Senior Tree Officer (Planning & PES) Wanted - Oxfordshire

About you
Are you passionate about shaping, influencing and creating new opportunities for increasing canopy cover?                      
Are you an experienced Tree Officer / Arboriculturist who wants a new challenge and the opportunity to deliver and influence tree care and management across one of England’s most beautiful and diverse treescapes?                                  
Do you have experience of the planning process related to trees?                                                                                     
If the answer is ‘YES’ to any of the above, then you could be the person we’re looking for to join our established Tree Service.

About our Senior Tree Officer role
The Senior Tree Officer will deliver planning response to applications and have the opportunity to oversee key processes and management across our Property, Estates and School sites.                                                                        
The Senior Tree Officer (Planning & PES) post has been created to ensure decision making by leading on complex arboricultural matters throughout development, management and planning processes. These will include:

• Town and Country Planning Act Regulation 3
• Highways Act s278 agreements
• Highways Act s38 agreements

The role will provide specialist knowledge and input is made available to support the Facilities Management Team with oversight of proactive tree inspections across our OCC land responsibilities, primarily Property, Estates and Schools (PES). The  role will be varied and enables problem solving in an innovative way. You will promote transparency and build trust with other departments, our communities and stakeholders through our decision making processes. 

You will contribute to tree care of Oxfordshire County Council’s tree stock by supporting Tree Officers in the Tree Service to ensure a holistic and consistent approach to tree care across the County. You will help organise the non-highway, cyclical site surveys with the Tree Officers and you will shape projects to deliver environmental benefits through tree planting and retention.                                                  
Please read through the job summary for more specific details on the selection criteria for the role to see how you, your qualifications and your experience can help us to deliver our goals.

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Preferred Skills

The Senior Officer Tree provides specialist arboricultural advice across the council’s property, estate and schools portfolio, gives planning advice and deals with public enquiries. The role manages the delivery and development of the Property & Estates Strategic Tree Care Plan and delivers the objectives of the Tree Policy.

The post-holder advises on complex cases and schemes on sites where the council has responsibility for trees, assessing and advising on the potential arboricultural impact of internal schemes related to engineering proposals to minimise tree loss and ensure appropriate compensation is secured through CAVAT, where tree loss is unavoidable, while ensuring the Tree Policy is adhered to. The role leads and supports the development of colleagues, improving ways of working and responds to enquiries, complaints and information requests.

Key Responsibilities
•Provide arboricultural advice, guidance and strategic plans for property, estates and schools teams, including site managers.
•Provide comments and responses (including advice and guidance) related to Regulation 3 planning matters, including minerals and waste site planning applications; and stopping-up agreements related to the Highway Act, where impacts to trees must be assessed, reviewed and mitigated.
•Carry out and oversee tree inspections and condition assessments, evaluating risk, making autonomous decisions related to the assessment, management and retention of County trees and, when necessary, private trees.
•Support Tree Officers with delivery of structured programmes of tree inspections, Section 38 & 278 legal agreements related to trees, respond to public enquiries and requests for information.
•Collate, cost, arrange, oversee delivery and audit arboricultural works undertaken through the Tree Care Framework in compliance with the council’s financial processes. This may include arboricultural works undertaken outside of the framework but that relate to the councils trees.
•Manage, review and improve the council’s tree and woodland asset information, including ensuring the tree database is accurately maintained.
•Use data to inform and plan inspection programmes and support evidence-based decisions and reporting.

Benefits Offered

Rewards and Benefits

• Culture of flexible and agile working
• May be the opportunity for access to a County work van as part of your role, depending on demand and availability
• Technology to support agile working, where role permits
• 30 days’ holiday p.a. plus bank holidays (Increasing to 32 days after 10 years’ service)
• Offer access to a Relocation Scheme, depending on circumstances and conditions, should you need to consider moving closer to or into the County from where you currently live. Further details are available on request
• Option to ‘buy’ additional holiday
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
• Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s contribution of up to 19.9%
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development. 

About the Company

Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council recognises the need for action related to climate adaptation. Proactive tree care, management and canopy growth of our tree assets will enable delivery of key objectives to aid resilience and improve the environmental benefits for residents and visitors across the County. 

The Tree Service are responsible for ensuring public trees under the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council are maintained for the long-term benefit of the communities they contribute to. 

We are responsible for approximately 400,000 public trees along approximately 4600km of public highway, that we manage and maintain.

The Tree Service works closely with a variety of departments and functions within the County to deliver a holistic approach to tree care. 

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