Location
Central London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£66,375 per annum

About the Role
Forestry Commission are the Government’s forestry experts, working nationally and locally to expand, protect, improve, and connect England’s valuable woodland assets. We are recruiting a Grade 7/PB2 team leader to join our 90-strong National Grants and Regulations Team (NGR), responsible for forestry regulations and grant support for woodland management, creation, tree health, agroforestry, and innovation.

The successful candidate will line manage a team of 14, including 4 direct reports, and work alongside 4 other Senior Leaders supporting the leadership of the National Grants and Regulations team. The role includes leading Forestry Commission’s contributions to the Environmental Land Management Scheme “Landscape Recovery,” supporting landscape scale partnerships in developing 20-year implementation plans, and assisting Area teams during scheme implementation.

This role is pivotal in balancing grant funding with private green finance to deliver ambitious objectives for nature recovery and climate change response at a landscape scale. The team also leads grant innovation in agroforestry and tree nursery sectors, supporting resilience, productivity, skills training, and capital investment.

We seek a passionate, self-motivated leader with a proven track record of managing high-performing teams in fast-paced environments. The post holder will collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders, influencing key decision makers to achieve favourable outcomes for the Forestry Commission and wider forestry sector.

Key responsibilities include team leadership, grant scheme management, driving innovation, developing digital systems, and contributing to senior leadership across Forest Services.

Experience
- Inspirational leader with proven team leadership skills, able to achieve ambitious targets in a positive and supportive culture.
- Experience developing grant schemes and processes.
- Project management and/or leadership of change.
- Sound understanding of land management sector challenges.
- Experience managing and motivating people, including performance and development.
- Ability to work at pace on multiple priorities.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Competent IT user with experience in MS Office, SharePoint, and ability to learn bespoke IT systems.

About you
- Passionate about building new ways of working and driving change.
- Collaborative with strong influencing skills.
- Committed to continuous professional development.
- Ability to work closely with diverse stakeholders and senior leaders.
- Adaptable to a fast-changing environment with a focus on innovation and efficiency.

Qualifications
- Degree or Higher Diploma level or equivalent professional qualifications (e.g. Institute of Chartered Foresters, CIEEM membership) preferably in forestry, land use, planning or related fields.
- Significant experience in project management, leadership, or grant development/delivery preferably in forestry or land use.
- Desirable: understanding of environmental and forestry policies, UK Forestry Standard, Government Grant Management Standards, and digital service transformation.
- Forestry qualification or land-based/environmental professional membership is advantageous.