Project Support Officer

We’re a flexible employer and encourage applicants who wish to work a flexible working pattern to apply - all requests will be considered.

Nationality Requirements

It’s essential you have the right to work in the UK before applying to work with us, as we’re currently unable to offer sponsorship.

You’ll also need to meet the requirements of the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Disability Confident Scheme

If you apply under the Disability Confident Scheme, you’ll be invited for interview/assessment, so long as you meet any elements of ‘Experience’ or ‘Technical’ marked as essential, set out in the Success Profile.

Further Information

If you have any questions about this post, please email Alison.Kennedy@forestryandland.gov.scot

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, or require any adjustments, please email HR@forestryandland.gov.scot

About the team

Forestry and Land Scotland is developing an ambitious programme to protect & restore all of the peatland on Scotland’s Forest and Land by 2045, in support of the Scottish Government’s net zero emissions target and policy commitments to protect biodiversity. This is an exciting time to join our National Environment Team as we expand the range of projects that we deliver.

For the first 12 months, this role will fully support delivery of the Peatland project. As the project management toolkit, governance and associated processes become more established, this approach will be replicated to manage a new project to restore our rainforests in the west of Scotland. Subsequently, the Project Support Officer will split their time to provide project support to both projects at the national level.

Our peatland restoration programme is increasing in scale. To date, we have undertaken restoration work on 8,552 hectares of degraded peatland habitat. By 2027 we aspire to be restoring some 3,000 hectares annually, to prevent emissions, capture carbon and create new valuable habitats for threatened peatland biodiversity in the process. The Peatland Restoration team is growing to meet the ambitions of our commitment. The National Planning and Environment team has 6 staff who support overall programme management & delivery, GIS functions, and technical advice. Within the Regions there is a total of 9 staff dedicated across Scotland to delivery of peatland restoration work, through project development to works supervision.

The rainforests along the west coast of Scotland are of global importance for their rich biodiversity. Forestry and Land Scotland manage around 30% of this habitat. These native woodlands are under threat from invasive non-native species, deer browsing, as well as climate change. We are currently developing a national project to protect this rainforest across our regions. The project is currently being developed by our Native Woodland Ecologist in the National team, with the intention to recruit planning and delivery staff across the regions in the West and North.

As a Project Support Officer, you will play a key role in helping us to manage and upscale these projects, ensuring our targets and wider outcomes are achieved. You will work closely with your Line Manager (the Peatland Project Manager) to provide professional project management expertise and support to colleagues at all levels involved in this project.

What you will do

You will provide project support for the delivery of the Peatland Restoration Project (and subsequently the rainforest project), significant organisational priorities for Forestry and Land Scotland. You will provide professional project management expertise and support to colleagues at all levels involved in this project.

You will provide project management support and advice to the technical subject matter experts from FLS who will be involved in the project and create and review project documentation and ensure project milestones and deliverables across the project are aligned and escalate risks and divergence directly to the Project Manager.

You will participate in a range of project meetings and complete project tasks as directed by the Project Manager and coordinate input into project monitoring and reporting. You will manage your own workload to ensure tasks are prioritised and the focus of the project team remains fixed on delivering milestones on time.

You will be involved in various workstreams across the project and will identify dependencies, this will involve communicating with a range of experts and ensuring complex and technical language are understood and expressed clearly.

Main Duties

As a Project Support Officer, you will play a key role in helping us to manage and upscale our peatland and rainforest projects, ensuring our targets and wider outcomes are achieved.

You will support the Project Manager in delivering the following:

• Develop and maintain the Project Management Toolkit and associated file structure.
• Consider how the Toolkit approach can be replicated for the rainforest project, and other environmental projects that are part of the Environment team, so that a consistent approach is achieved.
• Scan and assess basic project risks and identify mitigation actions.
• Work closely with regional delivery leads to track and report progress of site projects from funding application through to completion and accurate reporting against KPIs. Identify issues and seek clarification from relevant individuals as part of tracking project expenditure and KPIs. This may include attending and presenting at Regional team meetings, as relevant.
• Support roll-out of technical and project management guidance, templates & training to the wider delivery team. Coach regional leads on using project management guidance to ensure forecasting and reporting of hectares achieved and other KPIs is recorded correctly to aid compilation of project reports.
• Schedule meetings, set agendas and record minutes for the project team.
• Lead on implementation of internal communications activities associated with the project i.e., e-newsletter & intranet.
• Identify and develop external communications opportunities for the Project Team in collaboration with regional visitor services teams.
• Ensure consistency in approach across the organisation by participating in the internal Project Managers’ Community, sharing ideas and implementing best practice within the management of the peatland project.

The Project Support Officer will have a significant degree of autonomy and have the ability and experience to support the Project Manager, Senior Responsible Officer and the wider team to deliver this project.

Success Profile

The Success Profile below set outs the essential and desirable elements that make up the vacant position - you’ll be expected to demonstrate how you meet the Experience and Technical criteria at application and/or interview stage. Any Behaviours will be assessed at interview stage.

Experience

Essential:

• 2 years of experience working in a project environment.
• Knowledge of risks and issues management and experience of using this in a project environment.
• Effective communicator, using verbal and written skills to share information and deliver key messages.
• Ability to plan and prioritise workload with competing demands, working to strict deadlines.
• Work flexibly to achieve tasks and meet deadlines and deliver changing priorities.

Desirable:

• Confident to speak to and work with senior staff members.
• Effective at building relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Knowledge or awareness of forestry or wider land management.
• Knowledge of project management software.

Technical

Essential:

• Educated to HND level or equivalent.

Desirable:

• Change and/or Project Management Qualification (e.g. Degree, APM, Prince 2).

Behaviours

Behaviour 1 and Lead Criteria: Changing and Improving

Behaviour 2: Communicating and Influencing

Behaviour 3: Working Together

Behaviour 4: Delivering at Pace

Strengths

You will not be assessed against this at application stage. However, this will be assessed if you are successful for interview.

Travel

As this role involves working with colleagues across Scotland, there will be regular travel involved which may include overnight stays away from home.

Travelling at times may also involve visits to remote locations, therefore there is a requirement for you to have a current driving licence that enables you to drive in the UK. However, we are willing to consider any proposals put forward from candidates that would allow you to travel between locations by other means.

What we offer you

If successful, you will be entitled to a wide range of benefits, the detail of which can be found here

Additional information

We believe it’s important to create an inclusive and supportive work culture, and we welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background.

Concerns about our recruitment

If you believe the Civil Service Recruitment Principles have been breached, you can submit a complaint to the Head of People and Organisational Development - they will assess compliance with the Principles but will not review the decision(s) of the recruitment panel.

Closing date: Applications will be accepted until 11:55pm on the 18 July 2022.

Apply here.