External Training Manager

Based at Forestry Commission’s Head Office in Bristol, 620 Bristol Business Park, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1EJ. Other Forestry Commission offices may be considered.

About the role

The Forestry Commission (FC) are the Government’s forestry experts. We work nationally and locally on unlocking the full potential of woodlands and the forestry sector to expand, protect, improve, and connect England’s valuable woodland assets.

Since 2021, the Forestry Commission has provided over 2,000 places on its vegetation fire and incident management training courses across the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and UK Overseas Territories (UKOT). The current programme is coordinated and administered by Forest Services’ national Policy and Advice Team for a wide range of partners, including Forest Services, Forestry England, Forest Research, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Defra Plant Health, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, land managers, Fire and Rescue Services, research bodies, universities, and professional bodies.

We are looking for an experienced External Training Manager with an established track record of managing land-based training providers to deliver training programmes. Organizing and managing training across plant health, forestry, fire, research, and land management sectors is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic planning, development, and delivery of training programmes that support Forestry Commission and Forestry England priorities, workforce capability, and organisational objectives.
• Identify emerging skills and capability requirements, driving the development of innovative training, learning, and development initiatives to meet future business needs.
• Provide governance and assurance for training delivery, ensuring compliance with legislative, regulatory, and organisational standards, including risk, quality, and business continuity requirements.
• Develop and manage strategic partnerships and stakeholder relationships with internal teams, Lantra, Forest Research, and external providers to maximise training effectiveness, value, and continuous improvement.
• Manage programme performance, financial resources, and reporting, using data and insight to evaluate outcomes, inform decision-making, and provide recommendations to senior leaders.
• Lead training, research, and development projects, driving innovation, organisational improvement, and the delivery of strategic outcomes across the forestry sector.
• Provide incident management support at ad-hoc periods in response to incidents and emergencies.
• Provide project management support for research and development initiatives, working with Forest Research and external partners.
• Support the PB3 Carbon and Water Advisor (until end of November 2026) by providing maternity cover for the Carbon Projects Manager, responding to enquiries, and developing the carbon agenda for the Forestry Commission.
• Maintain relationships with project partners in the Nature Returns partnership, including Environment Agency, Defra, Natural England, Kew Gardens, and Forest Research.
• Support the PB1 Head of Policy Advice Team (from December 2026) by providing project management support across the Policy and Advice Team.

Requirements

Essential Criteria

• Knowledge of GB forestry and the UK Forestry Standard, with the ability to align training to organisational and sector priorities.
• Experience managing training systems and providers, including LMS platforms, accreditation processes, and training delivery arrangements.
• Strong programme and project management skills, with experience delivering complex initiatives, managing performance, and driving continuous improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and partnership-building skills, with the ability to work effectively across organisations and sectors.
• Experience of governance, financial and business administration, including compliance, risk management, reporting, and use of Microsoft 365 applications.
• Proven incident management and leadership capability, with the ability to make informed decisions and support organisational resilience and innovation.

Desirable Criteria

• Use of online booking systems.
• Proven incident management support capability, with the ability to make informed decisions and support organisational resilience and innovation.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A range of family-friendly benefits.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment.
• A range of wellbeing benefits including discounted Civil Service Healthcare, access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme, plus many more.
• 25 days annual leave, with 1 additional day for each year’s service up to 5 years (pro rata), plus 10.5 bank holidays/privilege days (pro rata).
• Ability to buy or sell 5 days annual leave.
• 3 days volunteering per year (pro rata).

We aim to provide a great place to work, whichever location you work from. Blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. It is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home and some of the week from our Forestry Commission workplaces, subject to role requirements, business needs, and regular review.

Pay

Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission contributes £11,700 towards your membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Schedule

This role is a Fixed Term Appointment ending 30th March 2027 with the possibility but no guarantee of permanency or extension. The post is full time. 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.