Senior Land & Farm Advisor

Hours of work: 30 hours per week

Type of contract: Permanent

Based at: Littlemore, Oxford with travel across the three counties as required. Hybrid working is available

Rank: 4

Job Purpose

The purpose of the Senior Farm Advisor role is to promote nature-friendly and regenerative practices among farmers and a range of landowners, deliver income-generating land management and farm advice, deliver and oversee conservation projects, expand our reach to new audiences, and advance BBOWT's mission of 'more nature everywhere.'

Reporting Line

The post holder reports to the Land Advice Service Manager

Line Management

Responsibility for line management of Assistant Farm Advisor and for managing contractors

Key Responsibilities

·         Deliver a professional service to paying clients – accountable for providing environmental farm and land advice and reports.

·         Managing a diverse portfolio of clients, including farmers, landowners, parish councils, and communities.

·         Help to develop and contribute to the Trust’s growing farm advisor work, with a focus on scoping the delivery of wildlife friendly agricultural advice and land management.

·         Identify new landowners and farm managers that LAFS can help advise or support in the management of wildlife friendly farming and land management practices.

·         Oversee and deliver projects from start to finish, including stakeholder engagement, client management, and subcontractor, workflow, schedule, and budget management.

·         Establish and/or partake in farmer clusters to bring farmers, and other land managers, together to work cooperatively and prioritise activities to improve the local natural environment, at a landscape scale.

·         Support farm businesses to enter government schemes (e.g., Countryside Stewardship, Woodland Management), and the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), or environmental assurance schemes (e.g., Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF)) and other capital grant schemes which encourage environmentally sensitive practice.

·         Undertake farm surveys (for wildlife and natural capital) and developing whole-farm plans aimed to deliver environmental goods (e.g., carbon, soil, wildlife benefits, for the new ELMS). Working closely and supporting Future Nature’s ecologists.

·         Write compelling proposals, actively seek opportunities for building partnerships with landowners, NGOs and other stakeholders for landscape scale wildlife interventions on privately owned land.

·         Utilise GIS mapping tools to create appealing and easily understandable visualisations of agricultural and conservation data and opportunity mapping.

·         Organise events aimed at raising awareness of nature-friendly practices and expanding our reach, particularly within the farming community.

·         Produce high quality technical literature to support farmers transitioning to nature-friendly, organic, or regenerative practices.

·         Demonstrating leadership and expertise in wildlife friendly agricultural advice and land management. 

·         Build and enhance the Land & Farm Advice Service’s reputation for being an expert centre of advice on nature-friendly farming practice, building relationships with industry wide technical experts and leaders in the field.

·         Maintain awareness of, and communicate, relevant agricultural policy and regulatory updates internally across BBOWT teams. 

·         Any other duties as delegated by Land Advice Service Manager or the Chief Executive.

Person Specification

·         Comprehensive farming background and/or knowledge

·         Good environmental and conservation knowledge

·         Experience in delivering agricultural advice and/or land management to deliver environmental goods and enhance wildlife

·         Knowledge and understanding of current environmental legislation, including Biodiversity Net Gain and ecosystem goods and services

·         Excellent communication skills, with an ability to build and maintain relationships, rapport and trust with external partners, farmers and land managers

·         Proficient in GIS platforms such as, Land App, ArcGIS or QGIS 

·         Experience in facilitating Farmer Clusters, and/or supporting farm businesses enter countryside stewardship schemes

·         Project management experience with good time management Proactive attitude to engagement and income generation

·         Competent in using MS Office functions such as Word and Outlook, and advanced Excel

·         Ability and willingness to demonstrate the BBOWT behaviours and values

·         Current UK valid car driving licence and willingness to travel within the three counties to meet farmers, landowners, and colleagues as required

Measurements Of Success

·         Meeting targets for expanding into new farming audiences and sales of services

·         Positive feedback from clients regarding the quality of advice and support provided

·         Successful organisation and facilitation of farmer cluster groups and events, leading to increased engagement and collaboration within the farming community

·         Improvement in the organisation's reputation within the agricultural sector, demonstrated by enhanced brand recognition and positive industry feedback

·         Regular contribution of compelling proposals and successful collaboration opportunities aligned with organisational goals