Catchment Advisor (Farm Advisory / Natural Flood Management)

Location: WUF Offices (Talgarth), across the Wye and Usk catchments and from home
Salary: £26,000 to £32,000 pa depending on experience, plus pension and life assurance
Contract: Initially 12 month fixed term (with potential to extend)
Hours: 37.5 hours/week. Flexitime and time off in lieu system in place, 24 days annual leave (pro-rata) plus bank holidays.

Context

We are seeking applicants with varying degrees of farming and land management knowledge, from practical on-farm experience to advisory or technical backgrounds, who are able to translate this understanding into realistic and deliverable solutions.

We are developing catchment markets that enable farmers to be paid for managing water as well as producing food. These markets will help mitigate the impacts of climate change—addressing flooding, drought, and water quality—across the Wye and Usk catchments, while creating a scalable model that can be applied to other river systems.

The role involves close collaboration with farmers, landowners, and a wide range of project partners to identify and deliver improvements in whole-farm practices and to develop opportunities for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS).

What We’re Looking For

We are building a team with a blend of skills and experience and welcome applications from individuals who bring:

• Practical farming or land management experience
• Advisory or technical expertise related to agriculture, land use, or the environment
• The ability to work collaboratively with farmers, landowners, and partners
• A pragmatic approach to developing and implementing workable, on-the-ground solutions

Though we are looking for people to join a team with a blend of experience, we are also interested in applications which would be either more specific to Farm Advisory or Nature-Based Solutions (particularly Natural Flood Management) roles; you don’t have to have both.

Introduction to the Wye & Usk Foundation (WUF)

The Wye & Usk Foundation (WUF) is a registered charity concerned with the ecology and, more specifically, restoring the habitat, water quality and fisheries of the rivers Wye and Usk. The Foundation is a delivery organisation: working in partnership with other organisations, we raise significant sums of money to remedy problems such as habitat degradation, poor water quality and diffuse pollution, barriers to fish migration, over-exploitation of our fisheries and to advance the education of the public in the conservation of our rivers.

Our charitable objects:

To conserve, protect, rehabilitate and improve the salmon and other indigenous species of animal and plant life of the rivers Wye and Usk, their tributaries, streams and watercourses (“the River”) and the banks, riparian lands and catchments of the river (“the River Corridor”) and to advance the education of the public in the conservation of rivers, river corridors and their animal and plant life and the need for conservation, protection, rehabilitation and improvement of such environments.

Our Values

Approachable – we are open-minded and value diversity
Non-judgemental – we focus on the potential, not the past
Inspiring – we lead by example
Empowering – we enable positive change
Passionate – we are absolutely committed to improving the Wye and Usk and their catchments

These values inform how WUF and its staff fulfil their objectives and responsibilities.
WUF is an equal opportunities employer.

Role Description

You will be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of specified projects including but not limited to:

• Visiting farms to carry out surveys and walkovers, identifying and prioritising opportunities, and working with farmers/landowners/clients to develop outline designs for measures and/or land management plans.
• Assessing potential for different types of NBS and Natural Flood Management (NFM) including soil management measures, wildflower strips, riparian buffers, in-field bunds, leaky woody dams, biodiversity/ecology baseline assessment, attenuation ponds and wetlands.
• Creating mapping to support analysis of trends in flow, rainfall or other environmental data to support projects and bids.
• Collating baseline data collected from farms and monitoring data to provide an overview of potential in sub-catchments.
• Discussing and advising on different options with farmers and landowners, supporting the development of catchment and landscape-scale nature recovery plans.
• Coordinating and helping to facilitate workshops and other engagement events with farmers and landowners to discuss issues, opportunities and solutions.
• Where necessary, assisting with the modelling or interpretation of NFM/NBS features in relevant software (e.g. SCIMAP, Scalgo and other tools), with training and support provided.

Qualifications, Training, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Cultural awareness and appropriate interpersonal skills with the ability to listen, understand, empathise and build relationships.
• Practical knowledge of land management practices and farming systems, and the ability to discuss these credibly with farmers and landowners and translate this understanding into realistic and deliverable solutions*.
• Knowledge and experience of farming activities and/or NFM (or a willingness to learn).
• Experience of successful practical project delivery and/or farmer engagement.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to convey complex information simply and concisely to a wide range of audiences.
• Proficient use of MS Office.
• Proactive, solutions-focused approach.
• High level of interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision.
• Ability to manage competing priorities.
• Full driving licence and access to transport.

Desirable

• Degree level, or equivalent experience, in environmental sciences, agriculture, conservation management or similar.
• BASIS Soil & Water.
• Understanding of ecosystem services (e.g. NFM design, carbon markets).
• Understanding of Sustainable Farming Incentive (England) or Sustainable Farming Scheme (Wales).
• Scoping, supporting and interpreting suitable site locations and ground investigations to inform NBS siting and design.
• General knowledge of farm and land management issues.
• Public speaking.
• Project management.
• Event coordination.
• Confidence to give professional advice to landowners.
• Welsh speaker.

Key Working Relationships

Internal:
NFM Capability Lead, Farm Advisory and NBS Catchment Advisors, Project Managers, Catchment Markets Programme Manager

External:
Farmers and landowners in the Wye and Usk catchment, farming groups, project partners

Closing date: Fri 6th March 2026