Forest Craftsperson
Forest Craftsperson
We're recruiting for the role of Forest Craftsperson.
Working at Forestry and Land Scotland is all about ‘People, Pride and Purpose.’ Join us and take pride in helping look after something incredibly valuable to the people of Scotland and its visitors – Scotland’s national forests and land.
Here, you’ll work with over a thousand talented, innovative, and committed people. Together we’re helping adapt and respond to climate change in Scotland, supporting the economy, protecting and enhancing the environment, and bringing positive benefits to the people of Scotland.
The Forest Craftsperson is an exciting and varied role that will give you a step into the world of forestry. You’ll work alongside colleagues throughout the region to maintain our visitor sites for the benefit of local communities and tourists alike.
What we offer
- Salary: £28,255 - £29,556
- Pension: 28.97% employer pension contributions
- Holidays: 25 days annual leave plus 11.5 days public/privilege holidays each year
- Work-life balance: we promote a healthy work-life balance for staff and are in the process of moving from a 37 to a 35-hour working week
Learn more about what we offer
Main duties
Below are some tasks you could find yourself completing:
- chainsaw work (basic felling/windblow and tree safety works)
- weed control (scrub clearance/strimming/clearing saw) and pesticide and herbicide application
- formal trail inspections
- maintenance of visitor facilities, e.g. grass cutting, paths, trails and visitor areas
- restock (replacement planting, stocking density assessments, iconic tree planting)
- fence surveys including construction and maintenance
- general estate maintenance and presentation of structures, e.g. picnic benches, signs and waymarkers
- contribute to completing job sheets for visitor services teams
- mapping features with GPS or other technology out on site to assist Forest Management/Stewardship teams
- use internal systems for booking holidays/vans or reporting faults
- carry out risk assessments for all tasks while taking a positive approach to health and safety
- assist in the protection of the forest estate, including the disposal of fly tipping waste
The role may differ slightly depending on where you’re based.
You’ll have the chance to work alongside colleagues in your region on programmes such as timber harvesting and environment and conservation.
Where you'll be based
We're currently seeking candidates for two roles: one in West Calder (Central) and one in Huntly (East).
While we only have two vacancies at present, you can still apply for any regions that interest you. We plan to conduct interviews with the aim of creating a reserve list of candidates.
If you pass the interview and secure a spot on the reserve list, we may be able to offer you a position in your preferred region within the next 12 months, should a suitable role become available.
Find out more about our regions below.
Current vacancies:
Central Region covers large urban areas within and surrounding Glasgow and Edinburgh, whilst also taking in the natural beauty of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. The region is believed to manage the oldest forest park in Scotland.
Geographically, the region is made up of low-lying holdings in the east to high mountainous forestry and open land in the west. Managing approximately 90,000ha of national forests and land, and several other areas in partnership with local authorities.
Current vacancies: Huntly
Our team in East Region manages approximately 90,000ha of Scotland's national forests and land. The area stretches from the coastal pinewoods of Moray and Fife to the large productive forests across Aberdeenshire, the busy recreational woods near Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth, and the iconic forests of Bennachie and Tay Forest Park.
These areas also include large parts of the Cairngorms National Park and encompass important open habitats and native woodlands, including:
- sand dune and shingle systems
- blanket bog
- montane habitats
- the pinewoods of Deeside
- lowland oak woods
- the Blackwood of Rannoch Caledonian Pinewood
North Region is responsible for the management of a large and diverse land holding from Caithness in the North, Skye in the west and Strathspey in the south. This includes a varied range of terrain from the flow country to part of the Cairngorms National Park and the steep terrain of the north-west Highlands.
North Region has significant areas of steep ground harvesting above major transport routes, including Loch Ness, requiring major resilience work, as well as a major peatland restoration programme in Caithness and Sutherland, funded via Peatland ACTION.
South Region has the largest forested land in Scotland. It covers a diverse forest from the rolling Galloway glens on the west coast to the Tweed Valley on the east coast. The topography has large-scale upland conifer forests, soils of deep peat, peat gleys and brown earths. This is attributable to a climate that is mild and wet maritime in the west, and drier and colder in the east with windy conditions.
The area covered by South Region supports the rural economy with over 25 timber industries, a wide contractor base and links to tourism – this is supported through the Borders Initiative and South of Scotland Economic Partnership.
How to apply
Please apply through the recruitment portal with your CV and a supporting statement - please note, without a CV your application will not be considered. Your supporting statement should be used to give additional evidence of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. The supporting statement should be no more than 4,000 characters including spaces and punctuation.
Please advise your preferred region and location in the relevant section in the application. Without this we may not be able to consider your application.
Apply now
For more information on the application process as a whole, please visit our candidate information page.
Get in touch
If you would like further information or have any questions, please contact: