Title: Head of Agroforestry 

 Location: UK wide (initially North Yorkshire) 

Reports to: RegenFarmCo Board of Directors 

Language Requirements: English fluency

Type: Full-time & permanent 

Salary: up to £50,000 depending on experience

Start date: Immediately (For the right candidate only)

About RegenFarmCo

RegenFarmCo is a Community Interest Company (CIC) focused on supporting the scale-up of regenerative agriculture across the UK. We bring together farmers, foresters, landowners, food suppliers, food service companies and leisure venues to test the commercial feasibility of woodland foods. The work extends across England, Scotland and Wales, initially focusing on North Yorkshire. 

RegenFarmCo with its commercial partners, and Yorkshire Water have created a unique partnership focused on creating a portfolio of regenerative farms in the Yorkshire uplands and beyond. The program is supported by leading international food businesses, Levy UK + Ireland, Foodbuy, Sysco Speciality Group and Quorn. This collective of multi-national food and agricultural businesses, with over £5bn of managed spend, bring together the widest range of foodservice and hospitality clients on the planet to buy food, and everything associated with it. We are all committed to providing the most sustainable and ecological foods through regenerative design. Every aspect of this programme is a tool for engagement. 

About the Biohub project at Ingsfarm

The Biohub will transform a 37-hectare farmland in North Yorkshire into a regenerative agriculture landscape, underpinned by well-defined ecological design systems, agroforestry, and forest garden design methodologies. Together, agroforestry and forest gardening, mimic woodland structures to provide the most stable ecosystems for our temperate climate. From this pilot site, projects will be scaled up across the UK. The project has been developed very closely with forestry commission and North Yorkshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team.

About the Role

The Head of Agroforestry is a new and crucial role to help RegenFarmCo with its ambition to create sustainable and climate resilient food systems for all our commercial partners and beyond. We are looking to appoint an individual who has previous experience as an Agroforestry lead, with specific experience in designing and running agroforestry systems and programmes. The successful candidate will embrace the principles of design thinking, in the creation of new agroforestry solutions for UK farmers and have the tools to guide projects to successful outcomes. 

The role will initially focus on North Yorkshire; therefore, it is critical that the candidate will be able to spend significant time there, at the BioHub Project. Over time the activity will extend across the UK. 

 Candidate Profile

 We welcome and will consider applications from the following backgrounds,    

 -       Academics with extensive theoretical knowledge of agroforestry and mixed farming, including silvopasture and silvoarable systems. Candidates must have a genuine desire to apply their research, becoming a full-time practitioner.  

 -       Land use expert or agricultural advisor with agroforestry experience. 

 -       Farmer or grower with less of a traditional education with extensive practical knowledge of food system design, not limited to permaculture, bio-farming and mixed-farming, including agroforestry and forest gardening. 

General responsibilities:

 ·       Design, implementation and delivery of agroforestry systems and programmes within a framework of adaptive management in a manner that is climate smart 

·       Create an agroforestry and forest gardening implementation team 

·       Work with agroforestry specialists to research successful innovations

·       Use the results of the agroforestry pilot to inform decision making and shape the agroforestry programmes as an essential part of the RegenFarmCo strategy

·       Manage agroforestry pilots

·       Manage the country-based agroforestry field teams, including creating quality training materials, developing work plans, reviewing work deliverables, and providing value-added feedback

·       Analyse and communicate findings

·       Set up indicators and data management systems to inform decision-making

·       Work with associated bodies to ensure all our farms are certified.

 Biohub project responsibilities include the following:

·       To coordinate the regenerative and biodiversity improvements to the Biohub 37Ha site, in line with completed assessments and tests  

·       Work closely with Yorkshire Water farming programmes, initiatives, and farmers 

·       Support the development of 15 ha of traditional woodland with the forestry commission

·       Establish, develop, and manage a tree nursery

·       Organise, plan and manage the planting of the trees 

·       Lead on the monitoring and evaluation of the impact and outcomes of the programme 

·       Liaise with the Volunteer Co-ordinator to engage the community where possible and appropriate 

·       Create and support the execution of a volunteering program with our partners farms.

 Skills and Competencies:

 ·       Five years + experience managing agroforestry programmes, preferably including a background in scaling and expanding food and agricultural programmes

·       Experience in designing, developing or implementing, and delivering agroforestry programmes/experiments in the UK or a similar climate

·       A strong understanding of whole system design theory, advanced agroforestry knowledge, permaculture, bio-farming and mixed-farming.

·       An excellent understanding of cover crops and rotation in both silvopasture and silvoarable farming systems  

·       A strong understanding of “systems” trees, shrubs and plants (dynamic accumulators) 

·       An understanding of ecosystem engineering as part of the farm catchment approach

·       Extensive knowledge and understanding of DEFRA & Innovate UK funding themes, streams and opportunities 

·       Well connected with food, farming and agricultural networks, organisations and people  

·       A strong team player and ability to work with diverse individuals and organisations

·       An ability to lead and inspire others

·       Experienced in accomplishing change management strategies and comfortable with communication/marketing tools to foster the required change

·       Experience in community development/organising and participatory methods

·       Excellent oral and written communication skills in English 

·       History of writing funding bids, research, and extension documents 

·       Good IT, administrative and documentation skills 

·       Well organised; able to prioritise, meet deadlines, multitask and to work under pressure

·       Experienced in project management, development, and co-ordination

·       Experience in land management, conservation and/or farming 

·       Practical skills and experience e.g., putting infrastructure in place, maintenance, and repairs

·       Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

·       Full clean UK driving licence.

 Personal:

·       Enjoys being outdoors in all weather conditions

·       Savours physically challenging work

·       Aware and understanding of the challenges within the farming sector

·       Enthusiasm and dedication to sustainable food issues

·       Enthusiasm and dedication for organic and regenerative food growing

·       Ability to motivate, encourage and get the best out of individuals

·       Flexibility to work in various work conditions

·       Drive and enthusiasm to meet set objectives 

·       A high degree of personal motivation and initiative, the ability to work under pressure, whilst working cooperatively in a team environment.

 Qualifications/Education:

·       At least seven years in food, farming, agriculture sectors (essential)

·       Excellent understanding of contemporary agroforestry research methods (essential)

·       Excellent management, team development skills, at least five years’ experience (essential)

·       A background in academia including research (preferable) 

·       Earthworks (preferable)

 Equality Statement

RegenFarmCo and our associated businesses and partners are committed to treating all people equally and with respect, irrespective of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

How to apply

Apply with your up-to-date Curriculum Vitae and cover letter, highlighting why you should be considered for this position and what you will bring to it. Please apply to Dr Vincent Walsh at RegenFarmCo; drvincentwalsh@icloud.com

Interview Information

Three Part Interview.

Zoom meeting. 

In-person meeting.

In-person Presentation. 

Location to be confirmed. 

Closing date

Open until candidate appointed.