Ips typographus Outbreak Response Officer

The Plant Health Forestry (PHF) team is a high-performing, geographically distributed team working across Great Britain (GB) to support healthy trees, woods and forests now and for the future. Together we deliver essential work to prevent the entry of harmful tree pests and diseases, enable early detection, minimise their impact, and ensure the traceability of forestry planting material.

PHF collaborates with a broad network of partners, including other Forestry Commission teams, Forest Research, the Devolved Administrations of Wales and Scotland, government agencies, and sector stakeholders such as trade bodies, importers, processors, forest management companies, and landowners.

By joining PHF, you will become part of a passionate, expert team driving ambitious work to protect and improve GBs valuable woodland assets.

We are seeking an Ips typographus Outbreak Response Officer to help detect, contain and eradicate Ips typographus outbreaks across South-eastern England. Ips typographus is regulated in the UK as a Quarantine Pest and we are obligated to act against the current findings to support maintaining this status.

The beetle poses no threat to human health but can be a serious and destructive pest of spruce species and poses a serious threat to the GB forestry sector. Spruce trees are a major component of our forestry industry, making up around 50% of commercial planting in the UK and supporting thousands of jobs.

The aims of the Ips typographus management programme are:

Deliver strategic plans: Develop and implement England-wide strategies to prevent, detect, control and ultimately eradicate Ips typographus incursions, interceptions and outbreaks.

Outbreak response: Rapidly identify and respond to outbreaks of the pest, coordinating multi-agency resources to contain spread, minimise impact and achieve swift eradication.

Surveillance: Maintain a systematic, risk-based surveillance programme for vulnerable spruce stands. Collaborate with Forest Research on the management of pheromone trapping detection networks. Coordinate and execute targeted ground-inspection responses to various intelligence streams.

Authorisations: Oversee the timely response to spruce felling, movement and processing inspection requests, ensuring compliance with biosecurity requirements and issuance of authority letters. Maintain detailed records of all authorisations ensuring compliance with auditing requirements.

Contractor Management: Coordinate procurement, assignment and performance monitoring of contractors tasked with surveillance, felling, sanitation and other control measures, ensuring efficient use of resources.

Support policy objective of reducing host presence in high-risk areas: Align operational activities with policy goals by encouraging proactive removal of spruce material in zones most vulnerable to Ips typographus establishment.

Data collection and reporting: Lead the gathering, validation, and analysis of surveillance, pest distribution, outbreak response status data, producing clear, timely reports to drive informed decision-making and optimise management tactics.

Training, communications and guidance: Provide best-practice training programmes, clear sector guidance and ongoing stakeholder engagement, ensuring that forestry workers, landowners, partner agencies and the wider forestry sector are fully equipped to implement and support Ips typographus control and eradication measures.

Project work: Collaborate with Forest Research and government partners to deliver R&D initiatives on Ips typographus control, spanning remote sensing applications, debarking-equipment efficacy trials, and canine detection methodologies.

KEY WORK AREAS

Responsibilities

The purpose of the Ips typographus Outbreak Response Officer is to:

Support the Ips typographus Programme Manager and line manage Ips typographus Support Officer/s to deliver Englands eradication response to Ips typographus. Lead and coordinate activities to prevent, detect, contain, control and eradicate incursions and outbreaks, ensuring statutory plant health requirements are implemented effectively and consistently.

Serve as the primary point of contact for statutory outbreak response activities at confirmed infestation sites. Coordinate the delivery of Statutory Plant Health Notices (SPHNs), ensuring landowners, agents and contractors understand legal requirements, operational timescales and biosecurity obligations. Lead the mobilisation of multi-disciplinary response teams, prioritise sites according to risk, coordinate resource allocation and oversee delivery of eradication operations within statutory deadlines.

Support compliance and enforcement activities associated with Ips typographus outbreaks, working closely with Forestry Services Enforcement colleagues and other regulatory partners. Monitor progress against statutory requirements, maintain appropriate records and evidence, and support proportionate action where compliance issues arise.

Collaborate with Forest Research on the deployment and management of pheromone trapping networks across outbreak and post-eradication sites. Coordinate rapid investigation of trap catches, including targeted surveillance, ground inspections and escalation of suspected infestations to support early detection and containment.

Brief contractors undertaking sanitation felling operations at Ips typographus outbreak sites, ensuring a clear understanding of statutory requirements, biosecurity protocols and eradication objectives. Monitor delivery of felling works providing assurance that operations are completed within statutory timescales and in accordance with approved methodologies.

Oversee operational compliance at outbreak sites, verifying that eradication measures have been completed to the required standard and within statutory timescales. Support inspections, maintain accurate records of operational activity and contribute evidence required for regulatory decision-making.

Drive proactive spruce removal policy objectives in high-risk areas, engaging local landowners and the wider forestry sector. Promote best-practice approaches through stakeholder workshops, site visits and targeted engagement activities.

Lead the gathering, validation and analysis of operational and surveillance data relating to pest distributions, outbreak status, compliance and eradication outcomes. Produce timely situation reports and operational updates to inform decision-making, resource prioritisation and programme evaluation.

Contribute to outbreak preparedness and contingency planning, supporting the continuous improvement of operational procedures, response protocols and lessons-learned processes arising from outbreak response work.

Essential Criteria

HND qualification (or equivalent) in Forestry, Plant Health, Arboriculture or a related subject, and/or significant practical experience in forestry, the timber industry, ecology, or other relevant field-based operations.

Confident communicator with the ability to brief stakeholders, landowners, contractors and partner agencies clearly and persuasively.

Able to prioritise multiple work streams and tasks under pressure, managing time and resources to deliver rapid responses to surveillance pressures and outbreaks.

Skilled in coordinating on-the-ground operations including surveillance, eradication or pest control with awareness of seasonal field demands.

Strong working knowledge of MS Office 365 tools (Excel, Outlook, Teams, Word) to produce reports, manage data and communicate effectively.

Valid UK driving licence and willingness to frequently travel across England for fieldwork in all weather conditions.

High attention to detail in record keeping, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance across site inspections and authorisations.

Evidence of contributing to broader programme goals and understanding how local actions align with national priorities.

Desirable Criteria

Experience supervising contractors or small field teams in forestry operations, surveillance, ecological surveys, eradication programmes or related field.

Proficiency in GIS or mobile-based mapping and reporting tools (e.g., ArcGIS, Field Maps, Survey123 etc).

A clear understanding of current UK forestry policies related to pests and diseases and regulations and a working knowledge of regulatory processes.

Experience delivering training sessions or stakeholder engagement events.

Familiarity with public-sector working practices, especially within Defra, Forestry Commission or other arms length bodies (ALBs)