Forest Resilience Programme Manager
| Posting date: | 13 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £48,765 to £52,557 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 12 April 2026 |
| Location: | NE England, UK |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Government Recruitment |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 451541 |
Summary
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Deliver our Forest Resilience Strategy and Action Plan, ensuring the two-year targets and actions are achieved.
Provide strategic leadership and programme management oversight for Forestry England’s forest resilience approach, ensuring the organisation remains at the forefront of bold and innovative action in this field.
Lead and manage a three-year, £6.5m programme, driving delivery across a portfolio of interdependent projects spanning multiple teams.
You will hold primary accountability for achieving required outcomes, including supporting local delivery teams, leading organisational change, strategically distributing funding to maximise impact, setting targets, monitoring progress, and managing risks and issues.
You will report progress to the Forest Resilience Steering Group and lead the strategy refresh in 2027.
Oversee our bespoke forest resilience Service Level Agreement with Forest Research (~£200k/annum), commissioning and embedding applied research that strengthens our scientific understanding and effectiveness of our actions.
Establish a Forestry England Research Forum to oversee our various research collaborations with Forest Research and other academic institutions, and disseminate findings to colleagues.
Apply expert technical knowledge of forest resilience challenges and opportunities to shape organisational direction and decision making.
Work closely with colleagues across Forestry England, supporting national and local teams to deliver forest resilience ambitions.
Build strong, constructive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, particularly within the Defra family and wider forestry sector. Represent Forestry England on relevant external working groups.
Play a visible leadership role within the National Operations team, contributing to the team’s shared vision and collective activities.
Contribute to wider forest planning, forestry and land management, and nature recovery activities across Forestry England.
Line manage staff within the national forest planning team, as appropriate.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
Deliver our Forest Resilience Strategy and Action Plan, ensuring the two-year targets and actions are achieved.
Provide strategic leadership and programme management oversight for Forestry England’s forest resilience approach, ensuring the organisation remains at the forefront of bold and innovative action in this field.
Lead and manage a three-year, £6.5m programme, driving delivery across a portfolio of interdependent projects spanning multiple teams.
You will hold primary accountability for achieving required outcomes, including supporting local delivery teams, leading organisational change, strategically distributing funding to maximise impact, setting targets, monitoring progress, and managing risks and issues.
You will report progress to the Forest Resilience Steering Group and lead the strategy refresh in 2027.
Oversee our bespoke forest resilience Service Level Agreement with Forest Research (~£200k/annum), commissioning and embedding applied research that strengthens our scientific understanding and effectiveness of our actions.
Establish a Forestry England Research Forum to oversee our various research collaborations with Forest Research and other academic institutions, and disseminate findings to colleagues.
Apply expert technical knowledge of forest resilience challenges and opportunities to shape organisational direction and decision making.
Work closely with colleagues across Forestry England, supporting national and local teams to deliver forest resilience ambitions.
Build strong, constructive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, particularly within the Defra family and wider forestry sector. Represent Forestry England on relevant external working groups.
Play a visible leadership role within the National Operations team, contributing to the team’s shared vision and collective activities.
Contribute to wider forest planning, forestry and land management, and nature recovery activities across Forestry England.
Line manage staff within the national forest planning team, as appropriate.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.