Projects Officer - Woodland Creation

Hertfordshire County Council; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire County Council in Stevenage seeks a Woodland Creation Projects Officer to identify opportunities, secure funding and deliver tree and hedge planting as part of the county’s tree-planting targets.

You will work with landowners, design schemes, manage budgets and oversee contractors, with training and progression opportunities within Growth and Environment.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable track record in delivering environmental land management.
• Excellent personal communication and consensus building to establish support for ideas.
• Working independently and collaboratively with a range of colleagues and partners.
• Able to proactively manage a range of projects from start to finish, prioritizing appropriately.
• Flexible and adaptable approach, problem solving and outcome orientation.
• Structured and well-organised work planning and time management.
• Competent management of allocated resources.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop opportunities for tree and hedgerow planting with landowners.
• Design and specify planting schemes for trees and hedgerows.
• Prepare cost estimates and secure external funding for planting.
• Lead planting projects including procurement and management of contractors.
• Manage project budgets and maintain records including mapping for monitoring.
• Develop a pipeline of future planting projects.

Skills

Environmental land management

Stakeholder engagement

Project coordination

Job description

Job Introduction

Job Title: Projects Officer - Woodland Creations

Starting Salary: £32,578 progressing to £35,570 per annum

Hours: 37

Location: Stevenage

Contract Type: Fixed Term until March 2028

Directorate: Growth and Environment

About The Team

If you have a passion for the environment and are keen to make a vital contribution within our team to fulfil our commitment to establish 1.8 million trees across Hertfordshire by 2030, then this could be the role for you.

We are looking for an individual keen to take the next step in their career and join our Land Management team as a Woodland Creation Projects Officer. You will be involved in everything from identifying woodland creation opportunities to securing funding, planning and delivering tree and hedgerow planting.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Service works in partnership with private landowners, communities, other local authorities and government agencies to develop and deliver projects that enhance the environment for people and wildlife.

Our Land Management team has a broad project portfolio encompassing woodland and grassland management, chalk river restoration, tree and hedge planting and developing old railway lines as active travel routes.

About The Role

Responsibilities of this role include:

• Working with landowners to identify and develop opportunities for tree and hedgerow planting.
• Designing and specifying tree and hedgerow planting schemes.
• Preparing cost estimates for planting and securing external funding to support tree and hedge planting.
• Leading the implementation of planting projects including procurement and management of contractors and suppliers and ensuring robust aftercare protocols are in place.
• Managing project budgets and expenditure.
• Producing and maintaining project records including mapping to support monitoring of progress and reporting.
• Developing a pipeline of future tree and hedgerow planting projects.

You will be involved in managing a diverse range of planting projects simultaneously: large and small, urban and rural, on public and private land, and encompassing woodland creation, hedgerow planting and individual tree planting.

Key challenges will include communicating with stakeholders to secure support for projects and effectively prioritizing the project workload. Other members of our land management team will provide support through training and facilitating outreach to landowners, and there will be opportunities to work collaboratively with our Communities team to engage volunteers in planting projects.

In this role you will be joining a talented and experienced land management team and will be supported in your further training and development.

This is a fantastic opportunity to progress your career in countryside management, while playing a central role in planting tens of thousands of trees across Hertfordshire and contributing to nature recovery in our county.

Please follow these links to see more information on the work that we do.

Website - www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/cms

Facebook page - www.facebook.com/HertsCMS

About You

Essential criteria:

• Demonstrable track record in the delivery of environmental land management.
• Excellent personal communication and consensus building to establish support for ideas.
• Working independently and collaboratively with a range of colleagues, professionals, partners and members of the public
• Able to proactively manage a range of projects from start to finish, prioritizing appropriately
• A flexible and adaptable approach, problem solving and outcome oriented
• A structured and well-organized approach to work planning and time management
• Competent management of allocated resources
• You will have a full, current driving licence, and you will be expected to work in rural locations with difficult terrain

Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a sufficient number of applications. We would therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 8. Please locate the job profile here:

Job profiles: Technical services

For an informal discussion, please contact: Andrew Taylor on 01992 556063

Interview Date: TBC

Secondment

This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondments basis, you must have your line manager’s approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed‑term contract that would end before this position ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed‑term contract basis instead.

Additional information

We are changing

Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Re-organization (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organized and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident

We are proud to be aDisability Confident employerand guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Driving required

You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency

The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.