Agricultural Officer

The Don Catchment Rivers Trust is an environmental charity, established to help protect and restore rivers in the River Don catchment area. This includes not just the River Don but the two main rivers that flow into the Don – the Dearne and the Rother – as well as the smaller streams which in turn run into those.

Our mission is "Working to Protect and Restore Your Rivers" and we want the rivers in our catchment to thrive.

Although we have towns and cities in our area, large parts of our catchment are rural and agricultural. An important part of our Trust is working with farmers and landowners, finding ways of helping to unlock their aspirations of environmental improvements within their farm business.

Role Description

This is a role full of potential to work with farmers and landowners in the Don Catchment. We are seeking a candidate with experience, knowledge, and/or a background in farming or land management, to support farms in improving water quality, river habitats and catchment resilience.

Our new Agricultural Officer joins the Trust at an exciting time. The Yorkshire River Trusts hub have started the ‘Yorkshire Agricultural Advice for Rivers Network’ (YAARN, funded by Yorkshire Water) to bring together best practice and learning opportunities. Our new person will be DCRTs lead for YAARN, contributing to the Communities of Practice and promoting the work of the River Trust with farmers and stakeholders across Yorkshire.

The post-holder will work to raise awareness and improve understanding of diffuse and point source agricultural pollution and its impact on water quality and the wider environment. They will work collaboratively with fellow officers to bring together and support new farm clusters, and provide knowledge and insight about how best to bring about positive change for our rivers. Through the formation of new farming clusters and the provision of individual tailored advice and support, this role aims to promote improvements in farming practices that benefit the water environment.

Our new Agricultural Officer will work closely with the host farmer of the already established Dearne Valley Farm Cluster to identify works suitable to be delivered with the Trust’s Dearne environmental fund, and give the DVFC support for a continuing programme of events and training.

For candidates with a good track record of farm and land management experience but no professional qualification in order to carry out farm visits and give advice, training may be available.

Hours: 40 hours (full time). We may be able to accommodate requests for this role to be 32 hours (4 days) per week. Occasional evening and weekend work will be required.

The Role

The Agricultural Officer will be expected to engage positively with farmers, farming organisations and rural representatives throughout the Don Catchment.

The main objectives and responsibilities of the post are to:

Facilitate Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

• Develop farm clusters to encourage improvements to the catchments rivers
• Support the clusters by organising programmes of events, to share best practice, promote peer to peer support, and provide training.
• Be the Trust’s lead on the YAARN
• Provide input and advice into DCRT projects to help consider land management issues, possible solutions and funding mechanisms
• Establish links with farming and environmental organisations in the area

Promote Sustainable Farming Practices

• Represent DCRT within the agricultural community and amongst rural and agricultural stakeholders.
• Raise awareness of diffuse pollution and sediment issues amongst farmers in target catchments, and promote nature based solutions
• Provide targeted, relevant, practical advice and support to farmers in the catchment which will enable them to improve their management practices and reduce the impact of their farming activities on the water environment.
• Encourage farmers in the Dearne catchment to apply to the Trust’s environmental fund with suitable schemes

Identify Opportunities

• Work with the Trusts Data and Evidence Officer to find potential sources of agricultural run off, and prioritise target areas for engagement with farmers.
• Provide one to one farm visits to assess opportunities for interventions, and how they may link to available funding opportunities
• Explore and apply for relevant funding streams, to support sustainability of the clusters, and for delivery of Trust led schemes.

Key Dates:

Applications to be received by: Noon on Thursday 26th February 2026
Interviews will be held on: Friday 13th March 2026

Contact:

If you have any questions about this role please email [email protected] to arrange a call with Rachel Walker, CEO.