About the role

The starting salary for this role is £32,173 per annum for working 36 hours per week. This position is offered as a 24-month fixed-term contract or secondment opportunity.

This role is part of the Surrey Hills National Landscape team, hosted by Surrey County Council and working flexibly out of the National Trust Surrey Hills Estate Office at Box Hill (RH5 6DG) and an office location in South West Surrey. The role will support the delivery of the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme across the Surrey Hills and support the Heathland Connections programme as part of the emerging Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Surrey.

We are looking for a motivated individual with the confidence to engage with farmers and land managers, both individually and collaboratively. You will provide advice, support and facilitation to deliver projects under the FiPL programme themes of climate, nature, people and place. You will be an organised and enthusiastic person with an understanding of farming and land management issues relevant to the Surrey Hills and the ability to work in partnership with a wide range of individuals and organisations. Under the guidance of the Surrey Hills Programme Manager, you will be the first point of contact for the FiPL programme and will assist with providing monitoring and feedback on the progress of the scheme to Defra.

You should be educated to at least HND level and have the confidence to work with farmers and land managers. You should have knowledge of conservation/land management and of countryside access, and familiarity with current agri-environment schemes.

Occasional evening and weekend work may be required. Applicants should be able to travel to places not available on public transport as the post holder will be required to visit sites across the Surrey Hills and wider area.  

Please visit SCC website for full job details and to apply.

Key Tasks:

• To provide a first point of contact between the Surrey Hills National Landscape team and potential applicants to the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme and to support applicants with their applications
• To provide advice on conservation, land management and access and engagement, to promote high quality applications to the programme.
• To proactively approach land managers in the western section of the Surrey Hills National Landscape, as part of the Surrey LNRS and the potential for a super Thursley NNR
• To build partnerships and collaboration between farmers and land managers to bring landscape scale projects forward for funding
• To support the three existing Surrey Hills Land Management Cluster groups identifying training needs and supporting the provision of training and networking events
• To help identify access, habitat enhancement and other environmental opportunities, such as natural flood risk solutions, in support of the Surrey Hills Making Space for Nature Recovery Strategy and the emerging Surrey LNRS
• To support the Farming in Protected Landscapes Local Assessment Panel, including the provision of summary reports and recommendations on applications
• To ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of support offered under the programme, including the management of multi-year agreements
• To support project and programme level evaluation

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Keen interest in environmental land management and nature recovery
• Knowledge and understanding of sustainable/regenerative farming and the management of semi-natural habitats, particularly heathland and chalk downland
• Strong motivation, drive, initiative and creativity
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to negotiate and build relationships with farmers, land managers and landowners to enable them to collaborate for nature conservation
• Current UK driving licence
• Competent with GIS or digital mapping

At Surrey, our values and behaviours are just as important as our skills and abilities. They shape who we are as an organisation. Find out more about the values we follow.

Additional information

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 21/08/2022 with interviews to follow.

Contact details

For an informal discussion please contact Sarah Thiele by e-mail at [email protected].

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit MyBenefits for Surrey County Council staff.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups.