District is managed from the District Office at Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, with a secondary office at Haldon Forest Park near Exeter, supported by ten remotely located forest beat teams and three recreation hub teams that look after the forests and woods on a day to day basis.

The post is based at Haldon Forest near Exeter in Devon. Haldon Forest receives nearly 500,000 visitors per year who come to enjoy the forest environment and recreation facilities available. The local team consists of 3 recreation rangers and 5 craftspeople/visitor services staff who work cohesively to deliver high quality experiences and facilities that are safe and enjoyable. Facilities include a network of walking, cycling and horse-riding trails, adventurous activities, play, café, toilets and bike hire making for a very busy and popular destination.

Job Description

We are looking for people with enthusiasm, good communication skills, resourcefulness, and an ability to work safely and productively as part of a team and independently. The work tasks require driving to site, sometimes towing a trailer.

Purpose of the job

We are looking for people with experience in most/all of the following tasks:

Typical tasks include, but not exclusively:

Installation and repair of signs, gates, benches and barriers.
Bin emptying, litter picking and removal of illegal fly tipping.
Providing a visitor welcome offering friendly customer service, answering queries, operating a till to sell trail packs, maps and memberships.
Fencing.
Vegetation cutting.
Trail safety inspection.
Trail repairs.
Visitor toilet checks, ad hoc cleaning, replenishing toilet rolls, unblocking toilets.
Clearing and repairing culverts.
Yard maintenance.

The role involves manual work outdoors in all weathers in the forest environment. The job is varied and wide ranging, requiring close team working, enthusiasm and ability to deliver at pace across a range of skills and disciplines.

We require all our staff to be welcoming, enthusiastic and approachable, with a willingness to engage with team discussion and with visitors to the forest in a polite and appropriate manner.

There will be a regular working pattern of either Tuesday to Saturday or Sunday to Thursday.

Person specification

Essential

We expect Craftspeople to be able to:

Operate and maintain tools and resources to required standards and ensure that a safe working site and safe methods are planned and maintained.
Work constructively and effectively with immediate work colleagues and the wider Forest District Team.
Be capable of planning, undertaking and recording practical tasks without supervision, planning tasks efficiently.
Take pride in their work and act professionally when dealing with members of the public, neighbours and other stakeholders.
Be confident and engaging with visitors whilst offering excellent customer service.
You will need a commitment to achieving results through working flexibly and supportively both on your own and as part of a team.
Be a competent user of IT, including mobile phones and Microsoft applications.
This role requires driving vehicles, a valid UK driving licence is required.

Desirable

Lantra/NPTC chainsaw certification.
First Aid (+F).

Behaviours

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

Managing a Quality Service
Making Effective Decisions
Working Together

Technical Skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

You will be asked to complete a practical task and demonstrate how to complete it safely and to a high standard.

Alongside your salary of £24,323, Forestry Commission contributes £6,567 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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%.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

A CV showing your job history and experience including your key responsibilities for each role.
A Personal Statement (no longer than 500 words) explaining why you are applying for the role and how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience are suitable for the job, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification and links to the key work areas.

Should a large number of applications be received, an 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.

Scheduled sift date week commencing 16 Sept 2024 and interview date week commencing 30 Sept 2024. Please note these may be subject to change.

Interviews will be held at Haldon Forest Park, Bullers Hill, Kennford, Exeter, Devon EX6 7XR.

Successful applications will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on experience, behaviours and technical skills.

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 Commission 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to pr ocess 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.

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.

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 will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality Requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window) .

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : Jen Cox
Email : jennifer.cox@forestryengland.uk

Recruitment team

Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

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