IT'S an oddly titled job, but it pays well. The new New Forest National Park Authority has just appointed its Director of Understanding and Enjoyment.

Jeff Haynes, who has spent the past 26 years working in the National Parks on Exmoor and Dartmoor, has just beaten more than 40 other candidates to scoop the £50,000-a-year post.

He claims to have invented the title when he was working in a similar position with the Dartmoor authority - and he defends it.

"It always raises a laugh when I introduce myself at meetings, but the title accurately describes my responsibility for the second National Park purpose: promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Parks by the public," he said.

"I studied geography at Southampton in the 1970s, since when my career has taken me from one former hunting forest to another."

Another £50,000pa post has also been filled.

Steve Trotter has been appointed Director of Conservation and Enhancement.

He has worked in countryside conservation for more than two decades. He is moving from the High Peak and Longshaw estates in the Peak District where he manages 34,000 acres for the National Trust.

He said: "The New Forest is a very special and precious place and I'm looking forward to working closely with all our partners in the National Park to help keep it that way for the benefit of both present and future generations."

The National Park Authority receives its full powers - and £3.5 million annual budget - from April, 2006.

It has recently received planning permission for a temporary headquarters at Efford near Lymington.

Chief Executive Lindsay Cornish said: "Our new directors will bring a wealth of countryside and visitor management experience to the park team, in particular in taking forward the two main National Park purposes of conservation and enhancement."

First published: November 7