Forestry Commission Looking For Programme Manager – NCEA (Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment) at Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, Full Time

This is a key leadership role managing a flagship Programme in collaboration with Defra and other ALB’s in the Defra family. The location of the role is flexible with our principal offices located at our Northern Research Station, near Edinburgh and Alice Holt Lodge near Farnham, Surrey. We also offer flexible and 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.

About The Job

Job summary

Want to work at the cutting edge of environmental science research? Passionate about making a difference and playing your part in tackling the climate and nature crises? Forest Research (FR) is a leading UK scientific research organisation that provides impactful scientific data, evidence and advice to policymakers and practitioners. Internationally recognised, we want to work with people who have the skills and passion to deliver impactful science which informs practical solutions across the sector.

We’re small enough that your voice is heard, yet large enough, as part of the Forestry Commission, that we have everything on hand to get the job done, as well as a variety of career pathways. Our staff are dedicated to their work and sharing it with others to bring positive change for our natural environment. With locations across the UK, you will find us a flexible and inclusive employer who promotes agile working to help you manage your work life balance. If you want to be a part of a growing organisation that makes a difference, find out more at Homepage – Forest Research

The UK Government is committed to protecting and enhancing our natural capital, halting the decline in our biodiversity, adapting to and mitigating against climate change, and leaving the environment in a better state for future generations.

This role will be responsible for leading and delivering the FR element of the Defra backed Terrestrial (t)NCEA Programme and associated Projects totalling some £3 million per annum, where all forest and woodland ecosystem types are to be monitored to enable the production of a set of Natural Capital Accounts and a broad environmental evidence base for all English ecosystems.

In conjunction with the Head of Forest Information and Statistics, they will ensure a holistic woodland and tree monitoring strategy for England, leveraging both National Forest Inventory and tNCEA data collection and integrating that into desired outputs.

Day to day work will cover overseeing the administration and science quality assurance for the programme, and to achieve this, liaison with the technical leads in Defra, Natural England, Environment Agency, Kew and JNCC will be regular to ensure an integrated programme of environmental monitoring is delivered. The FR tNCEA team sits within the Centre for Inventory Forecasting and Operations Support, FR’s evidence and operational support division.

You will head the tNCEA team, currently composed of 6 staff, but funding and directing an additional 30 staff across the wider FR and contractor community, who work on the programme, in a matrix management structure. The post holder will report to the Head of IFOS, FR’s Inventory, Forecasting and Operational Support Unit, which is composed of over 100 staff. The post and work is Defra facing, as primary customer and funder of the programme. The post holder will work extensively with Defra and other NCEA partners to plan for and achieve an integrated monitoring programme for all English ecosystems.

Job Description

To ensure the delivery of an integrated long term environmental monitoring programme, which will produce high quality evidence to support the governments environmental policies for the environment with a special focus on woodlands and trees.

• Maintain and share the vision and strategy for tNCEA woodlands and trees monitoring.
• Ensuring that a fit for purpose programme plan is in place to achieve the above strategy and in turn manage the implementation of that plan.
• Quality assure the data products that the programme is responsible for delivering, ensuring that are fit for purpose
• Direct the ‘data pipeline’ of business processes that gather evidence from the field and the subsequent processes that take such data through to analysis.
• Ensure science best practice in the collection, storage, analysis and interpretation of data.
• Ensure sound statistical practice in environmental sampling and observations, so that a true and fair picture of the target population is built without bias or omission.
• Lead and build the tNCEA evidence delivery team.
• Actively manage communications and relationships with tNCEA’s partners and wider stakeholders to ensure an integrated product, aligned to customers needs.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• A degree or master’s degree in environmental sciences, forestry or environmental monitoring or significant experience of environmental monitoring programmes
• Experience of delivering large-scale Programmes in an environmental context
• A sound understanding of natural populations and the science of how to monitor them technically and statistically
• Customer focussed with emphasis on networking and collaborating with customers internally and externally to understand and develop opportunities to develop service offerings
• Experience of leading people and managing a multi-disciplinary team in a matrix management context
• Excellent budgetary, administration and organisation skills and good understanding of Natural Capital Accounting and the approaches to it

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of the derivation, analysis, storage and dissemination of digital evidence
• Experience in the publication of environmental evidence, such as peer reviewed papers
• Experience in the preparation of Official Statistics publications
• Experience in remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,550, Forestry Commission – Forest Research contributes £14,458 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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
• We want you to feel part of something bigger and we encourage a community feel in our workplaces, with everything from cookery competitions to Pilates and fell running, plus topical talks at Wellbeing Wednesdays and Feelgood Fridays
• 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 where employer contributions starting at 26% of 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.

Any move to Forest Research 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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Sift Date: 10th November 2023

Interview Date: 30th November 2023

If a large volume of applications is received, then we will sift on Experience/Technical Expertise and the Lead Behaviour, Seeing the Big Picture. However, candidates will be expected to answer questions on all behaviours at the interview stage.

As part of the application process, applicants successful at the sift stage if selected for interview will be invited to complete a Psychometric Assessment. Full details will be provided.

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

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.

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.

Apply and further information

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 : hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk
• Email : hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.services@forestresearch.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 FR HR Services by email: hr.services@forestresearch.gov.uk you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.