Forest Heritage Advocate

We are Forestry England. We live and breathe forests.

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 the largest land manager in the country, Forestry England oversees a vast and diverse network of more than 1,500 forests and woods, spanning over 250,000 hectares. We often celebrate our landscapes for their natural beauty and ecological significance, yet they also harbour some of England’s most extraordinary historical sites, monuments, and stories. Beneath the leafy canopies and towering trees lies a rich tapestry of human history, preserved and intertwined with the very roots of the land.

The Historic Environment Adviser will lead our work in championing the historic environment, working with our frontline forestry teams across the North of England, to identify, protect and celebrate historic environment features. The Historic Environment Adviser will inspire others to support our work in growing the future, championing our Forestry England values. Together we are Forestry England, we grow forests for all, for life.

Where you’ll work: The postholder will be part of the Environment & Nature Recovery Team in National Operations, managed by the Lead Historic Environment Advisor, but will be based out of our Grizedale or Bellingham offices.

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. STaR is 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, 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.

How to apply: You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form. You will be assessed on behaviour and strength based questions during your interview. The Behaviours being assessed at interview are – Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together, Communicating and Influencing. If candidates pass the interview but are not the leading candidate they can be placed on a reserve list. We may offer candidates on the reserve list for this role the opportunity to be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands. In the event of a high volume of applications, a pre-sift may be carried out. Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

Working for the Civil Service: Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative. Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English. Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

Diversity and Inclusion: The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. The role is funded by DEFRA rather than Forestry England generated revenue and is therefore subject to government spending reviews. While DEFRA has indicated long-term support for Forestry England’s Biodiversity Programme and we expect funding to continue, it is possible that funding levels may change at the end of any financial year depending on DEFRA’s budget allocations. In the event of funding changes, we would prioritise retaining staff posts wherever possible. This approach is consistent for roles within publicly funded organisations. We are committed to keeping staff informed and supported through any changes.