The MOD Estate includes MOD Barracks, Airfields, Naval Bases and a vast training estate that extend from the marine environment, through dune systems and across the UK to the mountainous forests and moorlands of Scotland and Northern Ireland. This post offers an exciting and unique opportunity to work within the existing forestry team supporting development and management of this varied and heavily designated estate with an emphasis on tree safety management, sustainable woodland management, natural capital and woodland creation. 1. SME Advice 35% Assist the Senior Forester in providing specialist advice on all issues relating to forestry and amenity tree management on the MOD estate. Ensure the proactive management of all the woodland/amenity tree resource across the UK and Overseas estate and provide customers with Subject Matter Expert advice for legal compliance. Provide legal and best practice guidance for forestry, woodland and tree related tasks/ projects to internal and external customers on both statutory and non-statutory issues. Support and inform long term forest management plans for the estate and act as the forestry focal point for the development of estate management and sustainability plans. 2. Audit and Assurance 35% Monitor compliance with MOD and DIO policy, instructions and guidance, make recommendations on actions to improve compliance, operational efficiency and the policy framework. Ensure audit and assurance inspections are coordinated to make best use of resources, targeting Prime Contract geographical regions. The assurance inspections will specifically target health and safety, compliance with MOD policy, forestry/arboricultural management plans & processes and industry partner contract delivery. 3. Reporting and Communications 20% Undertake briefings and presentations to internal and external stakeholders. Manage and maintain good liaison internally with DIO/ MOD staff and externally with Statutory Bodies, Non-Govt Organisations and other customers. Develop and maintain close working partnerships with strategic partners and contractors. Develop and facilitate conservation/ environmental/ sustainability awareness regarding trees, woods and forests to both internal and external stakeholders. 4. New Woodland 10% Carry out desktop and site inspections to identify possible woodland creation opportunities, liaising with Woodland Creation Advisors. Discuss proposals with military representatives and the wider DIO team for each site. Identify possible constraints. Record woodland creation opportunities on the Natural Capital Asset Register. Person specification Essential Skills and Experience: Demonstrate experience and knowledge in forestry and woodland management. Evidence should include an understanding of silvicultural systems and characteristics of forest species, pests and diseases and balancing often conflicting objectives through the planning process towards delivering outcomes. Demonstrate a good working knowledge of health and safety as it relates to forestry and amenity treework. This will include legislation such as HASAWA, knowledge of different roles and responsibilities and examples of risk assessments, site safety rules etc. Demonstrate a knowledge of statutory and legal compliance for woodland/forestry operations. Candidates should offer examples of permitted felling, working within designated sites, such as conservation/ heritage designations and be familiar with the British Standards which apply to treework. Demonstrate a knowledge of amenity tree management, including professional tree surveys and how amenity trees relate to planning applications and development sites. Desirable Skills and Experience: Demonstrate knowledge of natural capital and ecosystem services, natural capital asset registers and accounts and how managed forests and woodland creation can contribute to net carbon sequestration. Working towards membership of the Institute of Chartered Foresters or relevant professional body. Licences UK driving Licence Qualifications A minimum of a HND in Forestry (or other relevant subject) plus significant post qualification employment or equivalent combination of relevant qualifications, skills and applicable experience. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Benefits Alongside your salary of 36,530, Ministry of Defence contributes 10,582 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Highly competitive Pension Scheme Alternative working practices such as working from home 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years service Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave Most sites have free car parking, Sports & Social Clubs, Gym, on site shops and subsidised canteens To learn more about our full range of benefits, view our Candidate Information Guide attached. Allowances Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts. This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances. Employment Hours The post advertised is for 37 hours net, however the Ministry of Defence offers a range of flexibilities to enable a better work-life balance for employees. Flexible working, Part-time working and Job Share working patterns will be considered. Where business needs allow, this role may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working, therefore you must consider if any of the above locations are within a reasonable travelling distance. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business (i.e., detached duty) or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements. The post does not offer relocation expenses. External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period. Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed. Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts. Any move to MOD 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/. The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments. MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit. Please provide your evidence for behaviours using the STAR Technique using the attached information on how to apply. Situation: Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand. Where are you? Who was there with you? What had happened? Task: The recruitment panel will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in. What was the task that you had to complete and why? What did you have to achieve? Action: What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information of what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use I rather than we to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do. Result: Dont be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures easily understandable. What results did the actions produce? What did you achieve through your actions, and did you meet your goals? Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience? Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths. When providing your evidence please ensure that you avoid acronyms and company specific jargon. At application you will be assessed against the following: Experience : CV - detailing Job History, Previous Skills and Experience Personal Statement: As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement of 1250 words, the purpose for this, is for you to showcase your relevant skills and experience against the job requirements. The statement is your opportunity to give examples of how you fit the requirements of the role. At interview you will be assessed against above, plus the following: Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing: 24/02/2025 Interviews are currently taking place remotely via MS Teams, this will be confirmed with the successful candidates who are invited to an interview and will be conducted week commencing: 03/03/2025. A minimum of 2 full working days notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs. To assist with your application please find attached below: DIO Candidate Information Guide DIO Candidate Information Guide - Accessible Version For help and support with your application check out our Civil Service Careers Homepage and the How to apply section We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn't always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3mod.gov.uk. As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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) .