Farm Adviser Higher Officer x2

Want to work in the West Midlands? Passionate about farming and the environment?

We are looking for two Farm Advisers.

Natural England’s West Midlands Area Team covers Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands Combined Authority. Our offices are in Shrewsbury and Worcester.

The West Midlands landscape is rich in nature and cultural heritage, from its industrial heartlands to the hills of the Welsh border in the West. We have accessible nature next or near to dense conurbations, home to over 6.5 million people. Most of the area is farmed, with the River Severn and its many tributaries snaking through the landscape. The area boasts a great natural diversity, including rivers, meres, mosses, lowland heaths, uplands, ancient woodland and grassland.

As a Natural England Farm Adviser, you will have a unique mix of knowledge and skills including an up-to-date understanding of conservation management, farming systems, the regulations and incentives that underpin them, and how they come together to help farmers and land managers deliver nature recovery. You will also be expert at bringing people together and building consensus to deliver nature-based solutions for the most challenging problems.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experience of providing on farm advice and being able to communicate effectively with farmers to deliver environmental outcomes alongside long-term sustainable food production/agricultural transition.
• Good level of agricultural knowledge and agri-environment schemes, particularly Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.
• Good knowledge of agricultural water and air pollution and being able to recognise and identify farming practices which can cause pollution.
• A broad understanding of priority habitat management, ideally with more detailed experience in either species rich grassland, wetlands, wood pasture or heathland.
• The ability to gain technical understanding and knowledge quickly over an agreed timetable is a key skill to demonstrate.