Deputy North England Director in Bellingham

Join us. We’re foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment. Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We’re providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

As Deputy North England Director, you will provide strategic and operational leadership in support of the North England Director, helping to lead all aspects of Forestry England’s business across the North England Forest District. You will be responsible for leading the day-to-day delivery of forestry and land management, civil engineering and recreation operations, supported by Heads of Function and their teams, while also contributing fully to the wider strategic leadership of the District. You will play a key role in translating Forestry England’s national strategy, Growing the Future, into effective, integrated and sustainable local delivery. You will act as deputy to the North England Director when required, representing Forestry England with partners and stakeholders, and coordinating input to major programmes and projects of regional and national significance.

At the heart of this role is programme leadership — coordinating complex, interdependent workstreams across forest planning, harvesting, civil engineering, recreation investment and land management, over both annual and multi-year timescales. You’ll work closely with the Director and Finance Manager to drive the five-year business planning cycle, ensuring the leadership team is sighted on future opportunities, risks and resource needs. You will provide visible, values-led leadership to senior staff and managers leading Land Management, Recreation and Visitor Experience, and Civil Engineering — building capability, sustaining strong health and safety culture, and championing equality, diversity and inclusion across a large team. Delivering strong commercial and financial outcomes will be central to the role. You’ll be accountable for budgets, contracts and supplier relationships within your areas of oversight, and you’ll lead a culture of continuous improvement — driving modernisation and innovation across systems, processes and ways of working.

This is a role for an experienced forester and leader — someone equally at home in the operational detail and the strategic conversation; who can hold a “one team” culture together across a large, geographically dispersed district; and who takes genuine pride in delivering outstanding outcomes across 86,000 hectares of England’s most spectacular landscapes.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Strategic leadership: Be accountable and provide strategic leadership across forestry and land management, civil engineering, and recreation operations, ensuring delivery aligns with national priorities and the District Business Plan. Translate national strategy, business plans and performance targets into clear operational priorities and delivery programmes. Actively promote a “one team” culture, working across all district and national functions to improve integration, efficiency and outcomes.
• Leadership, people & culture: Provide visible leadership, coaching and support to senior staff and managers, particularly those leading Land Management, Recreation and Visitor Experience, and Civil Engineering. Create and sustain a strongly positive health, safety and wellbeing culture, ensuring compliance and continuous improvement. Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, fostering an inclusive, supportive and high-performing working environment. Lead workforce planning for operational teams, building capability, succession and resilience for the long term. Provide leadership in emergency response, business continuity and contingency planning, ensuring the District has readiness to manage incidents; in line with national policy.
• Business planning & programme leadership: Working closely with the Director and Finance Manager, coordinate the five-year business planning cycle, ensuring the District leadership team is sighted on future opportunities, risks, constraints and resource implications. Champion and lead a programme management approach in the planning of operations and infrastructure development; aligning forest planning, planting, harvesting, civil engineering, recreation investment and land management programmes over both annual and multi-year timescales. Work closely with teams to ensure operational programmes are realistic, affordable and deliverable. Drive efficiency in the planning for and use of the vehicle and machinery fleet across the district.
• Performance, commercial & operational improvement: Deliver strong operational performance while ensuring professionalism across teams and demonstrating excellence across the estate through accreditations (e.g. UK Woodland Assurance Standard, VisitEngland quality assessment at Forest Centres). Achieve strong commercial and financial outcomes, improving the district’s net position and being accountable to the North England Director for budgets, contracts, suppliers and commercial relationships within areas of oversight. This includes ensuring procurement and contract management compliance with organisation policies. Lead a culture of continuous improvement, driving innovation, modernisation, and improved systems, processes and ways of working.
• Deputy & external representation: Act as deputy to the North England Director when required, including chairing meetings and representing Forestry England externally. Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders, partners and customers. Coordinate Forestry England’s input into significant regional and national plans and projects affecting Forestry England’s forests in the north and, occasionally, across England.

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Where you’ll work: We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation’s forests. North England Forest District is the largest in England, covering some 86,000ha, made up of 61,000 ha of forest and 25,000ha of open land in Cumbria, Durham, Gateshead, Lancashire and Northumberland. The District is managed by a multi-disciplinary team of more than 140 staff. Annual timber production is in the region of 550,000m³. The District has 45 SSSIs covering over 10,000ha and is a major contributor to nationally significant biodiversity projects which help support red squirrels, water voles, ospreys and red kites. Our built and agricultural non-woodland estate is extensive and we are engaged in a programme of business development and conservation initiatives. The recreation experiences we provide are focussed on our five Forest Centres: Grizedale, Gisburn, Hamsterley, Kielder and Whinlatter. Around 1 million people enjoy these forests collectively each year, many staying overnight in the region.

Benefits: Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays. STAIS (our employee benefits scheme) offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays, clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills and the Headspace wellbeing app. Free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury. A commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.