Any FC office (subject to availability in relation to working pattern/blended working arrangements), Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Job Summary Never has there been a more important time for trees and forests to help tackle the climate emergency and provide a much-needed sanctuary for people and wildlife. We aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, reflecting England’s contribution to meeting the UK’s overall target of planting 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. This acceleration in current planting rates in England will contribute to meeting the net-zero by 2050 ambitions, and to government’s wider environmental targets. This is supported by the £640m Nature for Climate Fund announced in the March 2020 budget. Forestry Commission leads the delivery of the following parts of the tree planting programme: sector capacity planting on public land planting on private land promotion and engagement If you are passionate about the role of forestry in creating a better future for England, and want to play a key part in that, we want to hear from you. By joining the Forestry Commission, you will become part of a team of passionate, committed colleagues, and be able to build on a wealth of expertise to take this ambitious work forward. You will be able to make your mark by helping the Forestry Commission to transform how we work together and reach new stakeholders. Job Description Purpose of the job Excellent IT is essential for Forest Services to meet its aims to bring woodland into sustainable management and expand woodland cover in England. This position is a key role in delivering excellent customer service to our IT users. You will be part of the team that manage and monitor delivery of all Forest Services only IT applications on a day-to-day basis, working with external suppliers and Forest Services contract managers. Key work areas You Will: Provide ongoing 1st line system support for Forest Services staff across a range of new/legacy systems and processes with Area and Admin hub teams, service providers in Forestry England, our partners and external suppliers. Develop and maintain excellent relationships with external service providers, Forest Services area staff and other national office teams, delivering excellent customer service to our IT users. Be practical, motivated and willing to succeed and always provide assistance and guidance to less experienced team members and system users. Always be focused on continual improvement of the service provided. 1st line support involves carrying out service requests, resolving or facilitating resolution of incidents and administration of change requests. Purpose of the job Excellent IT is essential for Forest Services to meet its aims to bring woodland into sustainable management and expand woodland cover in England. This position is a key role in delivering excellent customer service to our IT users. You will be part of the team that manage and monitor delivery of all Forest Services only IT applications on a day-to-day basis, working with external suppliers and Forest Services contract managers. Key work areas You Will: Provide ongoing 1st line system support for Forest Services staff across a range of new/legacy systems and processes with Area and Admin hub teams, service providers in Forestry England, our partners and external suppliers. Develop and maintain excellent relationships with external service providers, Forest Services area staff and other national office teams, delivering excellent customer service to our IT users. Be practical, motivated and willing to succeed and always provide assistance and guidance to less experienced team members and system users. Always be focused on continual improvement of the service provided. 1st line support involves carrying out service requests, resolving or facilitating resolution of incidents and administration of change requests. Person specification Essential Experience of working on a service desk, or in a service support role. Demonstrable experience of providing high levels of customer support to people of differing technical abilities, through a variety of channels. Experience of managing issues and communicating progress with business stakeholders, using effective communication skills, and showing the capability to listen and influence. Competent IT user with in-depth experience of the MS Office suite of applications. Proven ability to deal with multiple work requests and prioritise accordingly. Strong written and oral communication skills. Friendly, approachable and enthusiastic. Self-motivated with a proactive and flexible approach to work. Strong team ethic. The ability to work well under pressure. DESIRABLE Appreciation and interest in woodland and forestry. Experience of working alone and unsupervised and within a wider group or team. Relevant customer services or IT services qualifications around Service Management such as ITIL Foundation. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Managing a Quality Service Working Together Changing and Improving Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Alongside your salary of £32,089, Forestry Commission contributes £9,296 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%. A range of family friendly benefits. An environment with flexible working options. Learning and development tailored to your role. A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment. A range of wellbeing benefits including discounted Civil Service Healthcare, access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme, plus many more. 25 days annual leave, with 1 additional day for each years’ service up to 5 years (pro rata), plus 10.5 bank holidays/privilege days (pro rata). Ability to buy or sell 5 days annual leave. 3 days volunteering per year (pro rata). We aim to provide a great place to work, whichever location you work from. Blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. It is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home, and some of the week from our Forestry Commission workplaces, subject to role requirements, business needs, and regular review. Informal blended working arrangements will be available as agreed with the line manager. Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. This is a Fixed Term Appointment ending 31 March 2026, with possibility but no guarantee of extension or permanency. As part of the application process, you will complete the following online: A tailored CV (curriculum vitae) setting out your qualifications, career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. The CV should be split into 3 parts and provide: Job History, Previous Skills/Experience, Full Qualification Details. A personal statement – in no more than 750 words showing how you meet the relevant skills and experience as set out in the Person Specification. You will also be asked to provide 250-word statements relating to the Behaviours being assessed. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using the Managing a Quality Service behaviour. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. Applications will be sifted week commencing 25th August. Interviews will be held week commencing 1st September. These dates are subject to change. We will be conducting online interviews with the use of Microsoft Teams or equivalent online communication methods. Candidates would therefore require access to a computer and internet at interview stage. Those invited to interview will be further assessed on Behaviours and Strengths. We will be conducting online interviews with the use of Microsoft Teams or equivalent online communication methods. Candidates would therefore require access to a computer and internet at interview stage. Further Information A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Any move to Forestry Commission from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at visit the Childcare Choices website. If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. Existing Civil Servants (excluding Forestry Commission employees) and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, and will only be considered on a loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. Existing Forestry Commission, Forestry England and Forest Research employees are eligible to apply for this Fixed Term Appointment and will only be considered if there is written confirmation from their line manager and HR that their current role will be temporarily backfilled or held open before commencing the application process. This role is full time only: 37 hours a week. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. Where a role has been identified as one which falls under the scope of the Public Sector English Language Requirements, within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English. Applicants will be assessed in the selection process in accordance with the requirements. The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means. The Forestry Commission is actively working to reduce the carbon emission of official travel and applicants should be aware of the broad principles which are being applied to reduce carbon emissions to less than 50gCO2/km. Travel Options Include: Use of private car: some Officers choose to use their private car and receive payment for the miles they drive on official business. Vehicle emissions are measured in CO2 grams per kilometre (g/km). The cap is currently 115 gCO2/km and will be reduced to 100 gCO2/km on 1st April 2026. After that date, we expect private vehicles used for official travel to emit significantly less. Reasonable Adjustment 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. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements 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) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job Contact : Name : FS Recruitment Email : fs.recruitment@forestrycommission.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.. Location : Burton-In-Kendal, England, United Kingdom