Land Management Officer

The starting salary for this role is £36,282 per annum for working 36 hours per week. This is a 24-month fixed term contract / secondment opportunity.

We are currently looking for a Land Management Officer to join the rapidly expanding Natural Capital team.

The headline ambition for Council owned sites within our portfolio is that they will be places of innovation to rebuild biodiversity, manage resources sustainably, and support all forms of life through restoring natural processes. Our approach will include active intervention, soil management, sustainable forest management as well as woodland creation, regenerative agriculture, and income diversification.

The Land Management Officer will be responsible for delivering a land management policy which sets out the principles for how natural assets will be managed to support the Council's corporate objectives. The post will work with tenants and land managers to identify opportunities and create a pipeline of projects which support and embed the policy within everyday Council behaviour and values using agreements, tenancies, and Service level agreements.

The post holder will work closely with a broad range of customers and stakeholders, and will have a sound understanding of land management and/or agriculture complemented by an understanding of forestry. Good conservation experience and knowledge is essential as is a passion for innovative new approaches to nature recovery.

Key outputs include:

1. Direction of consultants and co-ordination of stakeholder groups to produce a policy document, inputting technical and practical experience to deliver a holistic working document, updating as required to reflect learning and changes in legislation
2. Collating and analysing vertical and horizontal layers of information, data, and research on sites to support land management decision making
3. Plan and prioritise engagement with landowners and managers based on Area plans and priorities, and relevant data available, working closely with Area colleagues.
4. Meet landowners and managers to assess their business requirements, conduct whole holding or business audits
5. Identify opportunities for woodland and hedgerow creation, and land management opportunities that meet the organisations objectives, as well as areas that can be devoted to the restoration of natural processes
6. Develop a local network with the forestry and land management sector, sharing skills and knowledge with advisors and those supporting land-use decisions
7. Approach and engage with local advisors/agents/stakeholder networks offering information on regenerative agriculture, rewilding principles and agroforestry

Work Context

The role reports into the Transformation Programme Manager, with close links to other parts of Countryside, Land and Property, Planning, as well as the wider organisation and its partners. In 2020, Surrey County Council released its 1.2 million tree planting initiative for Surrey, detailing its ambition to plant 1.2 million trees by 2030. The team is delivering this strategy by both planting on its own land portfolio and working with partners and community groups to facilitate their planting projects.

About You

The role requires the ability to work independently within a busy team, contributing towards our ambitious target. You must be organised and able to prioritise your own workload to meet often challenging deadlines. As well as this, you will have a flexible and versatile attitude when working with partners.

The team works flexibly through a mix of office, site, and home-based working. You will be required to visit sites across the County and liaise with residents, community groups and council members and attend public engagement events.

Both your CV and personal statement will clearly evidence the following attributes, skills, and expertise:

• Degree qualified, or significant vocational experience
• Professional qualification, or able to evidence knowledge and understanding of appropriate land management processes
• Proven written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills with good negotiation and influencing skills and the ability to work collaboratively with internal and external partners/professionals
• Ability to work on own initiative, with solution focused problem solving skills
• Ability to manage a range of projects through to completion
• Previous practical or professional experience and understanding of land management policies or procedures
• Experience of working with the public, including schools, community partners and diverse groups
• Determined and resilient approach to completing tasks
• Ability to work effectively under pressure, both independently and within a team, and plan your own workload
• Good IT skills (including Outlook and Microsoft Office programs).

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 18th September 2022.

Interviews will take place week commencing 05/09/2022.

Contact details

For an informal discussion please contact Camilla Bushill on 07866 212221 or by e-mail at camilla.bushill@surreycc.gov.uk.

We look forward to receiving your application. Please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit MyBenefits for Surrey County Council staff.