Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Hexham, North East England, NE48 2HP About the job Job summary Contract type Fixed Term Appointment until 31st March 2026 Hours 22.2 What youll do As Finance and Partner Support Officer (FPSO) you will support the Project Manager in the administrative running of the project development period, and in the development of the Blended Finance and Business Plan, and the Project Management and Governance Plan. You will work with other team members throughout the development process to ensure that the conditions and requirements of the funding sources are acceptable to landowners, and to develop legal agreements which will underpin the future receipt of funds. Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you. Where youll work North England Forest District is the largest in England, covering 86,000ha, made up of 61,000 ha of forest and 25,000ha of open land in Cumbria, Durham, Gateshead, Lancashire and Northumberland. The District is managed by a team of more than 140 staff. The forest area is currently 90% conifer and 10% broadleaf. Annual timber production is in the region of 550,000m3. The District has 45 SSSIs covering over 10,000ha and is a major contributor to nationally significant biodiversity projects which help support red squirrels, water voles, ospreys and red kites. Our built and agricultural non-woodland estate is extensive and we are engaged in a programme of business development and conservation initiatives. This role will work specifically in relation to the Upper Irthing PRISM Landscape Recovery Project area, a >10,000 Ha area of FE and partner land on the Northumberland / Cumbria border. The work base will be FE's district office at Bellingham, Northumberland with hybrid working options considered Job description support the project manager and other FE or project partner staff as appropriate in the development of the blended finance model and business plan research opportunities for private sector investment, green finance and other grant income lead on the preparation and submission of funding applications as identified to be necessary by the developing plan support the procurement of financial and legal advice and support services and act as a key contact for external advisors and consultants alongside the project manager support project partners to access legal advice in support of project agreements provide administrative support to the financial activities of the project (this will include supporting other project staff with procurement, raising purchase orders, processing invoices and financial record keeping) support the preparation and submission of project financial claims to DEFRA, including working with project partners to coordinate collection of supporting documentation and evidence support partnership working and communication by coordinating meetings, reporting on and distributing meeting minutes and outcomes provide administrative support to the project team, including contributing to project reporting and financial tracking support research, consideration and application of future sources of funding for the project implementation period support development of a blended finance plan and business model during the development phase support other team members in the development of other aspects of the project plan as required participate in stakeholder engagement and publicity efforts, with especial focus on potential for community fundraising or other income streams The duties of this post require occasional travel including to remote areas, therefore holding a full UK driving licence would be advantageous. However, Forestry England is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by other means. And any other task reasonably requested by your line manager. Person specification Essential professional and technical experience experience of working to investigate and evaluate novel funding streams and/or business models experience working successfully within the development and/or delivery of complex partnership projects to set up new funding streams and/or business models to deliver longer term objectives experience of working closely with partners and stakeholders to develop and deliver a novel project (for example, other landowners and managers, and/or community groups) familiarity with the land management sectors of farming, nature conservation and forestry and woodland management strong organisational skills, including the ability to manage multiple work streams simultaneously ability to work effectively within a small team, supporting team members to achieve their best efforts whilst delivering your own key work areas competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications Desirable professional and technical experience familiarity with financial management and reporting software and systems Benefits Alongside your salary of £32,089, Forestry Commission contributes £9,296 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every years 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. Things you need to know Selection process details How to apply You will be asked to upload your CV and 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 strength and behaviour based questions during your interview. The Behaviours being assessed at interview are Seeing the Bigger Picture Working Together Communicating and Influencing Managing a Quality Service Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteamforestryengland.uk. Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. 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). Apply and further information 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 : FC Recruitment Team Email : fcrecruitmentteamforestryengland.uk Recruitment team Email : fcrecruitmentteamforestryengland.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.servicesforestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment. Attachments Forestry England Job Description - Finance and Partner Support Officer (PB5) (2) Opens in new window (pdf, 106kB) Apply at advertiser's site Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail