Forest Planner

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 England’s largest land management organisation and guardians of the nation’s forests, Forestry England is uniquely placed to deliver benefits for people, wildlife and climate. Strategic planning is critical in bringing together different strands of the forest and land management and ensuring our forests are still thriving in the changing climate. The plans must recognise the context of the woods in the wider landscape, notably in terms of resilience and nature’s recovery at the landscape scale.

As a Forest Planner with Forestry England, you will help shape the long-term future of some of England’s most diverse and valued landscapes. You’ll lead the development of forest management plans that set the direction for how our woodlands are cared for over the next decades, balancing objectives for biodiversity, forest resilience, sustainable timber production and public access. Working collaboratively with colleagues across Forestry England and a wide range of external partners, you’ll bring together evidence, data and professional judgement to produce UKFS‐compliant Forest Plans and help maintain our UKWAS certification.

The role combines strategic planning with practical delivery. You’ll use GIS and field surveys to inform decisions, consult widely with stakeholders, and support operational teams by providing high-quality data, mapping and specialist advice. Some of your time will be spent outdoors, often working independently, with flexibility to manage your own workload. You’ll be part of a supportive district team and a national network of forest planning professionals, with access to tailored training, mentoring and development opportunities to grow your expertise and career.

The role will be based in the Chilterns office near Aston Clinton HP22 5NF, with flexibility for some optional blended working. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. The District consists of myriad of habitats from the largest productive coniferous forest, mixed broadleaved woodlands, heathland, chalk and acid grasslands, to streams in diverse landscapes in south-east of England. We are in the forefront of the climate change pressures, but also of the pro-active planning to ensure that the forests thrive and continue to support society in the future. Our plans outline a long-term view of suitable silviculture systems and ambition to create more diverse, healthy and connected habitats. We are accelerating our efforts in restoring Ancient Woodlands and trialling new tree species best suited for future climate. The role will primarily focus on Chilterns, Bedfordshire, Weald and Kent areas of the East District.

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.

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 experience, a technical skill and behaviour-based questions during your interview. The Behaviours being assessed at interview are Seeing the big picture, Changing and improving, Communicating and influencing, Making effective decisions. 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 large number 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. If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines first. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

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.