Tree Health Pilot Woodland Officer
| Posting date: | 01 August 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £34,080 to £36,934 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 18 August 2024 |
| Location: | Crawley |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 363805/1 |
Summary
Owing to several factors including climate change and growing globalisation in trade and travel, the threats to our trees from pests and diseases have risen dramatically over the past 20 years. Several of our most prominent broadleaf species are threatened, for example ash from ash dieback, oak from Acute Oak Decline and Oak Processionary Moth and four of our major conifer species are impacted by current outbreaks of Phytophthora and Ips typographus.
This post will complement our existing Tree Health Pilot Woodland Officer and Plant Health Officer from the Forestry Commission’s specialist Plant Heath Forestry operational team working across the south and east of England. In particular, proactively engaging and supporting woodland owners impacted by the eight toothed spruce bark beetle Ips typographus facilitating the removal of spruce trees impacted by the beetle and restocking the woodland concerned.
About the Tree Health Pilot
A 3 year Tree Health Pilot was launched in August 2021 to test and refine novel land manager-focused incentives. The Pilot was set up to run alongside and inform amendments to the support available through the existing Countryside Stewardship Woodland Tree Health scheme. The grants available through the Tree Health Pilot will continue to be available until the amended Countryside Stewardship offer is launched.
Key principles of the pilot were being trialled within targeted locations across the South-East England and North-West & West Midlands Forest Services Areas, primarily aimed at owners and managers of small woodlands, farmers with trees, and managers and owners of tree outside of woodland.
Working with the Area Teams, Forestry Plant Health and the Tree Health Incentives policy colleagues, the post holder will facilitate and deliver tree health pilot grants to land managers and groups of land managers to help manage tree pest and disease outbreaks and support restocking of trees.
This role is based in:
- South East England with easy access to our office near Tonbridge. The focus of the work will be Kent, Sussex and Surrey but may well extend beyond this to the wider south east and into East Anglia.
The successful candidate will be expected to:
Promotion and engagement:
- Lead targeted promotion and engagement of the tree health pilot grants to stakeholders and potential applicants, where alternative support to existing grant schemes is required.
- Encourage landowner collaboration to deliver tree health resilience at a landscape scale.
- Use contacts, data and evidence to identify pest and disease outbreaks and suitable grant applicants.
- Provide advice and promoting tree pests and disease management as part of wider woodland and tree management.
Protecting and improving trees and woodland in England:
- Supporting woodland and tree owners and managers in responding to the challenges of pests and diseases including – Ips typographus, ash dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, Sweet Chestnut Blight and oak processionary moth.
- Supporting woodland and tree owners to increase resilience to climate change and tree pests and diseases through restocking of trees and woodlands after tree heath issues.
- Assessment of tree health grant applications to deliver maximum impact, value for money and long term outcomes.
- Identification and facilitation of opportunities to work across the supply chain and forestry sector with utilisation of trees felled for tree health / resilience reasons.
- Ensuring tree health management meets other environmental legislation requirements and advising on these regulations.
- Promoting best biosecurity practice to the sector .
Support learning from experience:
- Contribute to FC and Defra project meetings to capture lessons learned and help shape future incentives packages for land managers
Interaction with other schemes:
- Supporting land managers after they have responded to tree pests and diseases, promoting woodland management and further support opportunities.
- Working closely with partner organisations and stakeholders to optimise collective resources to support tree health and longer term resilience.
- Work closely with other FC teams delivering environmental land management support to land managers to ensure join up of government support to the forestry.