Forest Planner
| Posting date: | 07 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £33,854 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 27 May 2026 |
| Location: | GL16 8BA |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 460568/1 |
Summary
Our Forest Planners are responsible for researching,writing,reviewing and consulting on the Forest Plans.The Forest Plans must be compliant with the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme, and champion forest resilience in light of our changing climate.Increasingly plans need to recognise the context of the wood in the wider landscape, notably in terms of resilience and nature’s recovery at the landscape scale.The Forest Planners will take new plans through stakeholder consultation as well as monitor progress with plan deliver through 5 & 10 year reviews.
Forest Planners also Interrogate and manage Forestry England’s Geographic Information System to support plan writing and preparation of maps,and need to be open to technological advances in remote sensing and similar fields so that forest planning can be undertaken efficiently and effectively using new technology.
One post holder(we have two Forest Planner vacancies)will act as the district’s lead drone pilot,liaising with the approved pilots in our team, as well as national colleagues to proactively implement policy and practice requirements of the organisation.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
West Forest District is responsible for the sustainable management of over 37,000ha of the nation’s forests and woodlands in the west and south-west of England.
The district team extends to some 170 employees, with frontline delivery through our 17 remotely located delivery teams (5 forest centre and 12 forest beats) which are supported by our network of highly valued volunteers and contractors.
Each of the posts will focus on a specific area of the District. One postholder (north) will be based at our forest office at Bank House, Coleford, Gloucestershire, the other (south) will be based at our forest office at Haldon Forest Park, Kennford, nr Exeter, Devon (other Forestry England office locations within the district may be considered).
Hours of work: The position is a full-time post to work 37 hours per week. Normal working hours are Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm with an hour lunch break; and Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm with an hour lunch break. This can be worked flexibly by agreement.
If the successful applicant is new to Forestry England then they will need to be embedded within a Forestry England office for a significant proportion of the working week during an induction period.
For full advert please visit: https://jobs.forestryengland.uk/members/modules/job/detail.php?record=570
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Forest Planning -
- collect and verify data relating to Forest Plan areas to inform the forest planning process
- design and prescribe long term forest management which delivers resilient forests in industry best practice Forest Plans ensuring that Forestry England land is managed for people, wildlife and timber
- communicating, consulting and consensus building with a wide range of Forestry England staff, statutory and non-governmental organisations to ensure proposed plans are in compliance with policies, UK Woodland Assurance Standard and UK Forest Standard
- monitor and report on progress with delivery
Data, mapping and monitoring -
- interrogate and manage of Geographic information Systems
- provide support in areas of data analysis to inform business decisions, including timber production and long-term financial models
- undertake forest and habitat surveys to improve data and maintain monitoring programme
Operational support-
- support the team in areas of survey, data management and mapping to support forest operations to ensure all opportunities and constraints are fully considered
- provide support to colleagues in areas of specialism such as heritage management, ecological habitats, features or processes as training and skills allow
- champion high standards of health and safety within the team resource, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and guidance
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme