Assistant Project Officer – Sustainable Farming

As part of an expanding programme of work with the Farming sector, The River Thame Conservation
Trust is seeking to recruit two posts. Both roles provide a fantastic career development
opportunity, working at the vanguard of landscape scale nature recovery and new markets in
ecosystem services. As part of a dynamic, delivery-focused organisation, the Trust will nurture
the growth of your skills and capabilities, with a view to their long-term contribution to our
success.

Assistant Project Officer: Sustainable Farming
Location: Office base in Wheatley (Oxford), with fieldwork throughout the Thame
Catchment
Working Days: Full time (37.5 hours per week)
Length of Contract: 3 years (with an aspiration to convert to open-ended, subject to
organisational needs, and future funding).
Salary: £26-30K depending on skills and experience
Place of Work: Hybrid working, office based at Wheatley, (Oxford) with regular travel
throughout the catchment and some home working.

This is an entry level agriculture and environment role which will support the delivery of our
programme to promote and enable environmentally sustainable farming practices in the Thame
catchment, and will be integral to the Trust’s activities. The programme comprises several
projects, covering agri-ecological and sustainable water management systems on farms restoring
natural capital using nature-based solutions. The programme will work with partners to promote
sustainable food goals and achieve greater visibility of local supply chains, in-turn
facilitating private and public investment to support this.

You will support the further development of an existing catchment-focused, farm cluster and
will deliver three main areas of work, under the guidance of the Programme Manager:

1. Designing, planning and delivering a programme to grow, understanding and confidence of the
   cluster and its members in navigating new challenges and opportunities for economically and
   environmentally thriving agriculture.
2. Talking to farmers to understand aspirations for their farm businesses, and how these might
   be achieved, recognising the range of existing and emerging opportunities
3. Undertaking farm visits to identify and map potential opportunities to achieve farmer
   aspirations and project goals.

The role requires a professional, persuasive, and engaging individual with a familiarity with
current agricultural policy, and interest in farming and sustainable food systems. You should
have a passion and enthusiasm for the conservation sector, particularly for regenerative /
agri-ecological and sustainable agriculture and will be expected to keep up-to-date with the
latest sector developments.