Catchment Officer

Job Title: Catchment Officer – Farming and Land Management
Location Hampshire (a valid UK driving licence is required)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 37, Monday to Friday
Salary: £39-42,000 (depending on skills and experience)

The Environment & Innovation team is at the forefront of Southern Water’s drive to enhance and protect the environment. Deploying the latest innovative solutions and working in partnership with our customers and stakeholders; the portfolio has rapidly expanded from £50million to over £2 billion in the next 10-year period. This is a fast-paced team that is now expanding to deliver a larger programme of sustainable and innovative solutions.

Catchment First is one of the transformational programmes being delivered by our team. This is our commitment to put the wellbeing of the environment and communities at the centre of what we do. Through our projects and partnerships, we protect and maintain natural processes in the landscape, providing clean, fresh drinking water to homes and businesses.

A brand-new position has been created to support delivery of our Catchment First Programme within the Environment & Innovation team as a Catchment Officer for Hampshire.

About the role

As a Catchment Officer, you’ll play a key role enabling land management solutions to secure long-term resilience of our drinking water supplies. On a day-to-day basis this will involve coordinating surveys to understand land management and water quality priorities, supporting on-farm trials, reviewing sites for environmental enhancement and delivering engagement events to raise awareness and enthusiasm for soils, water and natural processes. A key part of the role involves close working with farmers and land managers. Working collaboratively on a series of scientific projects with leading experts and farmer groups to understand the fate of nitrogen and other substances in soils and the water environment.

What you will be responsible for:

• Support and coordinate surveys and monitoring in our drinking water catchments, gathering observation data on land management and drinking water quality priorities in the landscape.
• Maintain survey records on Arc GIS online digital media.
• Support farmer liaison and engagement on key projects and initiatives.
• Deliver and facilitate on farm surveys (such as grain sampling, tissue testing, VESS score) to support our trials and demo activity.
• Support our team at country show events and ploughing matches. Raising the profile of sustainable land management, soil and water interactions.
• Facilitate delivery of soil biology training via local workshops and our environmental education programme for learners of all ages.
• Support grant funding queries and farm visits to review funding proposals.
• Provide regular written content for newsletters, websites and other publications.

What you’ll bring to the role:

We’re looking for candidates with demonstrable interest in the farmed environment, particularly if you have experience:

• Running and attending events, workshops and group meetings.
• Working in the farmed environment or on rural issues.
• Delivering on-farm surveys, for example soils, crops, habitats or water quality monitoring.
• Report writing and presentation skills.
• Data analysis, GIS Mapping and any scientific trials you may have been involved in professionally.

If you have an interest in soil, water and the farmed environment; and if you have experience in farming or environmental management, we’d love to hear from you.