Senior Tree Officer

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.

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.

About us

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.

About our Senior Tree Officer (Planning & PES) 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. The role will cover all areas of the County.

Please read through the job summary on our careers site 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.

For an informal discussion about the role and how to apply, please contact Andy Lederer (Principal Officer – Arboriculture) by email [email protected]