HR Recruitment & Services Officer

Posting date:	02 January 2026
Salary:	£30,105 per year
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	25 January 2026
Location:	Bristol
Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Job type:	Temporary
Job reference:	442741/1

Summary

Working closely with the Recruitment team and the wider HR Services team, you will coordinate and deliver end‑to‑end recruitment and onboarding processes across Forestry England. The role will provide high‑quality recruitment advice, coordination and administration, from vacancy approval through to appointment and effective onboarding.

Alongside recruitment and onboarding, the postholder will support defined employee lifecycle changes, such as contract variations and other people changes, ensuring accuracy, compliance and a positive customer experience.

You will act as a key point of contact for hiring managers and new starters, providing timely, professional advice and guidance, and contributing to continuous improvement of recruitment, onboarding and people change processes. Forestry England supports teams across England, so occasional travel may be required.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

Recruitment and Onboarding – Advice & Guidance

• Respond promptly and professionally to recruitment and onboarding enquiries, providing advice using relevant policies, tools and resources and creating an excellent recruitment experience for both managers and applicants.
• Work closely with the HR Programme Manager, HR Services Team and wider HR colleagues to deliver consistent and effective recruitment outcomes.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with hiring managers and senior stakeholders.
• Proactively support recruitment for critical or hard to fill roles, making recommendations to managers to identify practical solutions.
• Act as the first point of contact for new starters, supporting a positive and engaging onboarding experience.

Recruitment Administration and Processes

• Provide end to end administrative support for recruitment activity, including vacancy approvals, applicant management and offer processes using the applicant tracking system (FERN).
• Generate, issue and track contracts of employment and onboarding documentation for all new starters.
• Liaise with internal teams to ensure pre‑employment checks are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Maintain accurate recruitment records and ensure all documentation is complete, compliant and auditable.

Employee Change and HR Transactions

• Support the administration of employee lifecycle changes, such as promotions and other contractual variations, including the production and issuing of revised contracts and letters.
• Accurately process new starters and contract changes into the HR and Payroll system (iTrent).
• Work with HR colleagues to ensure changes are processed accurately and in line with policy and employment legislation.
• Manage sensitive employee information securely, ensuring GDPR compliance at all times.

Data, Systems and Service Quality

• Ensure recruitment, onboarding and employee change data is recorded accurately within HR systems.
• Produce basic people data or information as required to support service delivery and decision making.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment, onboarding and employee change processes and customer experience.

And any other task reasonably requested by your line manager.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.