Overview

We’re looking for two enthusiastic, driven and confident Forest Creation Officers to secure increased levels of woodland creation and tree planting to boost the creation of the Forest of Marston Vale. They’ll work proactively with farmers and landowners to promote, secure and implement new woodland creation projects and schemes, and be instrumental in delivering our c.£8m Trees for Climate programme, supported by Defra, which seeks to create c.500 hectares of new woodland by 2025.

Location:  Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park, Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire MK43 0PR

Contract:  Fixed Term (31 March 2025) with potential to become permanent; Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Salary: £26,000-£30,000 per annum (plus benefits)

Forest Creation Officer – job description (PDF)

Forest Creation Officer – application form (Word doc)

Forest Creation Officer – equal opportunities monitoring form (Word doc)

Forest of Marston Vale – background information for applicants (PDF)

Creating the green heart of Bedfordshire – progress and impact study summary (PDF)

To apply: Please direct all applications to our external recruitment/response handler HR Initiatives Limited c/o zoe.sheehan@hrinitiatives.co.uk. For an informal chat about the role, please contact James Russell, Forest Director, on 01234 762607.

The Forest of Marston Vale is a forest in the making; covering an area of 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes, it’s one of England’s Community Forests which together form the country’s largest environmental regeneration initiative. The Forest of Marston Vale Trust is the charity creating the Forest of Marston Vale. Since the early 1990’s, we’ve been planting trees to transform the once-degraded landscape and make the Marston Vale a thriving place to live, work and play.

A core target for creating the Forest is increasing tree cover to 30% – a ten-fold increase from the early 1990’s – as a means to transform the social, economic and environmental prospects of the area. The Forest of Marston Vale Trust, working with local communities, landowners and partners, has already increased tree cover to over 15% – a truly impressive achievement – and we’re looking to build upon this success in the next phase of creating the Forest.

We’re looking for two enthusiastic, driven and confident Forest Creation Officers to secure increased levels of woodland creation and tree planting to boost the creation of the Forest of Marston Vale. They’ll work proactively with farmers and landowners to promote, secure and implement new woodland creation projects and schemes, and be instrumental in delivering our c.£8m Trees for Climate programme, supported by Defra, which seeks to create c.500 hectares of new woodland by 2025.

We offer a competitive starting salary of up to £30,000, 25 days holiday (plus bank/public holidays) and a pension scheme, plus the chance to be part of a small, high-performing, professional team that are passionate about improving the environment and have an enviable track record in delivering great results.

The roles

These roles are based at the award-winning Forest Centre and Millennium Country Park in Bedfordshire, reporting to the Forest Director (with supervision from the Forest Development Officer) and responsible for contractors, forest volunteers, temporary staff and other volunteers as and when appropriate. The postholders will be key to increasing tree planting and woodland activity, including the delivery of c.500ha of woodland creation under the c.£8m Trees for Climate programme by 2025. They’ll have a confident approach to engaging with land owners and managers, and be able to use their technical and practical knowledge to provide professional advice to them. They’ll be able to comfortably undertake surveys and assessments of land, then design and prepare tree planting, woodland creation and other habitat creation schemes, and ensure their successful delivery.

The successful candidates should have:

  • HND/degree level in forestry, land/countryside management or related field, or equivalent work experience
  • At least 1 year’s professional experience in forestry, land management or natural environment context
  • Practical experience of designing and delivering tree planting and woodland creation schemes
  • Experience of working positively with farmers, land managers and land agents
  • Experience of practical tree planting, woodland creation, woodland management and countryside management project work
  • Produced works specifications and basic contract documents
  • Supervised and managed contractors to successful implement practical works
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
  • Broad ecological knowledge of a range of habitats, their importance and their management for conservation
  • Excellent IT skills and knowledge of GIS

Applicants must also have a full driving licence and access to a car for business use (mileage will be paid)

To Apply

https://www.marstonvale.org/jobs

Closing date: 5th July 2021

Interview date: Thursday 15th and Friday 16th July 2021