Recreation Craftsperson

Forestry England; Ringwood; On-site; GBP 24,263 - 29,654; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Free parking

Free arboretum entry

Career development

Job summary

Forestry England is seeking a Recreation Craftsperson at Moors Valley, Ringwood. The role focuses on maintaining the site and its facilities to deliver a top visitor experience, with an emphasis on customer service and safety.

The post is a three-year fixed-term appointment, full-time (37 hours per week) with the possibility of extension or permanency. The salary is £26,959 per annum, and the site operates on a rota including weekends.

Qualifications

• Experience in recreation/craftsperson roles preferred.
• Strong customer service and safety awareness.

Responsibilities

• Maintain Moors Valley site and its facilities to ensure a high-quality visitor experience.
• Provide excellent customer service to park visitors, including safety and guidance.
• Work on a weekend rota as part of a 37-hour week.

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Ringwood, BH24 2ET

Job Reference forestryengland/TP/1861/726

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Fixed Term Appointment

Three year Fixed term appointment

Working Hours:

37

Location:

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Ringwood, BH24 2ET

Closing Date:

30/08/2026

Job Category:

Recreation

Region:

South

Business Unit:

South

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Recreation Craftsperson

Salary- £26,959 per annum

Contract type – Three year Fixed term appointment, with the possibility of extension or permanency

Hours – 37 hours a week

Vacancy closes - 30th August, 23:58

Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.

Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We're providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

What you’ll do…

Moors Valley country park & forest is situated on the Hampshire / Dorset border and is part of the South Forest district, which manages some 46,000 hectares of the nation’s forests across West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire Hampshire, Isle of White, Dorset and South Wiltshire. The area receives over 20 million day visits each year and operates two major Forest Centres at Moors Valley and Alice Holt. Moors Valley country park receives nearly one million of these visits, who are attracted by our fantastic range of facilities including play equipment, cycle and walking trails, Go-Ape, events and much more. The site is run in partnership with Dorset Council, working together to ensure the success of the site as a whole. The majority of services are provided through business partners, volunteers and stakeholders; however key programmes such as play, cycling, site entry, facility maintenance are led by Forestry England. This role is a key member of the Forestry England Moors Valley team and we are looking for someone who can work with drive and motivation to improve the site, with a focus on delivering a high-quality visitor experience. As a recreation craftsperson, this team member will be focused on maintaining the site and its many facilities and providing excellent customer service. The role requires weekend working on a rota system.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Ringwood, BH24 2ET

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaRis our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on experience, a practical based task, and strength based questions during your interview.

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.

Read more about nationality requirements here.

Working for the Civil Service…

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative.

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: [e-mail] .