Officer - Red Meat, South West Wales

Job Title: Sector Officer – Red Meat South West

Project: Farming Connect

Department: Rural

Line Manager: Sector Manager

To support the innovative development and delivery of a high-profile Our Farmsnetwork through recruitment, development, coordination, and knowledge transferdissemination of sector specific on-farm projects in line with Welsh Government and the Farming Connect programme priorities.

• Contribute to the development of a high performing team and to ensure actions and work priorities within own region are aligned with the team’s goals.
• Plan the development, implementation, and coordination of Our Farms Network projects in conjunction with the appointed industry expert, ensuring there is no duplication, but rather enhanced complementarity, between projects.
• Develop project proposals (to include evaluation methodology) in conjunction with the KE Hub through ongoing discussions and incorporation of literature reviews/project proposals recommendations as required.
• Outline clear and achievable milestones and objectives of the projects.
• Coordinate work activities and track milestones and objectives via the Our Farms system in the Delivery Management System and identify and provide solutions to rectify issues in a timely and professional manner.
• Ensure appropriate reporting of progress of the project to farmers, stakeholders, and management team.
• Ensure that the Farming Connect website is updated regularly with all reports and updates from projects.
• Provide accurate statistics and information at the request of line manager for Welsh Government Requests, dashboards, and industry updates.
• Ensure delivery of projects to the highest standard and timelines.
• Ensure effective communications of project outcomes via various knowledge transfer dissemination routes.
• Ensure that the Welsh Government’s strategies and policies are incorporated into the Our Farms network activity.
• Proactively identify new opportunities for research, on-farm trials, and knowledge transfer.
• Participate in external stakeholder events where appropriate and seek opportunities to raise the profile of the teams, programme, and Mentera.
• As a minimum, is expected to continue their personal development, knowledge and understanding of their specific sector.
• Research the sector priority areas in conjunction with the programme’s objectives.
• Expected to have knowledge of the budgets for projects and areas of work under of which they work on but does not have budget authority.
• Attend meetings as requested by the Farming Connect management team.
• Work closely with:
  • Line Manager and relevant Development Officers, ensuring the effective planning and implementation of Demonstration Network events within a specific area.
  • Marketing and Communications team to ensure that events are promoted according to the integrated marketing and communications strategy to the target audience in an effective and timely manner.
  • Specialist and KE manager, pan-Wales projects manager and specialist officers to support, as required, in the promotion, recruitment, data collection and dissemination of results of the Pan-Wales projects and try-out funds projects.
  • Service Centre to ensure that event registration and attendance at events are recorded according to the Service Centre’s registration and attendance recording methods; and that these are submitted to the Service Centre within five working days after event.

• Ensure standards for quality, customer service, equality and diversity, health and safety and biosecurity are met.
• Accept other reasonable duties and responsibilities as required.

• Educated to degree level, or equivalent, in agriculture or related subject.
• Strong relationships in the agriculture and scientific communities and effective at networking.
• Demonstrable experience of working within the specified sector in the agricultural industry in Wales.
• Extensive knowledge of agricultural and environmental strategies and policies implemented throughout Wales, via The Agriculture (Wales) Act
  2023.
• Evidence of project management skills.
• Ability to disseminate themes, research findings, and programme content in a practical and clear manner…