Forest Research Assistant

About the job

Key information

• Flexible attitude to working hours (with agreement) under hybrid working arrangement, comprising community, office and home-based working.
• Work base to be confirmed but willingness and the ability to travel across the county is required.
• The Forest Research Assistant will establish strong partnerships with the Public Health Nursing and Forest Teams, as well as building and maintaining effective collaborative relationships with various sectors related to infants, children and families, to assist with collecting, analysing and showcasing qualitative and quantitative data that highlights the effectiveness of child health and parenting interventions across Somerset.
• Fixed-term contract to 30 November 2026.

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Monitoring and evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the Forest programme using appropriate methods and indicators.
• Analysing, recording and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data from various sources and producing clear and accurate reports.
• Ensuring data quality and compliance with ethical and data protection standards.
• Presenting and disseminating evaluation findings and recommendations to relevant audiences and forums.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have:

• A degree in Public Health or Community Development, or equivalent professional experience.
• Previous experience in leading and conducting evaluation projects in the health care or public health programmes.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to write clear and concise evaluation reports and proposals, and to present and facilitate effectively.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave.
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

DBS check

Enhanced DBS check required.

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Simon See simon.see@somerset.gov.uk or Sophie Jones sophie.jones@somerset.gov.uk

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now