Harvesting Manager

Job title – Harvesting Manager (Direct Production)
Hours – 44 per week

What you’ll do…

The DP Harvesting Forester leads the Direct Production Team within Forestry England South District to deliver the DP Harvesting programme.

The Harvesting Direct Production team of three is responsible for the planning and harvesting of c.50,000m3 of timber per year across the geographic spread of the Forest District. 

Working closely with the Land Management and Planning teams, its role is to deliver Forest Design Plan and conservation objectives while fulfilling supply contracts to our sawmill customers.

The majority of the volume is shortwood produced by a mechanised harvesting contractor, but it also includes an element of mature hardwood felled using traditional motor manual techniques.

You will be responsible for developing, planning and managing all DP harvesting operations, working collaboratively with other teams and functions to deliver key targets and to achieve the South District Business Plan.

With the assistance of two Works Supervisors you will oversee contractors in preparing the timber for sale, and work with a variety of customers to increase our timber revenue.

Working from our Lyndhurst, Bucks Horn Oak or Micheldever Office you will liaise with eight Beat Teams and directly manage the two DP Work Supervisors to ensure monitoring of production and stock levels. You will also set and monitor the standard for high quality work in all aspects of our DP Harvesting Operations, with a particular emphasis on Health and Safety and environmental standards.

This role reports to the South District Operations Manager (Harvesting and Marketing).

Where you’ll work…

We are Forestry England. We are the Country's largest land manager, caring for the nation's forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation's forests. 

This post will be based at one of our main offices in South District which are at Lyndhurst SO43 7NH, Bucks Horn oak GU10 4LS or Micheldever SO21 3BP.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 170 people with a diverse range of roles - from foresters and wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals. We all contribute towards the management of 46,000 hectares of public forest estate that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight. Nearly all of our forests are within either a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

Much of this forest is of high national importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity. South England Forest District is therefore responsible for land that includes Special Areas of Conservation (for habitats), Special Protection Areas (for birds) and Ramsar sites (for wetlands). We also provide public access and recreation in our forests, with nearly 50 million visits every year to South England Forest District. 

Vacancy closes - 23:58 on June 15th 2025.