See job eligibility requirements: Catchment Sensitive Farming Lead Adviser for Dorset

Reference number

306781

Salary

£27,273

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Lead Adviser

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Environment and Sustainability

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

Location

South West England

About the job

Job summary

This position is based at Blandford Forum, Blandford

Job description

Locations can be both Blandford Forum, Dorchester or other NE offices in Dorset

Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural Environment?

If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and nature.

The priority work Natural England is delivering includes:

Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive;

Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change;
Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods;
Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature, and
Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social prescribing.

We are the Government’s Adviser for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities to protect and enhance and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

Benefits

Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing.

Natural England provides excellent opportunities for career progression, training and development tailored to your role. From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Everyone has 10 days to devote to personal learning and development, as well as an additional 3 days to volunteer.

You will have access to Civil Service Pension and benefits arrangements and generous leave allowances (33 day per year pro rata), as well as flexible working, to help you achieve a work-life balance that works for you and us.

You will have access to a range of benefits including discounts on shopping vouchers, cycle to work scheme, and childcare vouchers. You can also join the Civil Service Sport club which offer discounts on a range of sports and leisure opportunities as well as social events.

Natural England is a fantastic place to work, where difference is celebrated.

We’re committed to fairness and equality for all, so you feel valued for who you are and what you do. Our shared values help us work together to benefit the communities we serve. Our thriving employee-led diversity networks support our inclusive culture and contribute to our Diversity Action Plan.

Location

Ideally this candidate will be based in Dorset at the Natural England Dorchester or Blandford office. Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England and the expectation is that all staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week.

Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work related travel is required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area. View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

Role description

Natural England delivers Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) in partnership with Defra and the Environment Agency as a part of our farm advice service. CSF operates through a network of Catchment Sensitive Farming Advisers (CSFAs) and local partners in each priority catchment. CSF delivers Defra’s 25-year plan ambitions for water quality, air quality (ammonia) and sustainable water management through nature-based solutions. CSF makes a significant contribution to nature recovery through encouraging farmers to be more ambitious. The next few years of agricultural transition will see significant changes to the support and schemes available to farmers. Associated with these changes will be improvements to Natural England’s farm advice service and this role will evolve in tandem with these changes.

The successful candidate will be predominately working within Dorset as part of the East Dorset Area Team and will be preferably based at the Natural England Dorchester or Blandford office, focusing on the River Stour in Dorset, and leading delivery within our South West Water partnership.

They will also be part of the Wessex CSF Team which covers Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Avon, encompassing a wide range of farming types. It is currently a team of 8 lead advisers, 2 advisers and a senior adviser and is a close-knit active team involving a balanced mix of time based both out on farm and in the office.

All CSFA’s will have the opportunity to enrol in a structured training programme.

Key Tasks

Evaluate and understand environmental priorities for CSF within the Stour catchment using national data validated locally.

Develop and lead specific CSF training, information and advice campaigns for farmers and landowners. Give advice on farm and organise and deliver, with the aid of specialists, further advice, group events and workshops.
Secure agreement and ownership within the team and on farm on key pollution issues and solutions. Encourage farmers and landowners to achieve practical change to benefit the environment and their business.
Communicate, advocate, and promote CSF activity internally with Natural England colleagues and externally with farmers, land managers and partners.
Work with Natural England colleagues and partners such as the Environment Agency, water companies and catchment partnerships to deliver a joined-up approach including developing formal partnerships where appropriate.
Drive delivery via a range of tools including specialist training and advice (own or procured through contractors) and using incentives such as agri-environment schemes.
Support applications for the new land management schemes and the Slurry Infrastructure grant in high priority areas by advising on and approving suitable land management options and/or capital grants to improve water and air quality. Offer general advice on other land management options such as those addressing biodiversity and/or signpost applicants to additional advice from other sources where targeting overlaps.
Work with the Environmental Training, Advice, and Facilitation Framework Contract Manager (ETAFF) to provide timely information for tenders for group events and farm advice. Conduct quality control to agreed processes and deadlines.
Record interactions and advice given. Monitor the effectiveness of engagement with farmers and landowners.
Work on the partnership contract with South West Water to deliver a target area of the Stour catchment into favourable management through the advisory work described above.

How to apply

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview. If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We’ll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process:

Technical skills /specialist knowledge /qualifications
Creating resilient landscapes and seas
Personal Effectiveness
Putting people at the heart of the environment
Work delivery

When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. Give us an example of how you have demonstrated the competency (which can be work related or from another area of your life) and tell us about the Situation, the specific Task you had to undertake, the specific Actions you took, and the Result (both immediate and in a wider context) of your doing so.

Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills & Knowledge competency.

Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.

Next Steps

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview (this may be on MS Teams or a suitable alternative) where you will be asked to give examples for all 5 competencies as set out in the Job Description

Competencies

Competence 1 – Professional competency

Detail

Competence 1 – Technical skills /specialist knowledge /qualifications

Description

There is no requirement to use STAR format to demonstrate this competency.
• The ability to communicate effectively with farmers and persuade them to engage with CSF.
• Good level of agricultural knowledge.
• Good knowledge of agricultural water and air pollution.
• Basic project and contract management skills and experience.
• An awareness of new land management schemes and other support mechanisms through agricultural transition.
• A basic knowledge of ArcGIS or similar GIS software will be useful.
• Understand and select the most appropriate measures to address water and air pollution from source to receptor.
• Recognise and identify farming practices which can cause water and air pollution.

Competence 2 – Professional competency

Detail

Competence 2 – Creating resilient landscapes and seas

Description

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience.
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act.
• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence.

Competence 3 – Professional competency

Detail

Competence 3 – Personal effectiveness

Description

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience.
• Adapt your style, content, and approach to communicate effectively with different audiences and across different media.

Competence 4 – Professional competency

Detail

Competence 4 – Putting people at the heart of the environment

Description

• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims.
• Deliver the environmental benefits that people and places need most and take practical steps to enhance opportunities for people to access, engage with, enjoy, and take action for the environment.
• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England

Competence 5 – Professional competency

Detail

Competence 5 – Work Delivery

Description

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines.
• Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures.

Contact and additional information (Recruiters Name, Email and Phone Number)

Job contact (for more information about the role):

Paula Sage (paula.sage@naturalengland.org.uk)

Vacancy Manager (for all queries about the recruitment process:

Tania Carvisiglia (tania.carvisiglia@naturalengland.org.uk)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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