Beat Forester
| Posting date: | 24 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £37,537 to £39,661 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 22 March 2026 |
| Location: | IP27 0TJ |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 450273/1 |
Summary
As one of the four Thetford Beat Foresters, you will play a key role in evolving our forest management practices - diversifying tree species to sustain timber production under future climate conditions, maintaining SSSI/SPA habitats for rare Breckland fauna and flora, protecting our unique heritage and providing extensive access to the countryside for an increasing number of visitors.
At Thetford Forest, we work at a landscape scale. The 20,000 hectare forest is divided into four beats, each producing a share of the forest’s 85,000m³ typical annual timber harvest and contributing to the up to 1million tree-planting programme.
The Beat Forester plans and organises forest operations, preparing large-scale silvicultural and estate maintenance programmes and ensuring they’re delivered safely, on-time and to exemplar professional standards.
In addition to managing planned work, Beat Foresters frequently need to react to unexpected or unusual situations (for example wildfires, windblown trees), quickly organising a response which complies with procedures.
If this job advert has inspired you to consider turning a passion for forests and trees into a career, but you don’t yet have the technical knowledge required for this role, you will find information about routes into forestry and qualifications on the Royal Forestry Society and tree work on the Arborictultural association websites. You may also find opportunities to gain experience through volunteering.
Please see the attached document for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
This post is based at the Santon Downham Office near Brandon, Suffolk IP27 0TJ.
A Beat Forester is a management role, so you can expect to spend part of most days in the office, but you must also be prepared to work outdoors in all seasons and be able to walk across rough ground with obstacles.
The standard working pattern is 44 hours a week 7am Monday to Friday but the operational pay and responsibilities of the role require flexible working to meet the needs of the team, and for you to be available on-call out-of-hours at times.
Sometimes meetings and training events will take place elsewhere in the country, which may require overnight stays.
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
- manage a team and volunteers meeting Forestry England’s organisational values and behaviours.
- champion improvements in Forestry England’s health & safety culture.
- deliver a positive and inclusive culture, fostering cross-functional collaboration and support.
- promote learning and development opportunities amongst the team.
- maintain professional and productive relationships with stakeholders across several beats and work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider district.
- create, manage, and execute operations in the beat in line with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS), UK Forestry Standard (UKFS).
- manage operations in a specific beat, including tree harvesting, regeneration and conservation programmes, outdoor recreation, and public engagement provision, collaborating with district foresters and specialist district leads.
- plan, procure, and manage contracts to effectively meet forest management and timber harvesting objectives, whilst meeting all relevant guidelines and legislation.
- engage proactively and respond constructively to existing and prospective customers and show the highest standards of professionalism when representing Forestry England in the marketplace.
- manage aspects of wildlife, woodland, and heritage conservation, and have awareness of legal and financial implications.
- make sure work you are responsible for health and safety guidance, and communicate the importance of working safely, to manage risks across operations for staff, contractors, customers, and the environment.
- liaise with the local mechanical engineering services team on vehicles, machinery and equipment.
- help maintain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation.
- be responsible for the beat’s budget.
- efficiently manage resources so beat projects, programmes, and business as usual operations are delivered effectively and efficiently.
- prepare the annual beat business plan - monitor, reforecast and report on budgets and key performance indicators throughout the year.
This post will require occasional out-of-hours and weekend working including for emergency call outs, council meetings, etc.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
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