Recreation Ranger

Forestry England; Santon Downham; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Free parking

Free arboretums entry

Career development

Job summary

Forestry England in East District Office, Santon Downham, is seeking a Recreation Ranger to manage day-to-day visitor operations and maintain a welcoming, safe environment for people enjoying the Thetford Forest area. You will engage with local communities, respond to visitor enquiries, and help sustain recreational opportunities while contributing to visitor safety and income-generation efforts.

The role requires travel within Thetford Forest, with Santon Downham as the base and a Civil Service

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day visitor operations with a focus on delivering excellent visitor experiences.
• Maintain a welcoming and safe environment for customers and staff.
• Engage with local communities to foster meaningful relationships and support recreational opportunities.
• Respond to visitor enquiries and provide high-quality information and guidance.
• Support safety, efficiency, and income-generation opportunities while strengthening community connections.

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - East District Office, Santon Dowham

Job Reference forestryengland/TP/2244/846

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Permanent

Working Hours:

37

Location:

East District Office, Santon Dowham

Closing Date:

05/11/2026

Job Category:

Recreation

Region:

East

Business Unit:

East

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Recreation Ranger - Thetford Beat

Salary - £30,105

Contract type – Permanent

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…

Your main responsibilities include making sure we have seamless day-to-day visitor operations, our visitors are having excellent experiences and maintaining a welcoming and safe environment for our customers. You will also engage with local communities cultivating meaningful relationships and maintaining recreational opportunities and answering visitor enquiries. You will contribute to the overall safety of the visitor experience, drive efficiencies and income generation opportunities, while strengthening community connections.

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

Where you’ll work…

Your normal place of work will be Santon Downham, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0TJ. However, the role requires regular travel throughout Thetford Forest and to other locations as required to meet business needs.

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.

Interviews are likely to take place on the 12th November.

You may also be assessed on Experience, Strength based questions, and/or the Technical Success Profile at the interview. The technical element could include a presentation, practical or written task.

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] .