Farming In Protected Landscapes (FIPL) Business Support Officer
North Wessex Downs National Landscape
Are you a highly organised administrator with strong financial skills and a passion for supporting projects that make a real difference to the countryside? Join the North Wessex Downs National Landscape Team and play a key role in delivering the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme.
FiPL is a nationally significant government-funded initiative that supports farmers and land managers to deliver projects that enhance nature, improve climate resilience, strengthen rural communities and protect some of England’s most treasured landscapes.
As Business Support Officer, you will provide essential administrative and financial support to ensure the smooth and efficient delivery of the programme across the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. Working closely with the FiPL Officers and Director, you will manage grant applications, claims and payments, maintain accurate financial records, prepare reports for Defra, support Local Assessment Panel meetings, and help deliver communications and stakeholder engagement activities.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with a wide range of partners including farmers, environmental organisations, local authorities and community groups. You’ll need excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, financial competence and the confidence to manage competing priorities. Knowledge of farming, rural businesses, environmental management or protected landscapes would be advantageous.
Based at Denford Manor, Hungerford, this fixed-term role offers the chance to contribute directly to the future of one of the UK’s most important protected landscapes while supporting sustainable farming and rural development.
About North Wessex Downs National Landscape
The North Wessex Downs National Landscape is a designated protected landscape. It straddles the boundaries of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire and covers 173 parishes and it is the third largest National Landscape in the country covering an area of 668 square miles (1,730 square kilometres). It received its designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1972.
Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the North Wessex Downs is the responsibility of nine local authorities within the four counties. They come together with community, farming, conservation, tourism and heritage representatives to make up a governing Council of Partners, which is supported by a small professional team.
Our work involves collaborating with a network of organisations, businesses, farmers, landowners and local communities. Together, we run and are involved with, a range of projects and initiatives to conserve and enhance the landscape – its natural environment, its heritage, and its culture – while keeping in mind the needs of local communities and businesses.
The North Wessex Downs National Landscape is a designated protected landscape. It straddles the boundaries of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire and covers 173 parishes and it is the third largest National Landscape in the country covering an area of 668 square miles (1,730 square kilometres). It received its designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1972. Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the North Wessex Downs is the responsibility of nine local authorities within the four counties. They come together with community, farming, conservation, tourism and heritage representatives to make up a governing Council of Partners, which is supported by a small professional team. Our work involves collaborating with a network of organisations, businesses, farmers, landowners and local communities. Together, we run and are involved with, a range of projects and initiatives to conserve and enhance the landscape – its natural environment, its heritage, and its culture – while keeping in mind the needs of local communities and businesses.
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