GIS Support Officer

The role can be based in Northern Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9SY or in Alice Holt Research Station, Wrecclesham, Farnham GU10 4LH with blended working which gives you the option to work some of the week from home, and some of the week from the workplace. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.

Want to work at the cutting edge of environmental science? Passionate about making a difference and playing your part in tackling the climate and nature crisis? Forest Research is all about giving top quality evidence and advice to policymakers and practitioners to make a positive impact on the ground. Internationally recognised, we need people who have the skills and passion to work on excellent science and provide practical solutions for nature.

The GIS Team sits within the Centre for Inventory Forecasting & Operational Support (IFOS), an expert, customer-focused provider of forestry information, software, and service. The team is responsible for development and management of GIS and spatial data technologies, this includes an integrated spatial platform for forest and land management, ‘Forester’. ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online and open-source technology are used to deliver services from the platform to 1500 users.

The GIS Team are recruiting a GIS Support Officer to support an increasing customer base and development scope within the FC and external forestry customers. You will be working with the latest GIS technologies and data, presenting an excellent opportunity to utilise existing as well as develop new skills.

As an agent within the Forester service desk, you will develop expertise across a broad range of geospatial technologies, data and delivery mechanisms underpinning our ESRI-based Forester GIS platform. The role will have a strong customer focus and you will provide key support to a large and diverse user base. The role will be varied, dealing with technology and data, with customers and supporting development of new products and services. You will report to managers within designated work areas and work as part of multi-disciplinary project teams.

Key Work Areas

• Supporting and undertaking the delivery of GIS services and projects
• Supporting the GIS Service Delivery function to ensure smooth running of the Forester managed service by engaging with end users and colleagues to resolve technical incidents and ensure customer satisfaction
• Acting upon customer service requests to manage and configure the solution in line with business requirements
• Creating technical user guides and system documentation
• Helping customers maximise the benefits of the Forester GIS platform
• Stay abreast of developments within the GIS industry through participation in conferences, training sessions and self-learning
• Building rapport, trust and long-term relationships with relevant staff at all levels within the customer organisations
• Supporting the implementation and rollout of new GIS products and services
• Providing a support resource to our customers during implementation of new products, services and datasets within the GIS platform solutions

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• A relevant degree featuring substantial GIS, IT (relating to geospatial technologies), remote sensing OR equivalent experience
• Proven track record using Esri technologies including ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap/ArcGIS Pro) as a minimum for data management, spatial analysis and visualisation
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to multi-task and experience of team working
• Must be comfortable in a client-facing role

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of a broad range of Esri technologies, such as ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise (Portal and Server), Experience Builder and/or mobile applications (e.g. Survey123, FieldMaps)
• Experience in creating and managing ESRI services within ArcGIS Online/Enterprise
• Working knowledge of PostgreSQL or Oracle SQL and associated spatial data types
• Programming languages and ESRI APIs, such as Python, ArcPy, ArcGIS API for Python, ESRI Javascript API, Arcade, SQL
• Experience of working within an IT service desk

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Working Together, Developing Self and Others, Managing a Quality Service.

Your career Excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role, with paid professional membership subscriptions, mentoring, and Civil Service Learning available to all access to world class laboratory facilities, as well as state of the art buildings within forest or science park settings.

Your work/life balance

• Flexible working options such as: up to two days flexi leave per month, blended working, part-time working, paid special leave, career breaks, and unpaid leave. Parents and carers will be supported to enable you to manage work and family responsibilities
• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-timers). Plus 2.5 days of additional leave and 8 days’ paid bank/public holidays

Your wellbeing

• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment
• A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
• Paid volunteering leave of 3 days per year so you can give back to your community and charitable causes by sharing your skills and time

Your Benefits

• A highly competitive Civil Service Pension of 28.97% your salary
• An employee benefits scheme offering discounts on groceries, gym memberships, holidays, days out, online retailers and high street shops
• Cycle to Work scheme and Interest free loans
• Free parking is offered on-site, alongside electric car charging ports

With maternity, adoption, and/or shared parental leave there’s the flexibility to have up to 26 weeks full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave. Paternity leave of up to two weeks is available with full pay.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups: UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).