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Project Specialist

  • Public sector
  • 01/05/2025
  • £39,135.00 - £42,133.00 /yearly
  • Full Time & Permanent
Job expired!

Job Overview

Job Type

Full Time & Permanent

Salary

£39,135 - £42,133 yearly

Date Posted:

01/05/2025

Expiration date:

25/05/2025

Additional Detail

Job ID

25827

Work Location

Office-based

Job Description

The role can be based in Northern Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9SY or Alice Holt, Farnham, Surrey GU10 LH. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.

Job summary

Want to work at the cutting edge of environmental science?  Passionate about making a difference and playing your part in tackling the climate and nature crisis?  Forest Research (FR) is all about giving top quality evidence and advice to policymakers and practitioners to make a positive impact on the ground. Internationally recognised, we need people who have the skills and passion to work on excellent science and provide practical solutions for nature.

We're small enough that your voice is heard, yet large enough, as part of the Forestry Commission, that we have everything on hand to get the job done, as well as a variety of career pathways.  Our staff are dedicated to their work and sharing it with others to bring positive change for our planet.  You will find us a flexible and inclusive employer, so you can have a work life balance that is tailor-made to your circumstances. So, whether it's climate or carbon, pests or pathogens, behaviour or biodiversity that interests you, you can be assured of a warm welcome to the team. To find out more, visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk

The GIS and Data Services team sit within the Centre for Inventory Forecasting & Operational Support (IFOS), an expert, customer focused provider of forestry information, software, and service. The team manage and deliver an integrated spatial platform for forest and land management comprising 'Forester' web-based applications and 'Geostore' containing detailed GB-wide spatial data. Esri Enterprise, ArcGIS Online and open-source technology are used to deliver services from the platform to 1600 users within the forestry and land management sector. Increasingly, mobile and remote sensing technologies, coupled with data science, are being used to produce derived data and information products for our customers. We also support a growing demand from our internal and external customers for focussed GIS solutions to meet specific needs.

The successful applicant will provide business analysis, project management and financial analysis to support project delivery. Specialising in understanding business requirements within the Forestry sector you will help define programmes of work and provide project and financial management to ensure successful delivery. Reporting to the GIS Project Delivery Lead, you will work across the wider team with significant stakeholder engagement.

Job description

Reporting to the GIS Project Delivery Lead, the successful applicant will:

  • Manage delegated budgets and provide forecasting and reporting
  • Engage with our Forestry customers and partners to translate business requirements into deliverable projects, managing resources effectively to deliver successful outcomes.
  • Provide project and financial management support across our programmes of work
  • Ensure appropriate project governance, assurance and management of risk
  • Utilise appropriate systems and tools to enable effective planning, scheduling and monitoring of activities

Key Work Areas:

Project Management - manage the full project lifecycle from concept to delivery, including day to day management of project delivery teams, resources and finances. Lead virtual project teams comprising internal staff, customers and suppliers, ensuring delivery on time and to budget
Business Analysis - engage with Forestry customers to identify and encapsulate geospatial requirements aligned to projects and the wider programme of work. Effectively communicate to ensure alignment with customer expectation, technical feasibility and geospatial strategy.
Stakeholder Management Support - at the project level, identify and manage collaborative stakeholder relationships, actively engaging and bringing in senior level support when required.  Ensure realisation of benefits for customers through effective planning and design while ensuring project outputs meet programme requirements.
Manage Project Risk - identify, monitor and manage project risks and issues, develop mitigating strategies and escalating when appropriate.
Project Governance and Assurance - assist with the establishment and updating of appropriate project governance and assurance including KPIs.
Financial management - manage project finances and delegated budgets and ensure effective project financial monitoring through proactive communications with customers, external partners and internal finance teams. Agree budgets for projects and forecast actual costs against them.

Person specification

Essential Criteria: 

A qualification in a relevant subject or equivalent experience e.g. GIS, business or project management 
Proven experience in the design, management and delivery of projects from conception to completion
Strong practical experience with project management tools and methodologies
Extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and effective requirements gathering
Outstanding interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to articulate solutions in a business context
Skilled in managing project finances with precision and accountability
Advanced problem solving and decision-making skills in fast paced and dynamic environments

 

Desirable Criteria:

Experience of forestry/GIS sector
Experience of Esri GIS products or similar
Knowledge of and/or experience in Agile project management methodologies

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Working Together
  • Delivering at Pace
Alongside your salary of £39,135, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £11,337 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Your career

  • Excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role, with paid professional membership subscriptions, mentoring, and Civil Service Learning available to all
  • access to world class laboratory facilities, as well as state of the art buildings within forest or science park settings

Your work/life balance

  • flexible working options such as: up to two days flexi leave per month, blended working, part-time working, paid special leave, career breaks, and unpaid leave. Parents and carers will be supported to enable you to manage work and family responsibilities
  • generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-timers). Plus 2.5 days of additional leave and 8 days paid bank/public holidays

Your wellbeing

  • A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment
  • A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
  • We want you to feel part of something bigger and we encourage a community feel in our workplaces, with everything from cookery competitions to Pilates and fell running, plus topical talks at Wellbeing Wednesdays and Feelgood Fridays
  • Paid volunteering leave of 3 days per year so you can give back to your community and charitable causes by sharing your skills and time

Your benefits

  • a highly competitive Civil Service Pension of 28.97% your salary
  • an employee benefits scheme offering discounts on groceries, gym memberships, holidays, days out, online retailers and high street shops
  • Cycle to Work scheme and Interest free loans
  • Free parking is offered on-site, alongside electric car charging ports
  • With maternity, adoption, and/or shared parental leave theres the flexibility to have up to 26 weeks full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave. Paternity leave of up to two weeks is available with full pay.

Any move to Forest Research from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Shortlist
The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the Essential Criteria set out in the Person Specification. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift will take place by 6 June 2025

Interviews will be held 16-18 June  2025

Applicants invited to attend for interview will be required to prepare a presentation: Please describe a complex project you have managed from start to finish, including the scope, timeline, and budget? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Please include details such as how you managed stakeholders, reporting/monitoring and governance activities.

If we receive a large volume of applications, then we will sift on CV and Personal Statement.  We will use this information to assess your application against the essential criteria in the person specification.  However, candidates will be expected to answer questions on all behaviours listed at the interview stage.

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the 'Assistance required' section in the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're D/deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Visa Sponsorship

FR holds a licence to sponsor Skilled Workers under the Home Office points-based immigration system. Candidates wishing to apply should note that the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship would depend on an assessment of this role against defined criteria, which include:

  • Whether the Job role has been identified as being a Critical Role in FR, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan, and / or
  • Whether the Job role is a known Capability gap, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan for the relevant Centre, and
  • Evidence of significant recruitment challenges in filling the Job role previously

Skilled Worker sponsorship may be available, subject to an application and assessment process and the Home Office points-based system.

For further details, please refer to the Sponsorship for Skilled Workers - guidance for applicants and managers on our 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.

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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
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).
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 FR HR Services by email: [email protected] you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

CS_Behaviours_2018 Opens in new window (pdf, 1043kB)
 
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