Recreation Craftsperson

1. Would you like to make a positive difference to your local environment and the forest?
2. Do you enjoy working in an outdoors environment?
3. Are you a practical, handy person who works well as part of a team?

If so then read on, as this could be the role for you!

Background Information

We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests
for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class
sustainable management of the nation’s forests.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 160 people. Our team contains a diverse
range of roles – from wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing
professionals, we all contribute towards the management of some 46,000 hectares (ha) of public
forest estate and national parks that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle
of Wight.

The New Forest Recreation Craftsperson team plays an important role in the Recreation and Public Affairs team, managing and maintaining the recreational infrastructure, primarily across the New Forest but also assisting across the wider district. Our team takes pride in finding new and sustainable ways for visitors to enjoy our forest and to further increase our appeal and offering.

Job description

In this role, you’ll be working as an integral part of the New Forest team to maintain our
recreation facilities to ensure that we deliver a high quality visitor experience.

Key Work Areas:

• Promote enjoyable visits to the New Forest by ensuring clean, safe and welcoming
  environments for visitors.
• Work as part of the New Forest Recreation team showing drive and motivation to improve
  sites and facilities, with a focus on delivering a quality visitor experience.
• Help to maintain and develop safe facilities whilst balancing recreational activity with
  other forest activities.
• Carry out a range of practical maintenance tasks throughout the forest estate, working
  effectively as a team and when requested, responding quickly to unexpected work and issues
  raised by a Supervisor or Manager.
• Perform basic inspections and assist in repair and maintenance of recreation facilities to
  a high standard, including but not limited to all formal car parks, walking and cycle routes,
  litter picking, installation and maintenance of signs, picnic tables, benches etc. Keep records
  of inspections and repairs as directed.
• Perform regular Facility Inspections in line with National and District policies.

If you have the following skills and experience we would love to hear from you:

• Relevant experience of practical maintenance in a parks and/or a countryside environment.
• A familiarity with a range of hand tools and ability to demonstrate competence in their
  use.
• NPTC or equivalent certification in chainsaw use (maintenance, cross cutting and felling up
  to 380mm) and/or clearing saws, issued within last 5 years.
• Ability to work flexibly as part of a team to achieve shared goals.
• Basic IT skills.