Farming Engagement Officer

About the job

Key information

• Location – Mendip Hills National Landscape Team, Charterhouse Centre, Blagdon, Bristol BS40 7XR – with home working flexibiliyt
• Leading on the delivery of a grant programme for farmers and landowners across the Mendip Hills National Landscape
• 37 hours per week
• Contract type – Temporary until end of March 2027
• Location – Mendip Hills National Landscape Team, Charterhouse Centre, Blagdon, Bristol BS40 7XR – with home working flexibility

What will I be doing?

You’ll be meeting farmers and land-managers to help them to submit applications for the Farming in Protected Landscapes fund. You’ll provide advice and guidance to applicants/potential applicants and support a Local Assessment Panel created to judge applications. Subsequently you’ll be monitoring the implementation of the awards and report back on progress.

The role will be based at Charterhouse Centre, with flexibility for home working some of the week.

Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Office based grant management
• Site visits to farms
• Working with another Farm Engagement Officer and a Farm Engagement Support Officer
• Attending meetings to deliver presentations

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you:

You’ll need to be qualified to at least degree level and have experience of working with farmers and land managers, with a good knowledge of conservation, land management and access, and familiarity with current agri-environment schemes. Ideally you’ll also have practical experience of habitat management – assessment, survey, restoration and management. You’ll understand how grant programmes work with experience in project and budget management, and writing detailed and accessible reports.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact: Jim Hardcastle, Mendip Hills National Landscape Manager jim@mendiphills-nl.org.uk 01761 462338

The salary for this role is £27,711 – £31,067 per annum

Interview date 31 July 2025

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button – we can’t wait to hear from you.

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now