Assistant Farming Officer
Kendal, Cumbria
Fixed term contract until March 2024

About us

Would you like to work in one of England’s finest landscapes and a World Heritage Site?
The Lake District National Park Authority looks after this unique corner of England, encouraging people to enjoy and understand its beauty and helping those who live and work here. Our staff include rangers and field workers, advisers at our visitor centres, planners and more.

About the role

We’re looking for an Assistant Farming Officer to assist in the delivery of the Farming in Protected Landscape scheme and other Agricultural Transition Plan schemes, environmental and farming funding initiatives.

The Farming in Protected Landscape scheme supports farmers and land managers to work with grants to provide benefits for nature, climate, people, and places around the National Park. Helping care for this special place, this role will support how we contribute to delivering net zero, support nature’s recovery, improve opportunities for people’s health and wellbeing as well as increase its recognition as a great visitor destination.

This post offers someone the potential for career development by working closely with our Farming Officer to help raise awareness of the Farming in Protected Landscape scheme throughout the farming community. This will involve visiting farmers to discuss their ideas and help them to submit applications that fit the scheme criteria. You’ll also encourage farmers and land managers to take new opportunities available to them, as well as help them better understand the public goods on their land in readiness for the new Environmental Land Management scheme.

The successful applicant will develop a good understanding of farming environmental schemes in order to assist farmers in making their businesses more resilient, deliver improvements to the natural environment, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

The Assistant Farming Officer will be working as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside the existing Farming Officer, rangers and other specialists in the Strategy and Ranger Service. Additionally, there may be opportunities to work with partner organisations, including the National Trust and Natural England. Training will be given and there is undoubtedly the opportunity to develop your skills.

The role will be based at our head office in Kendal, Cumbria. Travel throughout the National Park will be required to visit farmers and land managers.

About you

You’ll be confident and enjoy talking to farmers and visiting farms as you’ll be visiting applicants to discuss their ideas. Talking over the farm gate, or at auctions and shows, will be essential to build trust in the scheme and ensuring its successful delivery. In addition to being out and about there will be elements of desk-based work such as filling in paperwork relating to the scheme.

We are looking for someone who can show:

- Skills to engage farmers and land managers
- A motivation to help Lake District farming to improve nature and address the impacts of climate change and support public access on the land they manage
- Show a keenness to learn
- Enjoys and is confident visiting farms, talking to farmers and land managers to help them understand the new scheme
- Knowledge of, or ability to learn about, how to produce digital maps to support applications
- Knowledge of, or willing to learn about, environmental agricultural schemes
- Good level of spoken and written English

At the same time, you will need to have the ability to fill in application forms and be willing to do paperwork.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team dedicated team, supporting famers and land managers to help move through the changes and challenges that farming is experiencing as well as get involved with the future of this special place, as we embark on the delivery of the new Partnership Management Plan.

Please read the role profile for the full person specification on this post.

Benefits

Working with us, you’ll enjoy:

- Generous Pension Scheme
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Paid time off so you can volunteer
- Subsidised healthcare scheme

See our website for a complete list of our employee benefits.

Contact

For an informal chat, please contact Jasmine Holliday (Farming Officer) on 07584 593274 email [email protected] or Tim Duckmanton (Team Leader Strategy and Environment) on 07776 274450 email [email protected]

We reserve the right to close this advert early should we receive sufficient applications, so please apply early to avoid missing out on this opportunity.

Diversity and Inclusion

As an equal opportunities employer, the Lake District National Park Authority is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. These groups are under-represented at the LDNPA, particularly at senior level.

Disability Confident Employer

We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must provide evidence in your application which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as well as meeting any of the qualification, skills or experience defined as essential.

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