Senior Technical Officer

About our organisation

The Soil Association, formed in 1946, is the only UK charity which works across the spectrum of human health, the environment and animal welfare. That’s because we cannot tackle these issues in isolation.

Soil Association Certification offers a huge range of organic and sustainable certification schemes across food, farming, catering, health and beauty, textiles and forestry which are recognised and trusted by consumers and businesses around the world. We’re the UK’s leading organic certifier – you’ll find our symbol on over 70% of organic products.

About the opportunity

A vacancy has arisen for a Forestry Senior Technical Officer to help with the provision of an essential technical service to employees, auditors and customers of Soil Association Certification for all its forestry sector schemes. The role will provide guidance to certification staff and auditors in operational delivery, and working with key external stakeholders on technical issues. This role requires attention to detail and an in depth knowledge of accreditation and certification processes for FSC and PEFC Forest Management and Chain of Custody schemes. This role sits within the Forestry Technical team, who are mainly remote-based, but who work very closely together. Forest Management and/or Chain of Auditor competency is an essential skill for this role. The technical team support the wider forestry team in delivering forest management and chain of custody certification on a global scale, and in so doing are helping to ensure responsible forest management.

About you

This role involves supporting the Forestry Technical team in maintaining accreditation to FSC and PEFC schemes, and working on quality management systems and internal and external audit findings. The right person will have good knowledge of forestry certification schemes and management systems, attention to detail and the ability to work at pace both as part of a team and independently. Forestry auditor qualifications and extra language skills beyond English would be an advantage.

Our Benefits

We offer a range of financial and lifestyle benefits to all our employees, including:

• 27 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days with length of service plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme with ethical investment options and employer contribution increasing with length of service
• Free membership of the Soil Association and discounts on organic produce
• Volunteer days to give back to the local community or support green initiatives
• Family friendly policies and flexible working
• Cycle to work scheme
• Sociable and engaging workplace of professionals that share a passion for healthy, sustainable lifestyle and produce

Hours

37.5 hours per week

Permanent

Location

Home Based