Sustainable Farming Campaign Officer

• Job title: Sustainable Farming Campaign Officer
• Gross Annual Salary: £38,158 full-time pro rata (post offered at 0.8 FTE). This is a pay
  level 1 salary. This salary increases annually in April each year according to Sustain’s
  payscale and progression, subject to satisfactory performance. In addition, Sustain matches
  pension contributions up to 5% of gross salary.
• Hours: 0.8 FTE (28 hours / 4 days per week)
• Location: Role is office-based in Cambridge Heath, London. Sustain offers working from home
  up to half of working hours, on request and subject to agreement after probation.
• Position type: Permanent contract (funding secured for until end of June 2026)
• Annual Leave: 25 days Annual Leave based on 0.8 FTE (comprises of 16 days Basic Annual
  Leave + FTE proportion of public holidays + office closures) rising annually by 2 days to a top
  limit of 29 days.
• Equal opportunities: Sustain is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive employer,
  including recruiting for diversity. Read more about our approach here.
• Right to Work: Entitlement to work in the UK. Sustain is not able to assist with
  applications for work permits and cannot employ people living or working outside of the UK.
• Other details: Cycle to Work scheme available on salary sacrifice basis.

About the Sustainable Farming Campaign

Sustain’s Sustainable Farming campaign is central to the work of the Sustain alliance. In
collaboration with our working party of 46 farming, food, environment, animal welfare, public
health and academic organisations, we have secured key improvements in national and local
farming policy and practice. We contributed to the government’s adoption of the ‘public money
for public goods’ policy farm payments; helped win the fair dealing and supply chain
transparency obligations in the UK Agriculture Act 2020; were a key player in securing a Trade
and Agriculture Commission to scrutinise the impact of post-Brexit international trade deals on
standards for animal and plant health, animal welfare and the environment; and have supported
work to make the case and win investment for farmer-focused supply chains and retail, local
food infrastructure and better food trading.

Working together with farming, environmental and policy experts, our main aims currently are
to:

• Make agroecological farming the norm in the UK – More farmers engaging, taking up
  Environmental Land Management (ELM) and going up ambition levels, with an increase in organic,
  agroecological, and ‘whole farm’ approaches. This means changing the policy, standards,
  incentives and finances of farming; attraction of public and private investment (and research
  and development funding) directed to better models; as well as ensuring that trade deals and
  other farming-relevant policies actively support and do not undermine sustainable farming,
  biodiversity, climate and land-use goals. Finally, ensuring a holistic definition of food
  security is used by government.
• Support horticultural production: Policies are enacted to support the upscaling of
  agroecological production of fruit, vegetables and pulses. Advocacy for and engagement with a
  future horticulture strategy that favours de-centralised, agroecological horticultural
  production as well as transition away from lowland peat.
• Cultivate fairer, more transparent food supply chains: Three main aims here are
  to:
  • De-mystify supply chain economics and expose inequities.
  • Reform regulation in the food supply
    chain to share risk and profits more fairly.
  • Increase farmer ability to be a ‘price maker’
    rather than a ‘price taker’ through support for co-operative farming and the local food retail
    ‘bridging the gap’ trading that helps build shorter, more farmer-focused routes to market.
• Make more land available for diverse agroecological food growing and new entrants –
  including for peri-urban farms and horticulture enterprises, and local authority land use –
  locally and nationally; and opposing biofuels and other damaging land use.
• Support a Sustainable Land Use policy: Securing land-use policy fit for the climate and
  nature emergency and a just transition. Supporting organisations and processes looking at
  sustainable land use – for example the Nature Friendly Farming Network and the Soil
  Association. Political engagement to influence government thinking on how to define food
  security to encompass farming and farm worker livelihoods; a resilient, nutritious and
  affordable food supply; from farming systems that support climate change mitigation and
  adaptation, and restoration of nature.

More information available at: www.sustainweb.org/sustainable-farming-campaign

About this role

This role will provide project and campaign support to our Sustainable Farming Campaign. We are
seeking a motivated, creative and well-organised person with great communications and
team-working skills, who can work alongside the Sustainable Farming Campaign Coordinator and
other colleagues to help manage campaigns, research, consultation and policy-related activities
on sustainable farming, fair supply chains and related issues. The project officer will lead on
distinct areas of work, developing and running them to make a significant contribution to the
Sustain alliance’s ability to influence policy in order to achieve an agroecological system of
farming and food production. The role will also provide administrative and communications
support to the campaign.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Officer will have a varied and stimulating workload, and will work closely with the
Sustainable Farming Campaign Coordinator; also in collaboration with Sustain’s senior
management, campaign staff, working party members and project partners. The Officer’s
responsibilities will include:

• Taking a lead role in running specific projects, including research, briefings, policy
  work, engagement with partners and policy-makers, media activities and campaign development to
  further campaign objectives as part of the campaign strategy.
• Initiating and managing defined research projects on key themes. This might be, for
  example, on co-operative farming and/or supply chain economics and fairness.
• Keeping up to date with national news, the work of relevant organisations, and policy
  developments on food, farming, climate change and nature loss, and solutions promoted by
  Sustain and our working party members, to inform our supporters and national campaign
  activities.
• Helping to arrange and run engagement activities for public and specialist audiences, such
  as report launches, webinars, events, speaker opportunities and panel discussions to inform and
  broaden our supporter base. This will include targeted work to reach new and diverse audiences
  and people or groups currently under-represented in our work.
• Contributing to Sustain’s engagement and communication activities that seek to inform and
  influence parliamentarians and local area decision-makers. This could include helping to
  compile briefings and consultation responses, and representing Sustain at government and
  partner meetings, calls for evidence, hearings and in the media.
• Contributing to public-facing communication work of the Sustainable Farming Campaign, for
  example helping to consult on, compile, publish, edit and distribute reports; consultation
  responses; blogs; news items; e-actions; press releases; website and social media content, and
  regular newsletters.
• Helping to run our well-established expert working party (involves 46 organisations and
  quarterly meetings), including supporting the Campaign Coordinator with working party meeting
  papers and other preparation, taking minutes, producing briefings, managing the database of
  contacts, supporting contributions and stakeholder relationships, and pursuing follow-up
  actions in a professional and timely manner.
• Contributing to initiatives and learning that help Sustain and colleagues meet our
  ambitions on diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice, both internally and through our
  out-ward facing and influencing activities.

The Officer will also:

• Contribute to the mutually supportive culture of Sustain, among the staff team, campaign
  partners and project participants.
• Support fundraising activities.
• Support the maintenance of excellent financial, data and other records and reporting, to
  help with accountability to funders and stakeholders.
• The post holder will also undertake any other responsibilities in connection with the work
  that may arise from time to time.

Personal specification

Sustain is seeking a motivated, creative and well-organised person with great communications
and team-working skills, who shares our commitment to improving the farming and food system,
and who has the following skills and experience:

Essential:

• Background, interest and experience in sustainable farming, farming / food policy, or
  environment.
• At least one year’s experience of influencing policy, practice and/or campaigning for
  change.
• A demonstrable commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice, with the
  aptitude to support or develop relevant initiatives within the context of the role.
• A confident and experienced communicator with fluent spoken and written English,
  exceptional oral and written communication skills, with attention to detail and the ability to
  translate complex data and policies into accessible language, engaging stories and
  communication materials.
• Experience of implementing communication plans and generating media and social media
  coverage, as well as using communication tools and approaches to influence public opinion and
  decision-making to achieve campaign goals.
• Experience of undertaking and managing research projects, preferably those that involve
  working with the input of a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of relationship building and team working to achieve shared goals, preferably
  with experience or understanding of working in networks and/or alliances.
• Ability to work independently, with high levels of self-motivation.
• Good project management, time management and organisational skills, including reliable
  management of data.
• Entitlement to work in the UK (Sustain is not able to assist with applications for work
  permits).
• Availability to commence work promptly following the recruitment process.

Desirable:

• A demonstrable experience and understanding of ethical and sustainable farming and/or the
  economics of farming. A good understanding of UK farming policy is a benefit.
• Skills in digital communications, campaigning and social networking.
• Experience of working with editorial, design and IT colleagues to generate compelling
  communication materials.
• Experience and aptitude in using MS Teams, Zoom, Miro or other online meeting, webinar and
  facilitation tools, as a participant and as an organiser.
• Experience of consulting stakeholders and developing and supporting shared positions,
  objectives and written outputs.
• Experience of working with parliamentarians or other decision-makers to support policy
  development.
• Confidence to put forward a case in meetings with people from diverse roles and
  backgrounds.
• Experience in arranging, chairing and/or facilitating meetings and events.
• Experience of working on a funded project and reporting to funders.
• Good presentation and public speaking skills and ability to work effectively either
  in-person or via online platforms.

Diversity

The person appointed will contribute to the mutually supportive culture of Sustain (including
staff and project participants) in which equality and diversity are not just respected but
promoted. Visit our
website here for some useful advice if you are applying for a job at Sustain.

Sustain is recruiting for this role as part of our Ethnicity Confident and Disability Confident
schemes. Applicants who meet all the essential criteria, and who let us know voluntarily (via
our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form) that you would like to be considered in this way, will
have an enhanced chance of gaining a first-stage interview. 

Sustain welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, class,
socio-economic background, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or
belief. We are happy to discuss and consider flexible working at the point of hire. We
particularly encourage applications from Black people and people of colour, and people with
disabilities. This is because these groups are currently underrepresented at Sustain. Where two
or more candidates are judged to be of equal merit, priority may be given to a candidate who
belongs to a group less represented at Sustain.

How to apply

Download a copy of the job description here. To apply for this position, please email [email protected] the following:

• a CV (maximum two pages)
• a Covering Letter telling us about your experience and how this relates to the personal
  specification (maximum two pages)
• a completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring form

As we are recruiting for several positions over this period, please put Sustainable
Farming Campaign Officer in the subject line of your covering email along with your
name.

Deadline: 10am, Friday 31 May 2024

First stage interviews for this position will take place online on 12 and 13 June 2024 with
second-stage interviews to take place in-person the week commencing 17 June 2024. Please
indicate in your application if you are not available either of these weeks, although we cannot
guarantee we can accommodate requests for alternative timings.

This role is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.