Farm Advice: Catchment Sensitive Farming - ( Ref : 6557 )

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Our Role

Natural England is the Governments adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at: Natural Englands Strategy: Natural Englands Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK

Job description

The Role

Natural England (NE) delivers a wide range of farm advice, including the Catchment Sensitive Farming Programme: Catchment Sensitive Farming: advice for farmers and land managers - GOV.UK / Catchment Sensitive Farming - Our advice , Farming Advice Service

Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) is a partnership programme between NE, Defra, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission. CSF provides advice to farmers to reduce diffuse water and air pollution from agriculture as well as to reduce natural hazards (floods) and support farms through agricultural transition. CSF operates through a network of locally based farm advisers (CSF farm advisers) and partner organisations to deliver Defras 25-year plan ambitions for water quality, air quality (ammonia) and sustainable water management through nature-based solutions.

The primary focus of the role is to work with and provide on the ground advice to farmers.

The role-holder will also work with partner organisations, the agricultural industry, and colleagues from the Defra group to build our capabilities to deliver a range of priority outcomes for NE.

All CSF farm advisers will have the opportunity to enrol in a structured training programme.

Key Tasks

The role of the CSF farm adviser is to:

• Evaluate and understand environmental priorities for CSF within the specified catchment(s), using national data validated locally.

• Work in priority areas to develop and lead specific CSF training, information and advice campaigns for farmers and landowners. Give bespoke advice on-farm to farmers and organise and deliver, with the aid of specialists, further advice, group events and workshops.

• Work with farmers to identify key pollution issues on farm and relevant practical solutions. Support farmers and landowners to take action to achieve change on farm leading to improvements for nature.

• Communicate, advocate, and promote CSF activity with Natural England, Environment Agency and Forestry Commission colleagues and externally with farmers, land managers and partners.

• Work with NE colleagues and partners, such as water companies and catchment partnerships, to deliver a joined-up approach including developing formal partnerships where appropriate.

• Drive delivery via a range of tools including specialist training and advice (own or procured through contractors) and using incentives such as Capital Grants, SFI, FETF etc.

• Utilise Environment Land Management Schemes (ELM) by advising farmers on suitable land management options and/or capital items and giving advice on water and air quality options/ items in Higher Tier applications. Offer general advice on other CS options such as those addressing biodiversity and/or signpost applicants to additional advice from other sources where targeting overlaps.

• Support Defras Sustainable Slurry Management programme including offering advice to Slurry Infrastructure Grant applicants.

• Work with the Environment Training and Facilitation Framework (ETAFF) Contract Manager to provide timely information for tenders for group events and farm advice. Conduct quality control to agreed processes and deadlines.

• Record interactions and advice given. Monitor the effectiveness of engagement with farmers and landowners.

• Understand the relevant Diffuse Water Pollution Plan(s) and Shared Nitrogen Action Plan(s) and incorporate into CSF plans where appropriate.

Frequent farm and site visits, and partnership working are required. The post holder will be required as part of regular, day-to-day work to visit farms and walk over fields and around farm buildings within the geography of the relevant area. Sometimes this may be in inclement weather conditions.

It is essential that the post holder has a current, valid, full UK driving licence and is willing to drive. Some national travel may be required, which might involve overnight stays.

This post is a fixed term one year maternity cover.

Benefits

At Natural England, we support a healthy work-life balance by offering full-time, part-time, and flexible working arrangements.

We provide excellent opportunities for career progression, training, and development tailored to your role. This includes ten days annually for personal learning and development, plus three additional days for volunteering.

Youll receive a generous leave allowance of 25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by one day for each year of service up to 30 days (pro-rata), access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution, and a range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities, and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Our employee-led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Locations

Natural England has adopted hybrid working which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England, and the expectation is that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Staff are expected to attend their associated office for 20% of their contractual hours.

Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work-related travel is required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

View a map of our office locations here: online map of Natural England office locations

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

How to Apply

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview. We now provide primary interview questions in advance for all formal recruitments.

This vacancy uses competency-based ...