Trees and Woodland Officer

Bolton Council; Bolton; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Bolton Council’s Greenspace Service is seeking an experienced Trees and Woodland Officer to manage the Council's trees and woodlands across parks and open spaces. You will combine professional arboricultural knowledge with practical delivery, maintaining healthy stock, protecting public safety and balancing environmental and community needs.

You will carry out inspections and surveys, assess risk, produce recommendations and work programmes, supervise in-house teams and contractors, maintain

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in arboriculture required.
• Full UK driving licence required.
• Experience with tree inspection, management and risk assessment essential.
• Knowledge of applicable legislation, standards and best practice is essential.

Responsibilities

• Carry out tree inspections and surveys, assess condition and risk, and produce recommendations and work programmes.
• Respond to dangerous trees and support planned and emergency arboricultural works.
• Supervise in-house teams and contractors to ensure compliance with industry standards and safe working practices.
• Maintain accurate records, monitor progress and expenditure, and assist in allocating resources efficiently.
• Provide technical advice and contribute to consultations on Highway Trees, Tree Preservation Orders and conservation areas.

Skills

Arboriculture knowledge

Risk assessment

Tree inspections

Contractor supervision

Documentation & reporting

Education

Degree in Arboriculture

Job description

Grade G scp 23 £35,570 to scp 27 £39,481, essential car user allowance up to £963pa
Contract: permanent
Hours: 37 per week
Essential requirement: full driving licence
Essential qualification: Degree or equivalent in arboriculture
Interview date: TBC
For further information about this role, contact: [e-mail]

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

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The Role

As a Trees and Woodland Officer within Bolton Council's Greenspace Service, you will support the safe, sustainable and effective management of the Council's trees and woodlands across parks, open spaces and other Council-owned land. Combining professional arboricultural knowledge with practical service delivery, you will help maintain healthy tree stock, protect public safety and balance environmental, operational and community needs.

You will undertake tree inspections and surveys, assess tree condition and risk, and produce recommendations and work programmes. The role includes responding to dangerous trees, supporting planned and emergency arboricultural works, and supervising work carried out by in-house teams and contractors to ensure compliance with industry standards and safe working practices. You will maintain accurate records, monitor work progress and expenditure, and assist in the efficient allocation of resources.

Working closely with operational teams, Council services and external partners, you will provide technical advice on tree and woodland matters, respond to enquiries, prepare reports and contribute to consultations, including matters relating to Highway Trees, Tree Preservation Orders and conservation areas. You will also support woodland management initiatives, community engagement activities and, where required, provide evidence in formal proceedings.

A key part of the role is supporting the ongoing development and modernisation of the Trees and Woodland Service. This includes improving inspection processes, enhancing digital record-keeping and asset management systems, supporting performance monitoring, and helping to deliver a proactive, efficient and responsive service that meets changing operational and environmental demands.

About You

We are seeking an experienced and motivated arboricultural professional with strong technical knowledge and a practical, solution-focused approach. You will hold a degree or equivalent qualification in arboriculture and have relevant experience in tree inspection, management and risk assessment. A good understanding of relevant legislation, industry standards and best practice is essential, together with the ability to make sound professional judgements and provide clear recommendations.

You will have experience planning, organising and monitoring tree works, preparing specifications and supporting woodland management activities. Strong organisational skills, the ability to manage priorities and resources effectively, and experience supervising contractors and working collaboratively across teams are important.

The successful candidate will be a confident communicator, able to build positive relationships with residents, elected members, colleagues and external partners. You will be capable of producing clear reports, maintaining accurate records and explaining technical information to a range of audiences. Good IT skills and experience using digital systems are required.

We are looking for someone who will actively support service improvement and modernisation, embracing new technologies and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, data quality and customer service. You will be adaptable, self-motivated and committed to safe working and continuous professional development.

The role includes site-based work, occasional emergency or out-of-hours duties, and requires a full UK driving licence and access to a suitably insured vehicle.

About Us

This is your opportunity to join us at an exciting time as we have strong ambitions for the borough.

Bolton is a great place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected and prosperous. We are passionate about improving the outcomes and experience of Bolton people. We want Bolton to be a vibrant place built on strong cohesive communities, successful businesses and healthy, engaged residents.

As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including discounts and exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, flexible work opportunities, access to a Pension Scheme, as well as a range of employee wellbeing and support services.

Our Values are really important to us, read all about them below, along with all our great staff benefits, the job description/person specification for the role and the important legal bits, and our Top Tips too.

Supporting Documents

• Job description and person spec
• Staff Benefits
• Top Tips
• Our Values & Behaviours
• Privacy Notice
• Documents for Right to Work

Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see greater.jobs for further information before you apply.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation that has signed the commitment, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits. Please see the home page of greater.jobs for more information.

For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see greater.jobs; for advice and support with your application, contact [e-mail]