Project manager – Forestry and Timber 

Join our growing team in Wales

Make an impact as our Forestry and Timber expert

 Are you passionate about expanding the role of trees and timber in society? Are you committed to improving the sustainability of our built and natural environments? Would you like to work with us in Wales? You would be joining a small and highly motivated multi-disciplinary team. As our Project Manager for Forestry and Timber activities you will help to strengthen relationships across the forestry supply chain to build knowledge and trust and accelerate the transition to a zero carbon Wales. You will be instrumental in creating new insights into the links between land-use, forest management, timber processing, timber manufacturing and low carbon construction. You will be involved in all aspects of our work from forest creation up to completed buildings. 

Job description and person specification summary 

JOB TITLE	Project Manager – Forestry and Timber
PURPOSE OF JOB	To be responsible for the delivery of the forest industries aspects of the Home-Grown Homes Project and support the Woodknowledge Wales team in delivering on its wider mission and purpose
REPORTING TO	Gary Newman, CEO Woodknowledge Wales.
SUPPORTED BY	David Hedges (Home-Grown Homes Project Manager), Chris Jones (forestry advisor), Dainis Dauksta (wood science and timber processing advisor)
LOCATION	Predominantly home-based with an expectation to travel anywhere within Wales and the borders as required by the job
AREA OF WORK	Throughout Wales working with organisations in the timber supply chain from forest to end-product
HOURS OF WORK	Full-time. Some long days and weekend working may be required from time to time including occasional overnight stays
SALARY	Between £30k and £40k depending on experience
DURATION	This is a permanent job. However, funding for this post is currently secured until 31st March 2025. We expect funding to continue for a further 2 years to March 2027, after which time Woodknowledge Wales aims to be largely self-financing
HOW TO APPLY	Send CV with a covering letter stating why you believe you are suited to the post to gary.newman@woodknowledgewales.co.uk
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION	17th April 2023
DATE & LOCATION for INTERVIEW	Provisional: 27th and 28th April 2023  Location: TBA (ideally in-person but possibly online via Zoom)

About the Home-Grown Homes Project 

This opportunity is being supported through the Welsh Government funded Home-Grown Homes project. This multi award-winning project started in 2018 by encouraging Welsh Housing Associations (who build approximately 1 out of 3 new homes in Wales) to build with timber and working with the supply chain to help enable delivery. The project has led to many new low carbon timber-based housing developments and has inspired new Welsh Government policies across housing, the economy, forestry and timber sales from the state forest. Our work has been commended internationally and some of our best practice guidance has been recommended for use to the design community by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The Home-Grown Homes project began by creating a coalition of the willing. The purpose of this next phase of the project is in a large part to support Welsh Government meet its new policy objectives and aspirations across forestry, construction and land-use to help drive forward the low carbon, circular and foundational economy. 

Key Responsibilities 

You will be responsible for delivery of the forestry and timber aspects of the Home-Grown Homes Project (HGHP2) as described in the Woodknowledge Wales project proposal (provided on request). You will set the work programme, coordinating delivery partners, reporting on progress and take responsibility for delivery of outputs. You will be supported by the Chief Executive of Woodknowledge Wales, and the Woodknowledge Wales project team which includes experts in forestry, sawmilling, manufacturing, housing, wood science, timber construction, communication and systems change. 

This work includes: 

● Being able to work effectively with a diverse range of organisations from the forestry sector, the timber processors, timber manufacturers, trade bodies and academic institutes. 

● Identifying opportunities for innovation and change across the supply chain to help deliver on Woodknowledge Wales vision for Wales to become a high-value forest nation 

● Working with Woodknowledge Wales’s Communities of Practice 

● Managing subcontractors 

● Leading the relationship with the forestry and timber processing organisations 

● Preparing progress reports and contributing to the writing articles for Woodknowledge Wales newsletters and website 

● Producing written outputs for publication 

● In addition, the successful candidate is expected to contribute to the overall mission of Woodknowledge Wales and help design, organise and participate in events such as webinars, workshops and conferences (incl. the annual WoodBUILD conference and expo) 

Key abilities / experience 

We are looking for someone who can work closely with a small team in a flexible and supportive way across job boundaries. You must be able to engage with all relevant individuals and organisations in the supply chain from forest to construction sector. You must be able to do this in a way that promotes trust and supports the mission and purpose of Woodknowledge Wales as an independent for-public-good organisation. You must be able to communicate with empathy and clarity in discussion around complex challenges to landscapes and communities posed by climate change. 

Person Specification 

Essential criteria (Knowledge / Experience / Skills / Other) 

● Have a forestry qualification wood science or related qualification and/or relevant experience 

● Project management and decision-making 

● Financial management of programmes and projects 

● Evidence of effective partnership working 

● knowledge of timber products and their uses 

● Thorough working knowledge of Microsoft Office 

● An organised self-starter, able to manage own workload and work independently to tight time scales 

● Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – specifically the ability to work closely with partner organisations 

● Excellent problem-solving skills, coming up with ideas and solutions as issues arise. Able to use ‘critical thinking’ in examining complex, problems 

● Willingness to work in a flexible way and respond to changing circumstances 

● Able to discuss technical aspects of forestry and wood products clearly with a wide range of industry players, stakeholders, politicians, owners etc 

● Full, clean driving license and access to a car for travel throughout those parts of Wales where there is limited access to public transport 

Desirable criteria: 

● Have experience of land management issues and a robust knowledge of the competing interests of production forestry, biodiversity, access, recreation etc and the need to balance social and economic demands 

● Knowledge of the forestry timber processing and timber construction sector (preferably in Wales). 

● Working knowledge/experience in Government funding programme requirements and related audit criteria 

● Be up to date with changes in legislation etc which impact on the forestry supply chain 

● Understanding and experience of wider delivery of social value through investment programmes. 

● Public speaking skills 

● Welsh language skills 

About Woodknowledge Wales 

Woodknowledge Wales is an independent mission driven membership alliance. We are a charitable Community Benefits Society, which is a form of cooperative that exists for the benefit of society. We are governed by a voluntary board. We aim to create and share knowledge to accelerate change. We believe that timber demand and supply can be better aligned and more purposefully driven to deliver greater climate change mitigation and biodiversity enhancement across land use and construction. We are transparent and collaborative in our approach. We are a change organisation driven by impact rather than income. 

We are a small interdisciplinary team of driven individuals motivated to inspire, catalyse and accelerate the transformation to a regenerative zero carbon society through the growing of trees and the use of wood. We believe that the most effective way to do this is to build trust in the change agenda by supporting organisations involved in both timber use and supply. We seek to capture and share the knowledge gained by holding engaging events, by creating informative case studies, by developing new guidance and through inspiring communication. We support policy makers to create enabling policies and then help overcome barriers to implementation.