Tree and Woodland Development Officer

Hours: Full-time, 36 hours per week
Contract: Fixed Term (2 Years) with a 6-month probationary period

Role overview

City of Trees is looking to recruit a Project Officer to join our existing team who can work in the field, engaging with landowners and their representatives to develop planting plans for new woodlands, hedgerows, and urban trees. These plans will support delivery by City of Trees and its partners and help shape future planting schemes for upcoming project pipelines.

We are seeking an experienced professional in the environmental sector with a strong understanding of the benefits of trees and woodlands, the ability to interpret maps for site assessments, and good experience in creating detailed planting plans. Proficiency in GIS, along with excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, is essential.

About City of Trees

We are City of Trees, the Community Forest for Greater Manchester and registered charity. We plant trees, we look after trees, we promote a culture of trees. We plant trees for people; to create better, greener places; to boost health and wellbeing; to enhance green skills; and to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergency. We’re rooted here in Greater Manchester, the place we live and work. We are proud to call Greater Manchester home and are passionate about making our region even better, one tree at a time.

Benefits

• Flexi-time
• 25 days paid holiday plus 8 bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time employees)
• Training and development opportunities
• Employer match up to 8% contribution pension scheme after 3-months service
• Cycle to work scheme
• Comprehensive health & wellbeing package

Some key duties and responsibilities include:

• Undertaking site assessments across Greater Manchester and halo areas with, when appropriate, landowners and their representatives to identify potential planting opportunities and constraints on open spaces. This will involve desktop-based checks, plotting potential tree locations and recording site information, including existing habitats, vehicle access points, soil conditions, site usage, and any features of historical interest. Consideration should also be given to the potential for other Natural Flood Management (NFM) opportunities.
• Producing site assessment reports, draft planting plans and scheme costings and use GIS for mapping planting proposals and project management tools. Planting proposals will include recommendations for funding, timelines and next steps.
• Consulting with landowners and their representatives on draft planting plans to achieve initial sign-off and ascertain other local stakeholders where engagement and endorsement may be required.
• Producing planting specifications setting out tree numbers, species, tree protection, and any ground preparation requirements, and ensure all specifications are fully costed and meet funding requirements to guarantee project viability.
• Preparing Landowner and Grant Agreements for developed schemes.
• Preparing proformas and assist with the preparation of appropriate regulatory information regarding planting schemes to the Forestry Commission (public register and Environmental Impact Assessment Enquiry Form) and other local advisory bodies.
• Providing progress updates to the Tree & Woodland Development Manager and scheme development updates at internal and external meetings, where appropriate.
• Working flexibly and undertaking any other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned from time to time, including representing CoT at local/ national events where appropriate.
• External communication and engagement with stakeholders, landowners and their agents/representatives.
• Working autonomously and as part of a team, effective diary management and meeting many project-specific deadlines to ensure project delivery is achieved during a short planting window.
• Performing duties with full regard to Equal Opportunities and Health and Safety policies.

The above list is not exhaustive of all duties and responsibilities. Please note this role includes many practical activities and includes working outside in all weathers with the need to be on your feet for extended periods of time.

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience of working in the environmental sector
• Experience in communicating with different stakeholders
• Utilising information from different sources to produce written reports
• Understanding of the environment sector – both the challenges and opportunities
• A good understanding of the many benefits that trees provide and the ability to convey these benefits to others
• Ability to interpret maps with respect to site orientation and site features
• Awareness and respect of health and safety requirements and risk assessments associated with working in the field
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Fully conversant with Microsoft Office applications such as Word & Excel
• Able to use GIS (mainly QGIS & ArcMap) and a range of other mapping applications
• Knowledge of community forestry and the challenges facing urban forestry projects
• Understanding of the constraints & regulatory processes around tree planting
• Full driving license / the ability to travel around the North West
• Professional and approachable
• Excellent communication skills - written, interpersonal, and presentational, including the ability to effectively report on progress updates
• Able to manage time effectively to enable efficient working across multiple and geographically diverse sites
• Ability to work flexibly and potentially some weekend working
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
• A passion for the protection, development, and importance of tree planting and care of the environment and community

Desirable

• Have advised on woodland creation schemes
• Experience in undertaking site assessments for tree planting schemes including the production of maps, annotated plans and planting specifications.
• Developing and implementing schemes with different types of landowners on environmental projects
• Ability to identify potential planting opportunities and other developmental scope for the Organisation
• Use of project management systems such as Monday.com
• In depth understanding of funding landscapes to support delivery of environmental projects

The closing date for this advertisement is Thursday 8th January at 9am, with interviews expected to be held week commencing 19th January 2026

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applicants from all sections of the community.