HEAD FORESTER

Welbeck Estate, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Reporting to: Rural Estates Director

Duties:

A Head Forester with business acumen is required to sustainably manage the Welbeck Estate Woods Department, covering in excess of 3,000 acres of mixed woodlands. Leading a small team, by example, to fulfil an important role in the next phase of the woodland management plan. This includes management of continuous cover forestry in sensitive locations, as well as conventional thinning and clear fell and replanting operations where viable:

Duties include:

• Reviewing and updating the Woodland Management Plan
• Reviewing stewardship, certification, and grant funding options
• Obtaining felling licences where required
• Planning, implementation, and control of work programmes
• Preparation of budgets and working to agreed budgets
• Ensuring compartment schedules and records are maintained
• Felling, including work within large mature hardwood compartments and softwood blocks
• Production and management of the sustainable supply of woodchip to 5 biomass boilers
• Instructing and managing contractors
• Planting and maintenance of young plantations
• Localised management of natural regeneration
• Marketing of timber
• Planned and preventative maintenance of roadside trees
• Estate maintenance
• Introducing a system to deal with out of hours requirements (clearance of fallen trees / snow )
• Ensuring safe working practices
• Collaborative working with other Estate Departments

Other Estate duties as may be requested from time to time.

Requirements:

The successful candidate will have business acumen, be hardworking, committed, trustworthy and experienced in the safe and efficient delivery of woodland operations and able to extract and add value from forestry operations. The must also be able to work on their own initiative on a day to day basis and motivate a small team.

Candidates should have relevant experience and qualifications to competently operate a wide range of forestry plant and machinery including tractors and loaders.

Qualification/Training:

A minimum of 10 years relevant experience along with a HND or equivalent in Forestry Management, preferably holding professional membership of the ICF (Institute of Chartered Foresters) or working towards a similar qualification.

Spray qualifications PA02 & PA06.

Qualified to fell and process trees over 380mm and deal with uprooted or windblown trees (minimum NPTC Level 2 Chainsaw Qualifications: CS30, CS31, CS32, CS34 & CS35, CS37 (0020-01/09, 02, 03, 04, 05, 0021-01, 02, 05, 11) level).

Rope access / the ability to climb is desirable but not essential.

Must be competent in using Microsoft Office programmes particularly Outlook, Excel, Word. Experience with digital mapping programmes being desirable.

Full clean driving licence.

Hours: 40 hours per week Monday – Friday 7.45am to 4.30pm. Occasional overtime and additional hours / emergency cover as required
Holiday:25 days plus 8 bank holidays
Salary:Dependant on experience.

About the Company:

Welbeck Estate - Head Forester

Welbeck is one of the great traditional landed estates, set mainly within Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, an area of great natural beauty. The Estate extends to some 15,000 acres, straddling the borders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Several areas of the Estate have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England, providing a fantastic habitat for a diverse range of wildlife. Much of the land on the Estate is used for agriculture and forestry purposes. The Head Forester will be responsible for the management of over 3,000 acres of the Estate’s woodland.

Anyone wishing to apply for this position please forward a CV with covering letter stating salary expectations to: recruitment@welbeck.co.uk