Recreation Ranger - Facilities Management

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

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Free parking at Forestry England sites

Free entry to National Arboretums

Civil Service pension scheme

Career development and learning

Job summary

Forestry England in Ringwood is seeking a Recreation Ranger (Facilities Management) to support the Recreation Manager in running a busy Forest Centre. You will plan, deliver and supervise work for contractors and staff to ensure safety and excellent visitor experiences.

The role involves supervising the Craftsperson team, coordinating day-to-day operations, and working with Dorset Council. 37 hours per week on a rota including weekends and bank holidays; closing date 03 November 2026.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing visitor-focused operations.
• Ability to supervise on-site maintenance and forest work.
• Strong focus on safety and high visitor standards.

Responsibilities

• Plan, deliver, and supervise work programmes for contractors and staff to ensure safety and high visitor standards.
• Ensure seamless day-to-day visitor operations and a welcoming environment for customers.
• Supervise the Craftsperson team and support on-site inquiries, collaborating with Dorset Council.

Skills

Visitor operations

Contractor management

Team supervision

Safety compliance

Customer experience

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Ringwood, BH242ET

Job Reference forestryengland/TP/1861/839

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Permanent

3 year FTA with potential for extension.

Working Hours:

37

Location:

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Ringwood, BH242ET

Closing Date:

03/11/2026

Job Category:

Recreation

Region:

South

Business Unit:

South

Job Introduction

We are Forestry England.

We live and breathe forests.

Job title – Recreation Ranger, Facilities Management

Salary- £30,105 per annum

Contract type – Permanent

Hours – 37 hours per week, working a ROTA system, covering weekends and Bank Holidays

Vacancy closes - Tuesday 3rd November 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…

As Recreation Ranger - Facilities you will support the Recreation Manager in the day to day running of a busy Forest Centre. The Recreation Ranger will plan, deliver, and supervise work programmes for contractors and staff to ensure compliance, safety and high standards of visitor experience across the busy site.

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 supervise the Craftsperson team to ensure all maintenance and forest management work is undertaken alongside answering visitor enquiries and supporting your direct colleagues on site. A large part of the role is working in partnership with Dorset Council.

You will contribute to the overall safety of the visitor experience, drive efficiencies and income generation opportunities.

Where you’ll work…

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest is jointly owned and managed by Dorset Council and Forestry England, working closely with several onsite concessions. The Park has previously won Gold for Large Visitor Attraction in the Southwest Tourism Excellence Awards and is one of two popular visitor centres in the south district for Forestry England.

Moors Valley is one of the most visited attractions in the south with more than 1,000,000 visitors annually enjoying its lakeside walks and bike rides, innovative forest play structures, Tree Top Trail, steam railway, Go Ape, Segways, Nets Adventure and Golf Course. Prized as much by the local community as visiting tourists the park also offers stimulating play facilities, nationally recognised green exercise initiatives, locally sourced restaurant food and an extensive year-round events programme.

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.

We cannot accept applications via email.

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

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] .