Are you a qualified climbing Arborist wanting to work in Brighton and Hove?
Do you take pride in producing quality tree work?
Could you be a part of a team of dedicated, proffessional Arborists?
Would you enjoy the opportunity to work on and protect The National Elm Collection?
We are looking for candidates to join Brighton & Hove City Council’s Arboriculture Team to help shape one of the South Coast’s most iconic urban forests and help maintain the historic elm tree collection. From coastal streets to parks and green spaces, no two days are the same.
About the role:
As an Arborist with Brighton & Hove City Council, you will play a key role in the maintenance of the city’s trees. You will undertake a wide range of arboricultural operations upon differing sites within the city including streets, parkland, woodland, residential properties and semi-rural locations. You will ensure all work is carried out safely, efficiently, and to a high professional standard.The role involves regular interaction with members of the public requiring high standards of professional conduct and adherance to the Council's behaviours at all times. Driving Council vehicles, and towing equipment such as wood chippers, will require a current and valid UK driving licence. We also provide an out of hours emergency tree works service for the Council requiring staff to be on call 24hrs, in one week blocks.
The role involves both aerial (tree climbing/pruning and MEWP work) and ground-based duties (such as tree felling, wood chipper operation, manual handling, site safety) requiring the relevent industry certification and training to be held. Candidates will need experience in the use and maintenance of typical arborist equipment. Other skills include knowledge and experience of complying with health and safety regulations/proccesses and safe canopy access practices.
If you’re motivated, safety-focused, and take pride in delivering top-quality tree work, this is a great opportunity to be part of a skilled and professional team. You will have the opportunity to work upon some the UK's rarest elm trees and continue the essential, and unique, work we undetake to protect The National Elm Collection here in Brighton and Hove.
Our team is well equipped and managed by a Team Leader as work programs are delivered through the year covering activities such as street tree pruning, reactive works, general tree maintenace and disease response. Based at Stanmer Park teams work Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm, travelling to work sites daily across the city. Skills development and training is provided to all staff.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, female or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
