Community Tree Officer

We are excited to be recruiting to this important role, which is part of the award-winning Parks and Countryside service within Sheffield City Council! We are looking for someone who loves working within the arboricultural sector with applied experience in day-to-day tree management.

Sheffield is an amazing city with a proud heritage and a prosperous future. We're a city on the up, alive with activity and energy and bursting with talent. We want to create the right environment for everyone to thrive with great neighbourhoods where communities have healthier lives in our Outdoor City. We're passionate about responding to the nature and climate emergencies and are committed to ensuring our green spaces support nature recovery.

As part of our wider green space network the Parks and Countryside Service are responsible for the management of over 2.7 million trees situated within 181 woodlands, 95 parks, recreation grounds and gardens and numerous open spaces.

We're deeply proud and passionate about our trees and woodlands and the wider countryside estate as we know how important these spaces are to our communities - they bring ecological, social and economic benefits to the whole city. As part of the councils Parks & Countryside service, the Trees and Woodlands team are dedicated to managing and enhancing this wonderful resource now and for generations to come.

Location: Sheffield - Centre in the Park (Norfolk Park) and various sites around the city

About the Role

As a Community Tree Officer, you will play a key role in the day-to-day management of the city's trees and woodlands in line with the councils Trees and Woodlands Strategy. This will include:

• Undertaking routine tree safety inspections across a range of sites.
• Creating work contracts, managing a tendering process and overseeing the contract completion.
• Managing a caseload of external enquiries from the public and stakeholder groups.
• Providing arboricultural advice to other departments, elected members, schools and the public.
• Responding promptly to reports of incidents and dangerous trees, particularly during extreme weather.
• Acting as an advocate for Sheffield's trees and green spaces.

What We're Looking For

We're seeking someone who combines technical arboricultural expertise with excellent stakeholder management skills:

• Qualified to National Certificate level in Arboriculture or higher level in forestry or another appropriate discipline.
• Minimum of 3 years relevant experience undertaking tree inspections, surveys and risk management.
• Sound knowledge of arboricultural legislation, industry standards and health and safety requirements.
• Experience creating, managing and monitoring contracts for tree work.
• Strong report-writing and communication skills.
• Ability to confidently engage with residents, councillors and partner organisations.
• Analytical skills to advise on insurance claims relating to subsidence and other tree related damage.
• Experience using tree management systems, GIS mapping tools and Microsoft Office applications.
• Proactive learning to keep up to date with the latest research, industry guidance and government policy and integrate this into your day-to-day work.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends.
• Full UK driving licence and ability to travel across the city.

You can find Sheffield's Tree and Woodland Strategy here

Details about the Parks and Countryside Service are available on the Council's internet pages: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/parks-sport-recreation/parks-countryside-service.html.

Apply Today

If you are excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with what we're looking for in the description, we still encourage you to apply. You might be exactly who we need.

Visit our website to download the application form by following the link below and searching 'Community Tree Officer'. Should you wish to talk to anyone about the role please contact one of our Community Tree Officers, Jonathan Galley, on Jonathan.Galley@sheffield.gov.uk.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we'll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Read about the new job evaluation process to be introduced at Sheffield City Council.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.