Location: East Midlands (England), West Midlands (England)
This role leads the delivery of a high-profile, nationally significant infrastructure programme to create accessible and inclusive Covid Commemoration spaces in the nation’s forests. The Project Manager will oversee the planning, coordination, and implementation of multiple projects across England, working at pace to meet fixed timescales and working within set governance arrangements.
Working closely with the Project Director, Senior Responsible Officer (SRO), and a multidisciplinary team, the Project Manager will manage a complex programme of site-based infrastructure improvements stakeholder engagement, procurement, and reporting.
The role requires strong leadership, sensitivity, stakeholder management, project governance, and a commitment to inclusive design and co-creation.
This is a fixed-term role aligned to the lifespan of the programme, with a strong emphasis on legacy, accessibility, and community collaboration. This is a Temporary Appointment until 30th June 2028 with the possibility of extension or permanency but no guarantee.
Some travel across England will be required with occasional overnight stays necessary. The role will be based in a local Forestry England office with flexibility for blended working (see details below). Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Project Leadership & Delivery
- Lead the day-to-day management of the programme in line with funding agreements and programme objectives as well as traditional time, cost, and quality measures.
- Develop and maintain the Project Management Plan (PMP), including scope, schedule, budget, risk, and quality management.
- Coordinate the delivery of multiple infrastructure sites across England, ensuring alignment with organisational and programme objectives.
- Manage project controls, change control, and Gateway reviews in line with Forestry England’s project lifecycle.
- Ensure the project follows the governance of Forestry England’s Project Management Office and report into that team regularly during the project duration, escalating issues where necessary.
- Work closely with colleagues across the organisation but especially in district teams to facilitate successful delivery of the programme.
Stakeholder Engagement & Co-Creation
- Facilitate sensitive engagement with communities, advisory groups, and stakeholders to ensure outputs reflect lived experience, inclusive and collaborative design.
- Work with internal teams (e.g., Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Marketing & Comms) and external consultants to deliver accessible and reflective spaces.
- Ensure inclusive design principles and Equality Impact Assessments are embedded throughout engagement, design and delivery.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key partners and make sure communication is clear, consistent, and two-way.
Procurement & Financial Management
- Lead procurement exercises for design and construction services, ensuring compliance with Forestry England procurement policies.
- Monitor project spend, manage contracts, and ensure value for money across all project components.
- Prepare cost reports and liaise with Finance and the Senior Responsible Officer to ensure financial transparency.
Governance & Reporting
- Report progress to the Project Board, PMO, and external stakeholders, including quarterly updates and evaluation reports.
- Ensure robust documentation, version control, and use of a central information repository.
- Support the SRO and Project Director in strategic decision-making and benefits realisation.
- Support monitoring and evaluation activity to evidence programme benefits, including visitors wellbeing, accessibility improvements and community impact.
Health, Safety & Quality Assurance
- Manage reputational and stakeholder risk associated with a sensitive programme, ensuring language, design and delivery are appropriate and inclusive.
- Ensure compliance with Construction Design Management 2015 regulations and Forestry England’s
Health & Safety policies
- Coordinate risk assessments and quality assurance processes throughout the project lifecycle.
- Complete Equality Impact Assessments as part of the planning process.
- #romote sustainability and accessibility in all aspects of project delivery.
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
Person specification
Skills, knowledge & experience
Essential professional and technical experience
- Proven experience managing complex infrastructure or place-based projects to time, cost and quality.
- Strong project management skills including risk, budget, programme and change control.
- Experience of working with multiple stakeholders, including dispersed internal teams and external partners.
- Ability to produce clear governance, reporting and documentation in line with organisational standards.
- Experience of procurement and contract management within a public or regulated environment.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to operate effectively in sensitive or high-profile contexts.
- Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) and project management tools.
Desirable professional and technical experience
- Project management qualification (e.g. APM, PRINCE2 or equivalent).
- Experience working with government departments or in the public sector.
- Understanding of accessibility, inclusive design or wellbeing in public spaces.
- Familiarity with Forestry England systems (e.g., eFinancials, PMO tools).
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission contributes £11,700 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience.
Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.
How to apply…
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.
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 behaviours and strength-based questions during your interview, and also asked to do a short presentation.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
We expect interviews to be held on the 20th & 27th July in person at our Bristol office.
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window).
Working for the Civil Service
Please note this Post is not regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact
Recruitment team
Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
Attachments
Forestry England Job Description - Project Manager - Opens in new window (pdf, 243kB)
