About Us:

Looking for a new challenge?  A fantastic opportunity has come up in our Place Service for someone who has already gained relevant years of experience as a Tree Officer and would now like to broaden their horizon.

Hart is a largely rural District in North-East Hampshire and is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the UK. The Council works hard to make a positive contribution to the lives of its residents by delivering continuous improvement and innovation in service delivery. We are an ambitious authority seeking new ways of delivering services for residents that represent value for money.

We’re looking for a Senior Tree Officer to join us and provide expert tree advice to our busy and friendly Development Management Team. You’ll be joining us at an exciting time when various technical consultees are being brought into the DM team to improve the collaborative working. The successful applicant will assist the Council in meeting its corporate objectives and statutory obligations in relation to trees in relation to planning services. There will be ad-hoc support for the Countryside team or other Council departments as required.

As the specialist advisor on tree matters relating to the planning function, you will have the opportunity to engage with an interesting and varied workload. The Council has committed to becoming a carbon-neutral authority by 2035 (brought forward from 2040) and a carbon-neutral district by 2040. We know that tree retention, new trees and - when necessary - replacement planting has a vital part to play. Hart has set out a dedicated Climate Change action plan: https://www.hart.gov.uk/sites/default/files/3_Visiting_Hart/Countryside_and_nature/Conservation/20%2001%2021%20Climate%20Change%20Action%20Plan.pdf

The Council has over 30 Conservation Areas and almost 1,100 TPO trees. You can help us shape and protect the natural environment in our area for generations to enjoy.

In this role, you’ll make a positive contribution to the Council’s core values by being helpful, approachable, responsive and taking ownership of challenges and problems, whilst making customers feel welcome and cared for. You’ll be able to broaden your existing experience with the involvement of a variety of projects. We are committed to improving our customer service standards and we are seeking a team member who is positive and proactive and works well as part of a team.

Successful candidates for interview will hold a nationally recognised arboricultural qualification at Level 6 together with relevant post-qualification experience in the arboriculture industry.

This is a permanent position.

We offer a competitive package including;

• local government pension scheme
• flexible working hours (allowing accrual of up to 2 flexi days per month)
• hybrid working policy allowing generous homeworking each week (currently 80%)
• generous leave allowance
• support for CPD including professional subscription
• free staff parking
• confidential employee advice & support programme
• promotion of a healthy work/life balance.

Interviews: w/b 20^th February 2023