We live and breathe forests. 

Job title – Species Recovery Officer

Salary – £33,854

Contract type – 3 year fixed term with the possibility of extension or permanency

Hours – 37 hours per week

Vacancy closes – Wednesday 8th July 23:58

Join us. We’re foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.

Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We’re providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

What you’ll do…

Forestry England’s Biodiversity Plan sets out a bold ambition of nature recovery in the nation’s forests.  Working across five principal focus areas, Forestry England aims to restore resilient biodiversity in the nation’s forests, delivering our vision to ensure that these forests provide the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England.

Established in 2022, Forestry England’s Forest Wilding Programme brings together two of these focus areas as part of a co-ordinated effort to deliver a step-change in nature recovery.  Our species recovery work focuses on the reintroduction of key influential species, such as beaver, wildcat, pine marten, white-tailed eagle and wood ants. Alongside this nationwide effort, we have established Wild Areas on over 16,000ha of the nation’s forests, bringing innovative approaches together with a sound evidence base to shift our land management to restore and enhance natural processes.

Species Recovery Officers support the delivery of species recovery through conservation translocation projects in our districts and across England, from planning and feasibility through to delivery and post-release monitoring. Translocations enable species restoration where natural recovery is not possible, or unlikely within a reasonable timeframe. International and national guidance (e.g. IUCN, Defra) informs best practice and evidence-based decision-making to optimise project success.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

The postholder will be based at our forest office at Bank House, Coleford, Gloucestershire, GL16 8BA. However, other Forestry England office locations within the district may be considered.

If the successful applicant is new to Forestry England then they will need to be embedded within a Forestry England office for a significant proportion of the working week during an induction period.

Benefits…

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.

How to apply…

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on experience and behaviour-based questions at interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Making effective decisions
• Working together
• Delivering at pace
• Seeing the big picture

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If candidates pass the interview but are not the leading candidate they can be placed on a reserve list. We may offer candidates on the reserve list for this role the opportunity to be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands.

In the event of a high number of applications, a pre-sift may be carried out.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

If you’re planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you’ve read our guidelines here first. 

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

Nationality requirements…

Read more about nationality requirements here.

Working for the Civil Service…

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative. 

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk.

This role is funded by DEFRA rather than through Forestry England generated revenue, and is therefore subject to government spending reviews. While DEFRA has indicated long term support for the Biodiversity Programme and we expect funding to continue, it is possible that funding levels may change at the end of any financial year depending on DEFRA’s budget allocations. In the event of funding changes, we would prioritise retaining staff posts wherever possible. This approach is consistent for roles within publicly funded organisations. We are committed to keeping staff informed and supported through any changes.