Woodland Creation and Tree Planting Technical Officer

About The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) inspires and empowers people to transform healthcare for a sustainable future. We collaborate with partners inside and outside healthcare
to engage professionals, patients and the wider community in understanding the connections between health and environment, and to reduce healthcare’s resource footprint.

We support NHS sites to develop and manage their green estate for health and wellbeing. This includes tree planting and woodland creation to provide ecosystem services and to increase tree canopy cover in areas where there is low canopy cover. Additionally, we support sites to
consider how such spaces could be enjoyed and used by staff, patients and the wider community for
naturebased activities that deliver health
benefits.

About the role

• Home-based with monthly travel to Oxford and travel to site meetings.
• Full time (37.5 hours per week)
• Fixed term until March 2025
• Salary: £30,000 – £32,500 per annum (plus contributory pension)

We wish to expand our team and deliver more tree planting and woodland creation on NHS sites. The Woodland Creation and Tree Planting Technical Officer will work as part of a team alongside the Woodland Creation and Tree Planting Project Manager, and supported by the Communications and Marketing, and Project and Evidence leads for trees and woodlands.

The postholder will have a nationwide remit, but with a geographic focus on key sites, working
to engage NHS Trusts in woodland creation and tree planting on the NHS green estate. They will
work in a strategic way using evidence and data to identify suitable locations, liaising with NHS
teams to deliver tree planting, ensuring aftercare capabilities, and providing technical advice. This
will include managing the order and supply of trees.

The role will involve a range of activities designed to expand the NHS Forest and develop it as
a vibrant network for good practice. This includes approaching and liaising with health trusts
and tree suppliers to facilitate tree planting and related green space work; advising on tree
planting events; monitoring and reporting on tree sponsorship and tree planting to track the expansion
of the NHS Forest; developing our tree procurement strategy; gathering information about NHS Trusts’ woodland and green space activities, needs and interests; producing inspiring case
studies and other supporting advice and information to help trusts in developing the potential of their woodlands and other green spaces.

Responsibilities will include:

• Identifying and supporting woodland creation at a number of NHS sites – a target of 15-20 ha by March 25.
• Facilitating smaller tree planting initiatives at other sites- a target of 25,000 trees by
  March 25.
• Ensuring relevant permissions and tree planting agreements are secured at all sites (using our existing systems and processes).
• Working with the wider team to arrange delivery of trees to sites.
• Providing advice and information to support healthcare organisations in all aspects of
  their tree planting; in promoting biodiversity and making the most of green space for the benefit of patients, staff and communities.
• Contributing to monitoring and reporting on programme progress in tree planting, tree sponsorship and other green space activities, and maintaining our customer relations database.
• Representing CSH at conferences and events, as required.
• Contributing to the Green Space for Health team activities and wider work across CSH as required.

About you

This role requires someone who is highly organised and thrives working as part of a team, as
well as independently. We are looking for a creative thinker who focuses on solutions and has
previous experience of tree planting and woodland creation, good ecological knowledge, and effective communication skills.

Essential skills/ experience:

• A relevant degree level qualification and/or relevant employment experience in woodland management or forestry in the private, voluntary or public sector.
• Proven experience in a range of tree planting schemes and aftercare.
• Ability to examine and understand complex information and make decisions based on evidence.
• Strong inter-personal skills and the ability to build effective relationships with a wide
  variety of stakeholders.
• Good knowledge and respect for health and safety legislation and requirements.
• Proven track record in project management and development with good attention to detail, administration skills and IT literacy, including MS Word and Excel.
• Able to communicate clearly, verbally and in writing to diverse audiences.
• Self-motivated and well organised.
• Reliable, efficient and able to demonstrate sound judgement.
• Full driving license and access to own car.

Desirable skills/ experience:

• Evidence of maintaining Continuous Professional Development and membership of (or working towards) a relevant professional institute.
• Proven ability to forge, influence and maintain successful partnerships with a wide range of individuals and organisations.
• Experience of using databases and Geographical Information Systems. 
• Experience of working with community groups and volunteers to deliver conservation
  projects. 

How to apply

To apply please email your CV and a cover letter, explaining how your skills and experience
match this role to [email protected]

• Closing date: 2pm on Monday 12th June 2023
  
• Interviews: To be held on 15th and 16th June 2023

For any questions, please contact [email protected]

Location

The role will require some travel within the UK for visits, meetings, and conferences. We
encourage the use of sustainable travel wherever feasible. CSH is based in Oxford, UK. Staff
are expected to attend office meeting days in person once a month. Travel costs for attending
these meetings are reimbursed.

Appointment

This is a full-time post at a salary of: £30,000 – £32,500 per annum, plus contributory
pension. The appointment is for a fixed term position until March 2025. You will be based
remotely but should be able to come to team meetings in Oxford at least once a month.

Benefits

CSH is a registered charity, and our salary levels are competitive within the charity sector.
We aim to increase salaries in line with cost-of-living at least annually. Working with CSH has
many additional advantages: CSH cares for every staff member as a whole person and as a valued
part of the team; CSH provides support for people working in different circumstances and is
flexible in terms of working patterns to accommodate individual needs.

Equal opportunities and eligibility to work in the UK

As an equal opportunities employer, The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is committed to the
equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on
the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or
ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare aspires to be a diverse and inclusive workplace and
strongly encourages suitably qualified applicants of the global majority, people with
disabilities and men to apply, as these groups are currently under-represented in the
organisation.

If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the application process, please contact
[email protected]

Please note, we have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our workers and employees have
the legal right to live and work in the UK. As such you may be asked to provide proof that you
have the right to work in the UK.

Data Protection

CSH is committed to ensuring your data is protected and is only used in line with GDPR
guidelines and we do not collect unnecessary personal data from applicants during the
recruitment process. Data collected as part of the recruitment process is held securely and
accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of managing the recruitment
exercise effectively to decide to whom to offer the job.

Please see our privacy policy
for more information.