Farming and Rural Enterprise Manager

Are you passionate about farming, landmanagementand the future of our rural landscapes?

Do you have the experience and influence to work with farmers, landowners,communities and partners to deliver positive environmental change at a landscape scale?

Northumberland National Park Authority is looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Farming and Rural Enterprise Manager to join our Park Management Directorate.

This is an exciting opportunity to

Reporting to the Head of Farming and Rural Enterprise, you will lead the Farming and Rural Enterprise Team , providing strategic direction, effectivemanagementand collaborative leadership.

You will work at the heart of some of the National Park’s most important land management and nature recovery initiatives, helping to deliver the ambitions of the 25 Year Environment Plan, 30x30 targets, Northumberland National Park Management Plan, Authority Business Plan and Local Nature Recovery Strategy .

A key part of your role will be working with land managers to develop more resilient farming systems while delivering environmental improvements, habitatconnectivityand nature recovery across the landscape.

You will lead the development and delivery of prioritised programmes across a range of funding and activity streams, including Farming in Protected Landscapes, Wildlife Rich Habitats, 30x30deliveryandagri-environment programmes .

You will also help bring together major initiatives including Hadrian’s Wall Wetlands Landscape Recovery, the North East Farm Business Support Service and the Resilient Landscapes Programme , ensuring that our work delivers integrated outcomes for farming,natureand rural communities.

As a senior member of the Park Management team, you will:

• Lead, manage and develop the Farming and Rural Enterprise Team, including work programming, performancemanagementand staff development.
• Work strategically with farmers,landownersand partners to deliver environmental improvement and habitat targets alongside resilient and sustainable farming systems.
• Develop and oversee landscape-scale delivery plans across multiple funding programmes.
• Provide specialist advice on farming, land management, natural capital, naturerecoveryand rural enterprise.
• Lead on complex cases and provide expert input into projects, policies,strategies and Development Management activities.
• Build strong relationships with a wide range of partners, stakeholders, agencies, landmanagersand rural businesses.
• Develop effective data,monitoring and reporting systems todemonstrateimpact and support funding and organisational objectives.
• Support the Head of Farming and Rural Enterprise with national and regional policy development.
• Help maximise external funding and ensure that programmes deliver value for money and meaningful outcomes.
• Champion farming, land management, naturerecoveryand rural enterprise within the Authority and with external organisations.
• Ensure that health and safety, equality, inclusion, GDPR and other statutory responsibilities are effectively managed within the team.

You will be an experienced professional with a strong understanding of agriculture, rural landmanagementand the natural environment , together with the ability to lead people and influence others to achieve shared objectives.

You will have:

• A degree or equivalent senior-level experience in a relevant field.
• Strong knowledge of agricultural and forestry land management policy, grantschemesand techniques for delivering environmental improvement and habitat connectivity.
• Knowledge of current natural environment policy and the challenges facing rural upland communities.
• Experience of working withagri-environment schemes and other rural grant programmes.
• A successfultrack recordof developing and delivering collaborative projects with partners.
• Experience of working with communities,agencies and organisations to achieve shared outcomes.
• Experience of providing specialist advice to support policy, strategy, Development Management and delivery activities.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and influencing skills,…