Organic Farming Standards Manager

So, what will I be doing?

At Yeo Valley, we're about more than just making great food – we're here to Nurture & Nourish People & Planet by Making Great Food the Right Way. Forever. As a co-owned business, we invest in our people, encourage growth, and believe in doing things properly. We manufacture over 25% of the UKs packaged yoghurt, created with passion and a stellar reputation, we are known for our commitment to organic farming, sustainability and animal welfare.

An opportunity has come up to join the Responsible Business Team as an Organic Farming Standards Manager. In this position you will lead the relationship with our organic dairy farmers, working in partnership with them to implement our progressive and ambitious regenerative organic farming standards.

We are looking for someone with a background or deep understanding of dairy farming who also has the ability to build strong meaningful relationships with a variety of stakeholders and gather the evidence to prove the benefits of regenerative organic farming. Communication is at the heart of this role and will involve talking to groups on farm walks and through presentations.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Be the key point of contact with our organic farmers, building strong relationships and ensuring our high standards are met across the pillars of animal health & welfare, climate, biodiversity, and the farming community. This includes regular farm visits and engagement.
• Support our ability to prove that regenerative organic farming is carbon positive by coordinating data collection and interpretation from farms through third party organisations, across all four pillars.
• Co-ordinate events and meetings for farmers in our network to enable knowledge sharing within our groups and with external experts and advisors, driving increased adoption of regenerative practices and enhancing ecosystem services.
• Support The Regenerative Farming Manager in delivery of wider business projects to prove the benefits of our farming approach.
• Communicate our project work, data, and evidence to diverse audiences through presentations or farm tours to showcase our brand and business. This will include co-owners, customers, and other external stakeholders.
• Contribute to the ongoing development and evolution of our dairy farming standards.
  
  

Sounds interesting, what do I need?

Essential

• Significant in-depth knowledge of dairy farming and the wider food and farming industry.
• Ability to communicate confidently and clearly.
• Ability to form meaningful relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience of project management with multiple priorities
• Comfortable presenting or guiding people to communicate important concepts and narratives.
• Ability to develop knowledge in self and others.
  
  

Desirable

• Higher learning qualification
• Previous practical experience across a range of farming systems
• Data Analysis and interpretation
• Knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions and removals across farming systems.
• Knowledge of organic and regenerative agriculture systems
• Knowledge of on farmland ecology and biodiversity
  
  

Why should I join the family?

We’re independent, British and proud to be making the highest quality yogurts, desserts and ice cream under the Yeo Valley brand and for many of the UK’s major retailers. Operating from four dairies and two logistics centres in Somerset and Devon, we employ over 1900 staff and produce more than 25% of the UK’s packaged yogurt.

We’re sure you don’t need convincing, but there’s a whole host of benefits that we offer including:

• Company Car or Car Allowance
• 25 days holiday allowance
• non-contributory pension scheme
• life cover
• healthcare cash back plan
• cycle to work scheme
• subsidised Yeo Valley products and services
• preferential rates with our partners
• annual bonus (as part of the Employee Benefit Trust based on company performance)
• L&D opportunities; we’re committed to ensuring all of our employees have the chance to grow
  
  

Our closing dates are a guide for when the application window should close, although we may close the advert sooner if we can. So, we recommend you get your application in straight away – and don’t miss the opportunity to join us!

Unfortunately, we’re not able to provide employment sponsorship to candidates at this moment in time.

Please note that Yeo Valley do not accept speculative agency applications; we will only accept applications from preferred suppliers that have been submitted to us via our recruitment portal at the point of instruction.