This post will be based in the New Forest. The reporting office will be at The King's House, Lyndhurst. There is an option for flexible working including hybrid work. You will be expected to work in and travel across the New Forest regularly.
Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Community Manager to lead engagement activity across the New Forest; delivering impactful programmes that balance recreation with the protection of a nationally important landscape and support delivery of our operational work.
You will manage the New Forest Ranger team and provide strategic and operational leadership for engagement, volunteering and partnership working in a complex stakeholder environment. The role plays a key part in influencing visitor behaviour, supporting operational delivery and enhancing the experience of those who live in and visit the New Forest.
This is a hands-on leadership role requiring regular presence on the ground. You will contribute to the duty roster, including weekend working, supporting frontline engagement, responding to incidents (such as wildfires and fly-tipping), and contributing to enforcement activity including Public Space Protection Orders.
Job Description
Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Lead, plan and deliver community engagement activity across the New Forest, ensuring programmes are effective, evidence-led and aligned with organisational priorities.
• Manage and develop the New Forest Recreation Ranger team, providing clear leadership, direction and support, and ensuring a strong culture of health, safety and wellbeing in all aspects of delivery.
• Ensure all community engagement, volunteering and ranger activities are delivered safely and in line with organisational health and safety policies, including risk assessment, safe systems of work and incident reporting.
• Support the District volunteering team and New Forest volunteer task supervisors, overseeing the delivery of high-quality, inclusive volunteering opportunities in the New Forest, ensuring appropriate supervision, and training.
• Work collaboratively with partners and stakeholders (including the National Park Authority, Police, Fire Service, Verderers of the New Forest and local organisations) to deliver coordinated campaigns and joint operational activity. This post is key to our operational partnerships with external agencies and stakeholders.
• Support recreation site teams to deliver consistent, high-quality visitor engagement and interpretation.
• Coordinate Forestry England’s presence at selected local events; specifically leading on delivery of the Forestry England area at the New Forest Show.
• Work closely with the New Forest District Recreation Manager to review and improve community engagement approaches, priorities and delivery, embedding best practice and innovation.
• Contribute to reducing anti-social behaviour through engagement, partnership working and support for enforcement activity (the post holder will receive delegated authority for the enforcement of two Public Space Protection Orders).
• Contribute to the Duty Ranger roster, working at least one weekend per month and a share of bank holidays, providing visible leadership on the ground and responding to incidents such as wildfires, fly tipping and public safety issues.
• Support operational teams in providing engagement opportunities and ensuring a positive and safe visitor experience across the estate.
• Be available for occasional evening and weekend community engagement events e.g. parish council meetings, guided walks, fire station open days, community conservation days.
  

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Lead, plan and deliver community engagement activity across the New Forest, ensuring programmes are effective, evidence-led and aligned with organisational priorities.
• Manage and develop the New Forest Recreation Ranger team, providing clear leadership, direction and support, and ensuring a strong culture of health, safety and wellbeing in all aspects of delivery.
• Ensure all community engagement, volunteering and ranger activities are delivered safely and in line with organisational health and safety policies, including risk assessment, safe systems of work and incident reporting.
• Support the District volunteering team and New Forest volunteer task supervisors, overseeing the delivery of high-quality, inclusive volunteering opportunities in the New Forest, ensuring appropriate supervision, and training.
• Work collaboratively with partners and stakeholders (including the National Park Authority, Police, Fire Service, Verderers of the New Forest and local organisations) to deliver coordinated campaigns and joint operational activity. This post is key to our operational partnerships with external agencies and stakeholders.
• Support recreation site teams to deliver consistent, high-quality visitor engagement and interpretation.
• Coordinate Forestry England’s presence at selected local events; specifically leading on delivery of the Forestry England area at the New Forest Show.
• Work closely with the New Forest District Recreation Manager to review and improve community engagement approaches, priorities and delivery, embedding best practice and innovation.
• Contribute to reducing anti-social behaviour through engagement, partnership working and support for enforcement activity (the post holder will receive delegated authority for the enforcement of two Public Space Protection Orders).
• Contribute to the Duty Ranger roster, working at least one weekend per month and a share of bank holidays, providing visible leadership on the ground and responding to incidents such as wildfires, fly tipping and public safety issues.
• Support operational teams in providing engagement opportunities and ensuring a positive and safe visitor experience across the estate.
• Be available for occasional evening and weekend community engagement events e.g. parish council meetings, guided walks, fire station open days, community conservation days.
  

Person specification
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Essential professional and technical experience

• Proven experience of planning and delivering effective community engagement programmes.
• Experience of working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and delivering partnership-led campaigns.
• Demonstrable success in influencing behaviour change, particularly in outdoor or protected landscapes.
• Experience of leading an operational team, including staff management and development.
• Experience of delivering and overseeing volunteering programmes.
• Experience of promoting and embedding a positive health and safety culture, including risk management and safe systems of work in an operational setting
• Competent IT user with experience of Microsoft Office suite of applications (Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook).
• Comfortable with lone working and working in an outdoor setting.
  

Desirable Professional And Technical Experience

• Experience working in a protected landscape (e.g. National Park, AONB) or similarly sensitive environment.
• Experience of resource planning, including budgets and workforce management.
• Understanding of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) and their enforcement
• Experience of issuing Fixed Penalty Notices
  

Qualifications
Essential

• Degree in a relevant subject or significant experience in countryside/ recreation management role as a lead Ranger or Ranger Manager or comparable community engagement / operational leadership experience
  

Desirable

• IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent H&S management qualification.
  

Alongside your salary of £37,537, Forestry Commission contributes £10,874 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
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 a technical skill, behaviours, and strength-based questions during your interview. There will be a short presentation task at interview, candidates will be given the topic of the presentation in advance and asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
  

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.
If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.
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.
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.
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).
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

• Name : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
  

Recruitment team

• Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
  

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: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.