Job Introduction
We are Forestry England.
We live and breathe forests.
Job title – Forestry/Land Based Skills Instructor
Salary- £37,537 - £39,661
Contract type – Permanent
Hours – 44 hours per week
Vacancy closes - 29th June 2026 23:58
Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.
Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We're providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.
What you’ll do…
Shape the next generation of skilled land-based professionals
Are you passionate about practical skills and ready to pass on your expertise to others?
We’re looking for an enthusiastic Instructor to join our Training team—someone who thrives on developing people, sharing knowledge, and helping learners build confidence in real-world, hands-on environments. Whether your background is in forestry or across the wider land-based sector, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact.
What you’ll do
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Deliver engaging training.
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Support learners to develop skills in the land based sector.
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Mentor and coach learners to help them grow into capable, confident professionals.
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Contribute to the development of our expanding apprenticeship programme.
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Work closely with colleagues across the business to promote safe, high-quality training.
What we’re looking for
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A passion for hands-on skills and developing others.
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Strong practical experience in the land-based sector.
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An interest in mentoring, coaching, or training (experience is a bonus, not essential).
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A commitment to high standards of safety, quality, and professionalism.
Where you’ll work…
The location of this post can be based at any of our offices across Forestry England depending on the successful candidate. Blended working arrangements will also be considered.
The role involves dealing with contacts across the UK, and regular travel with overnight stays.
Benefits…
Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.
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25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
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STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
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free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
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a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.
Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.
Essential:
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Good knowledge and experience across a range of practical land based skills.
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A passion for passing on a wide range of land based practical skills.
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Proven track record in planning and managing own timetable of work and the ability to work on own initiative.
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Excellent communication skills.
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Full UK driving licence
Desirable:
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Knowledge or experience in various training methods including coaching, workshops, classroom training and mentoring.
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Ability to track the performance of training programmes, write reports and recommend strategies for improvement.
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Experience of planning, delivering and evaluating a range of training events across a broad range of topics.
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Good understanding of the training cycle and its relevance to effective training.
Professional and Technical Expertise
Essential:
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Experience a wide range of land based practical skills
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First Aid and appropriate endorsement.
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Willingness to achieve a Level 3 Certificate in Education & Training
Desirable:
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Successful background in delivering training.
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Assessor qualification for example D32/ D33 or Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement.
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Level 3 Certificate in Education & Training (or equivalent)
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate Safe use of pesticides (PA1)
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate in Brushcutter, trimmer & clearing saw
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate in Pesticide application using handheld applicators (PA6a)
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate in Chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate in Felling trees up to 380mm
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NPTC/Lantra Certificate in Felling trees over 380mm
How to apply…
Sift Date: 30th June 2026 - Subject to change
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Location: Health, Safety and Technical Training, Cannock Training Centre, Birches Valley, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2UQ
You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. Please ensure you detail what practical experience you have. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.
You will be assessed on a technical skill and experience based questions during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
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Making effective decisions
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Communicating and influencing
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Developing self and others
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Delivering at pace
Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.
If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email [email protected].
If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.
Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.
Nationality requirements…
Read more about nationality requirements here.
Working for the Civil Service…
Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative.
Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.
Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: [email protected].
