Forest Operations & Land Management

Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru; Bangor, Llandovery; Hybrid; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading environmental organization in the UK is offering two paid placement opportunities starting September 2026 for students pursuing degrees in forestry or land management. These placements provide hands-on experience in managing the Welsh Government Woodland Estate and National Nature Reserves, focusing on sustainable practices. Successful applicants will benefit from mentor-led training and diverse work responsibilities while enhancing their skills in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Civil Service Pension Scheme with employer contributions

28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days

Health and wellbeing benefits

Commitment to professional development

Qualifications

• Currently undertaking an undergraduate degree in forestry or land management.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with a customer focus.
• Full UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Support delivery of work plans for business plans.
• Assist with monitoring survey work and data collection.
• Maintain records in line with regulations.
• Participate in team meetings and external meetings.

Skills

Good communication and inter-personal skills

Ability to build effective working relationships

Good ICT skills

Understanding of sustainable forest management

Education

Undergraduate degree in forestry or land management

Job description

The role

We are proud to announce that NRW will be hosting two paid placement opportunities starting in September 2026. These are specifically for students undertaking a mid‑year placement whilst participating in an environmental and sustainability related course, such as forestry or forest management, woodland management and conservation, environmental science, environmental management, geography, or a related subject from a higher educational institution.

If successful, you could be appointed to either of the regions. As a result, you could end up working in northeast Wales which covers the beautiful Eryri National Park, or in mid Wales which covers from Aberystwyth to Abergavenny across the Cambrian Mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Regardless which team you join, this opportunity provides the ability to work alongside our professional teams responsible for managing the Welsh Government Woodland Estate and National Nature Reserves. This placement will expose you to a diverse range of opportunities and land management practices. This could range from harvesting and establishment operations, legal land liability inspections through to ancient monument restoration or specific species management on a nature reserve.

We are looking for someone with enthusiasm and passion for forestry and land management who can demonstrate drive to learn and deliver their work whilst working alongside our teams and wider customers and contractors.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to an NRW office within the place base/location above and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face‑to‑face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Michael Cresswell at [e-mail].

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

About us

We have been running our paid placement programme in Forest Operations and Land Management since 2020. It is something we’re extremely proud of. We've hosted students from across the UK with various backgrounds and from numerous educational institutions. They have then gone back to complete their studies and are now working across the sector.

This programme will sit you within one of our Land Management and Forest Operational teams. The year will give you the opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge whilst gaining both valuable exposure to our operations, but more importantly giving you experiences you can take forward to kick start your career in forestry or land management. Throughout your year, you’ll shadow and be mentored by experienced staff, put through training and development, and given opportunities to lead certain projects and go out with other teams across NRW.

What you will do

• Support delivery of work plans, created by the team, which contributes towards the delivery of business plans.
• Assist with monitoring survey work and data collection.
• Maintain records and information in line with regulations/legislation and agreed standards.
• Participate in team meetings.
• Participate in external meetings with other members of the team.
• Interact with peers in NRW to understand and team delivery.
• Contribute towards the team’s delegated responsibility for delivery of work programmes.
• Other work as directed by the line manager.
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
• Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post.
• Be committed to your own development through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.
• Required to take part in incident response activities.

Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills

In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.

• Currently undertaking an undergraduate degree in either forestry or land management discipline from a higher education institution. Your undergraduate degree must require a mid‑year placement (essential).
• A good understanding of working in land and forestry management disciplines, including sustainable forest management.
• Good communication and inter‑personal skills with a customer focus.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Good ICT skills (essential).
• Full UK driving licence (essential).

Welsh Language level requirements

• Essential: Level A1 – Entry level.

Welsh language levels.

Please note if you do not meet the A1 requirement i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.

Benefits

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

• Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme).
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days.
• Generous leave entitlements for all your life needs.
• Commitment to professional development.
• Health and wellbeing benefits and support.
• Weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose.

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

Please keep reading

Unless otherwise stated in the ‘Role’ section of this advert, Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.

We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under‑represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to equal opportunities, and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.

We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.

We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills.