Arborist

Salary: 30023 - 35570 per annum

Grade: G-H

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 37 hours (annualised)

Location: Harrogate North Yorkshire

Join Our Team as an Arborist: progress your tree climbing journey!

Are you passionate about trees and woodlands Do you aspire to be part of a dynamic team committed to excellence in tree and woodland management

North Yorkshire Council the largest and newest local authority in England is seeking dedicated and professional individuals to join our friendly Tree & Woodland are seeking an Arborist to work within a small arboricultural team. The role involves executing all aspects of tree work according to best practices with a strong focus on maintaining high standards and ensuring safe working procedures.

NYC Tree & Woodland Team are responsible for maintaining trees in parks public open spaces including those within Council-owned housing in North Yorkshire Highways Property and closed churchyards. Our duties also encompass managing all arboricultural services which includes protected trees tree asset management tree operations woodland creation and urban tree planting.

The Role

This role offers progression through a career scheme requiring specific knowledge experience training and qualifications for advancement between grades.

As an entry level grade:

• You will be responsible for a variety of arboricultural tasks including tree climbing and performing tree pruning dismantling and felling operations including ground-based arboricultural duties ensuring all work is carried out safely and efficiently
• Use chainsaws hand tools stump grinders woodchippers and climbing equipment safely
• Perform routine maintenance on Council supplied arboricultural equipment and complete tasks according to risk assessments following guidance from the Lead Arborist
• Report tree defects to the Lead Arborist and recording information in tree management software

Working across several Council service areas covering the Western area of North Yorkshire you can expect a variety of work types and locations.

Top level grades additional accountabilities:

• Planning work with the Lead Arborist according to operational requirements
• Providing constructive feedback to tree assessors and the tree asset team leader and assisting tree assessors with aerial tree assessments
• Manage on-the-ground customer service to resolve complaints disruptions conflicts breakdowns and on-site problems

Working Hours (annualised):

Summer schedule: Monday to Thursday 7.30am - 4.30pm Friday 7.30am - 4.00pm

Winter schedule: Monday to Thursday 7:30am to 4:00pm (Fridays off).

Weekend Working: When required

What you will bring:

Entry level grade - You will hold the following qualifications:

City & Guilds NPTC Level 2 Award in Safe Use of Manually Fed Wood-chipper

City & Guilds Level 2 Certificates of Competence in Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-cutting

Felling Small Trees up to 380mm

Tree Climbing and Aerial Rescue

Using a Chainsaw from a Rope and Harness

Additionally you must have a full driving licence with BE

Top level grade - You will also need

City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate of Competence in Aerial Tree Rigging

City & Guilds NPTC Level 3 Award in the Safe Use of a Chainsaw from a Mobile Elevated Work Platform

Working for us

When you join us you are entitled to our outstanding benefits and wellbeing plan as part of your position:

Our holiday entitlement starts at 28 days rising to 34 days (pro-rata) per year with continued service plus public holidays

Pension: save for your retirement with our generous local government pension scheme

salary sacrifice employee cash back and discounts schemes

Learning development and career advancement opportunities

Health Assured confidential help and support for your wellbeing

Our full range of benefits can be found in the Total Rewards Brochure below.

Contact and Apply

If you are interested in learning more about our opportunity please contact Alex Poulton-White Tree Operations Team Leader on or email for an informal conversation.

Please let us know your motivation for applying for this position how you meet the criteria and what you feel you could bring to the role in the supporting evidence section of the application form.

For more details see attached Job Description below.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Key Dates

Closing date: 15th October 2026

Interview date: 22nd October 2026

Venue for Interview: Harrogate Civic Centre

The interview process will also include a practical tree climbing assessment.

Key Documents

Job

Total Rewards Brochure

An enhanced DBS is required for this role which we will provide.

It is a criminal offence for people who are barred from working in Regulated Activity (under the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006) to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with adults at risk.

NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

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