Forest Craftsperson

Role overview

This position sits within the East Devon beat team, with the base office at Staple Fitzpaine, just outside Taunton. In this role, you will help the beat forester manage the land through a mix of forest operations, inspections, and practical support. You will also work alongside the Wild Neroche Project Officer to deliver hands-on interventions that help restore natural processes across the landscape. A strong commitment to health and safety is central to the role, including a culture of looking out for one another.

What you will do

The post combines fieldwork, site management, surveys, and support for woodland and landscape projects. You will be expected to carry out a wide variety of practical forestry and countryside duties, work safely, and keep accurate records when needed.

• Support practical activities for the Wild Neroche project.
• Work with ancient and veteran trees.
• Carry out restocking and establishment tasks such as hand planting, installing tree guards, repairing fencing, and managing competing vegetation.
• Perform tree maintenance tasks including high pruning, cutting back, and felling.
• Support tree safety management through inspections, warning signage, safety fencing, remedial felling, and preparation for or assistance with arboricultural contractors.
• Help with tree survey work focused on potentially hazardous trees.
• Maintain estate features such as vegetation and trees along roads, rides, rights of way, and permissive paths.
• Install and repair gates and barriers.
• Ensure work programmes you are responsible for are delivered effectively and efficiently.
• Carry out risk assessments and work to high health and safety standards guided by FISA requirements.
• Complete a range of surveys and inspections connected to timber marketing and forest management, including timber mensuration, stocking density, ecological checks, recreation trail inspections, and related work.
• Collect operational data accurately and maintain records to the required standard when needed.
• Help deliver projects focused on Wild Areas, including occasional woodland creation work.

Teamwork and safety

• Use and maintain tools and equipment to the required standard, ensuring site work meets health and safety expectations.
• Work closely with colleagues and stakeholders to plan and deliver efficient work programmes that support Forestry England’s aims and objectives.
• Carry out risk assessments in line with strong health and safety practice and FISA guidance.
• Take on any other reasonable duties requested by your line manager.

Experience, skills and knowledge

You should bring practical forestry or countryside/environmental management experience, along with a solid understanding of forestry, arboriculture, conservation, outdoor recreation, and related countryside matters. The role also calls for confidence using hand tools, awareness of countryside health and safety systems, and good IT skills, particularly with Microsoft Office. You will need to communicate well, build effective working relationships, and work both independently and as part of a team.

Qualifications

The essential qualification requirement is a City & Guilds NPTC Level 2 Award, or equivalent, in chainsaw maintenance, cross cutting, and felling and processing trees up to 380mm. A full UK driving licence is also required, although proposals for alternative means of fulfilling the role will be considered.

Desirable qualifications include a forestry or land management qualification, further NPTC and Lantra forestry-based certificates, Emergency First Aid at Work plus forestry, and GCSEs in Maths and English or equivalent functional skills.

Selection process

The recruitment process will assess behaviours under the Success Profiles framework. You will be asked to provide a 200-word statement on your relevant experience and career history, plus a personal statement of up to 500 words. At interview, you will face technical and strength-based questions, and the behaviours assessed will be making effective decisions, working together, delivering at pace, and seeing the big picture.

Successful candidates will be required to complete a criminal record check, a baseline personnel security standard check, and a medical.

Salary and benefits

The salary for this role is £26,959 per year. The employer also contributes £7,810 towards membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme, and the total employer pension contribution rate is 28.97%.

• Learning and development tailored to the role.
• Flexible working options.
• An inclusive culture that values diversity.
• Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.

Artificial intelligence guidance

AI may be used to support an application, but all examples and statements must be truthful, factually accurate, and taken directly from your own experience. If plagiarism or misrepresentation is identified, an application may be withdrawn and internal candidates may face disciplinary action.

Nationality and eligibility

This post is broadly open to UK nationals, Republic of Ireland nationals, Commonwealth nationals with the right to work in the UK, certain EU/Swiss/Norwegian/Icelandic/Liechtenstein nationals and eligible family members with settled or pre-settled status under EUSS, certain applicants who made a valid EUSS application on or before 31 December 2020, and Turkish nationals and certain family members who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service.

Working in the Civil Service

The post is not regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service offers a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria, and a Redeployment Interview Scheme for civil servants at risk of redundancy who meet the minimum requirements. The organisation also promotes diversity and inclusion, supports the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, and welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.

Contact and further information

For adjustments, contact fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk. Recruitment contact emails are fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk. Complaints about whether the process followed fair and open competition principles should first be raised with englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk; if unresolved, the Civil Service Commission may be contacted. If appointed, candidates on a reserve list may also be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands. Feedback is only provided to candidates who attend interview or assessment.