Farm Lead

Farm Lead – North Surrey

£30,000-£33,000 per annum dependent on experience plus Farmhouse
accommodation and £2,000 pa on call allowance (1 week in 6)

Do you care passionately about exemplary agricultural land management that goes
hand in hand with nurturing wildlife, healthy soils, and biodiverse ecosystems? If the answer
is yes, then look no further!

Surrey Wildlife Trust are excited to announce a new position within our Conservation Grazing
team as “Farm Lead – North Surrey” following an agreement with the landowner to enter a 35yr
FBT on a 422-acre mixed farm. The successful applicant will report to the Farms and Livestock
Manger and work closely with the Conservation Grazing team, other Surrey Wildlife Trust staff
and volunteers to deliver first-class farming practices which support SWT’s livestock whilst
maximising biodiversity on-farm. This will be achieved through a blended finance model of ELMS
and Natural capital so knowledge of one or both would be advantageous.

Despite the focus of the role being delivered on-farm, supporting the conservation grazing team
to deliver naturalistic grazing using 350 Belted Galloway cattle and 100 mixed breed sheep over
2700ha on 35+ sites across the county is a major component of the role. In doing so you’ll get
to see some incredible nature reserves whilst monitoring the health and welfare of the
livestock and monitoring the impact they are having on habitat management.

If you want to know more about this exciting opportunity to be part of an enthused and
committed conservation grazing team delivering high standards of conservation grazing whilst
helping support nature conservation in Surrey please do apply.

This is the ideal opportunity to combine strong farming knowledge with the desire
to benefit the land for biodiversity and bioabundance.

The successful candidate will need experience of livestock management (running a farm or with
principal responsibility), welfare procedures and legal requirements around livestock
movements, be able to manage budgets and resources, work within a team and in isolation, hold
strong ecological knowledge and a passion for nature. A full driving licence is essential as
there will be considerable travel and stock movements across the whole county.

The full job profile, including the person specification, and application form are on our
website www.surreywildlifetrust.org

The salary offered to successful applicants will form part of a benefits package
including: farmhouse accommodation, above minimum pension contributions, life assurance of 4 x
salary, employee support schemes, 22+ days holiday (plus all Bank Holidays).

We are committed to having an inclusive and diverse workplace and encourage applications from
backgrounds which may be underrepresented in our sector, including people from minority ethnic
backgrounds and people with disabilities. We aim to offer an interview to all candidates that
meet the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustment to
make our recruitment process more accessible.

If you can fulfil the criteria for this role, please apply using the Application Form, or send
a covering letter and full CV to James Herd, Director of Reserves Management, [email protected] by midday Friday 30th August
2024. Interviews will be in mid September 2024 to include a site visit to the Farm.

Guided by a collaborative vision where we all play a part in connecting nature, we provide
expert advice and guidance to landowners and managers, making sure the land we look after leads
by example, while inspiring and educating people and organisations across the county on what
they can do. By doing this we will create a Surrey that is full of diverse and abundant
wildlife, where nature is at the heart of individual choices, corporate decisions, and local
economic and policy making. One that helps tackle the ongoing climate emergency, while
supporting the health and wellbeing of all who live here.

We are a Disability Confident Employer