Visitor Operations Manager

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.

What you’ll do… You will be primarily based at our award-winning, sustainable visitor centre at Westonbirt Arboretum. The role will lead on the management of the visitor service areas delivering a high standard of presentation and care for our visitors. You will be accountable for the day-to-day management, health and safety and maintenance of key recreational infrastructure, e.g. play equipment, forest furniture, grass car park and barriers, including ANPR. You will lead the Recreation Team in achieving best practice compliance and ensuring all checks and repairs are completed and recorded to safety standards. You will be supported by the District Estates Team who will lead on the building compliance while this job focuses on the visitor experiences. You will help to strengthen the health and safety culture as Forestry England strives to fulfil our corporate value of ‘Look Out & Look After’. You will be the health and safety representative for the Recreation Team and the site’s lone working champion. You will work closely with the Visitor Services Manager to create a positive, collaborative, and inclusive environment for staff, volunteers, stakeholders and visitors.

Where you’ll work… Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, in Gloucestershire, England, is a world-renowned botanical garden featuring 15,000 trees and shrubs from across the globe, crucial for conservation, research, and public enjoyment with its stunning displays, especially in autumn.

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. 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 500 word statement on your relevant experience and career history. 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 strength based questions during your interview. The competencies being assessed at interview are – Managing a quality service, Making effective decisions, Working together, Communicating and influencing. You will also be given a 15 minute short task at the beginning of the interview which looks at prioritising workloads. Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government check. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

Nationality requirements… Read more about nationality requirements.

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 Civil Service and the UK Government 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. If you feel your application has not been treated in line with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk.