Urban Forestry Assistant – Tree Procurement

Location: City of Trees, Unit 3 Discovery Works, Third Avenue, Trafford Park, M17 1BW
Hours: Full time, 36 hours per week
Contract: 1-year fixed term

Role overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated individual who can help our team deliver high quality woodlands across Greater Manchester. This important role will be based at our new office in Trafford Park within a growing and busy team. The postholder will be responsible for the ordering and organisation of trees for the team’s woodland planting schemes, making sure trees are ordered and organised, ready for planting. There will be a mix of indoor and outdoor work, supporting the Woodlands Officer and other team members on schemes. This is a great opportunity to develop skills and knowledge in the woodland sector.

About City of Trees

We are City of Trees, the Community Forest for Greater Manchester and registered charity. We plant trees, we look after trees, we promote a culture of trees. We plant trees for people; trees to create better, greener places; to boost health and wellbeing; to enhance green skills; and to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergency. We’re rooted here in Greater Manchester, the place we live and work. We are proud to call Greater Manchester home and are passionate about making our region even better, one tree at a time.

The perks

• Flexi-time
• 25 days paid holiday plus 8 bank holidays (pro- rata)
• Training and development opportunities
• Employer match 8% contribution pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Comprehensive health & wellbeing package

Key duties and responsibilities

To run and oversee the ordering, collating and organising of all tree deliveries, their record keeping and the allocation of plants to projects. This will involve:

• Regular liaison with the City of Trees team, collating their tree scheme need and creating nursery orders
• Regularly ordering trees from reserved tree stocks from a variety of nurseries
• Assisting with the procurement of trees
• Maintaining a spares list of unused trees and factoring these into future tree deliveries and projects
• Taking delivery of trees– checking on species, quality and numbers and feeding back to nurseries on any issues
• Organise and keep tidy the tree storage areas within the warehouse
• Liaising with the Nursery Manager at Barnfield Park to coordinate tree collections to match with planting dates
• Keep detailed records of holding stocks with the nurseries allowing traceability of trees from delivery to site
• Checking of nursery invoices, coding to different projects and passing onto the finance team for payment
• Assisting the Woodlands Officer and Forestry & Operations Team on site visits to new or previous woodland creation schemes
• Assisting the Woodlands Officer with writing up site visit notes, GIS mapping and recording of data
• Obtaining prices and quotes for woodland creation materials, ensuring compliance with City of Trees Trust procedures and policies
• To order woodland creation materials as requested
• Assist with regular stock taking of planting materials in the warehouse
• To assist with the preparation of appropriate regulatory information regarding planting schemes to the Forestry Commission (Public Register and EIA Enquiry Form)
• To work in a flexible manner and to undertake any other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned from time to time, which are commensurate with the grade of the job.
• To undertake informal and formal training as agreed.
• To carry out duties with full regard to Equal Opportunities, Child and Vulnerable Adult and Health and Safety policies.
• To travel around Greater Manchester as required.

Person specification

Essential:

• Degree or equivalent in forestry or other relevant environmental subject, or proven experience in similar role
• Full driving license
• Excellent record keeping skills and attention to detail
• Able to follow organisational policies & procedures
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to plan time effectively across different activities
• Self-motivated with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Experience of using spreadsheets to track and monitor data
• Fully conversant with all other Microsoft Office applications
• Able to work flexibly

Desirable:

• Working in the environment sector
• Experience of tree planting, woodland management and/or other conservation works
• Knowledge of the environment sector or community forestry
• Understanding of the regulatory processes around tree planting
• Understanding the role of trees and woodlands can play in responding to projected climate change
• Experience of using GIS to produce maps

The successful candidate may be required to have a DBS check. The DBS check is a standard procedure for anyone who will be working with children or vulnerable adults.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 11th December 2025 at 12pm 2025.

Interviews will be held at City of Trees office in Trafford Park on Wednesday 17th December 2025.