Active Forest Coordinator Aston Clinton, England
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Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
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Location
About the job
Job summary
Wendover Woods is one of three developed Forest Centres within the East District and provides a range of recreation activities, businesses and services at the site.
Wendover woods is located within the Chilterns AONB, five miles east of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The centre completed an exciting £4.5million major capital investment project in 2018/19 which introduced a brand new café, car park facilities, toilets, car park management system, accessible trails and play facilities to the site. These exciting developments significantly enhanced the capacity and potential for the site to develop and diversify the recreation offer.
- The site currently attracts approximately 500,000 visitors per annum. Visitors are typically attracted to the site for the array of activities. The site contains fantastic recreation facilities, with miles of walking, running and cycle trails that make best use of the topography of the site.
- The site has a thriving and developing Active Forests Programme, welcoming a variety of physical activity events and wellbeing opportunities including parkrun, canicross, endurance races, Forest Bathing and Ecstatic Dance.
- Wendover works closely with business partners Go Ape! And the Wendover Café to provide additional activities and services to our customers.
The role is part of the Active Forests Programme, Forestry England’s national programme focused on physical activity. The programme provides engaging, inspirational and motivating physical activity opportunities for new and existing forest visitors. The key aspects of the programme are delivered through: 1) partnership and engagement, 2) communication, 3) monitoring and evaluation.
Job description
Working as part of a team you will coordinate and deliver a wide range of physical activity and wellbeing opportunities at Wendover Woods.
Key Work Areas
1. Taking the lead from the Active Forests (AF) delivery strategy and the site delivery plan, develop & deliver:
- A programme of customer focused physical activity experiences.
- Site marketing & communication activity.
- Site monitoring and evaluation programme.
2. Tap into local experience & knowledge base by working with existing site teams.
3. Ensure AFC post is fully integrated into the local site team by incorporation into the duty system offering frontline visitor support and reactive response to incidents as required. Act as a (forest centre) duty manager which requires working some weekends, holidays and other peak periods.
4. Develop a range of internal and external partnerships to develop programme and provide physical activities.
5. Where appropriate, develop partnerships with health organisations.
6. In line with national & local guidance develop, introduce and coordinate a team of Active Forests volunteers to support AF delivery.
7. Taking the lead from AF programme manager lead production of performance reports.
8. Representing site interests participate in AF programme networking opportunities.
9. Where specified lead development of specific AF programme activities EG Data capture techniques, use of social media, development of volunteer package.
Person specification
EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Previous experience of developing relationships and working effectively with internal and external partners.
- A track record of delivering successful customer focused activities in a recreational environment.
Desirable
Your physical activity or events based experience will include marketing and /or promotion, with the management of health & safety and delivery of monitoring and evaluation activity.
Knowledge and experience of working with Sport England, National Governing Bodies, health providers and the Forestry Commission.
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Essential
- A wide interest and knowledge of physical activities, and experience of using sport as a tool to engage with customers.
- A working knowledge of Microsoft windows based IT systems.
Desirable
A degree, NVQ Level 4, HND or relevant post-graduate qualification in a recreational or sporting subject or significant relevant experience in this area of work.
Understanding of the sports sector and its organisation/delivery at both national and local levels.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
- 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 average employer contribution of 27%
- 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays
- Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers
Things you need to know
Selection process details
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2. A Personal Statement (500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience are suitable for the role, with particular reference to role responsibilities within the Job Description and Person Specification
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Failure to complete both sections (CV and Personal Statement) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application.
A panel will look for applications that demonstrate the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Job Description and Personal Specification. Failure to address any or all of these criteria may affect your application.
We will be conducting the interview in person at Wendover Woods, based on the strengths and behaviours highlighted..
We expect to sift applications by w/c 19th June 2023
We expect interviews to be organised for w/c 26th June 2023
Please note - these dates are subject to change
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to FC 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
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.
The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.
Reasonable Adjustment
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.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
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 deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
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