Meat & Dairy Farming Standards Manager

About the role

At Yeo Valley, we're more than just an organic dairy company – we're a community rooted in the land, committed to sustainability, and passionate about producing quality food that nurtures people and planet. Yeo Valley Production’s purpose is to Nurture & Nourish People & Planet by Making Great Food the Right Way. Forever. We believe that it is possible to farm in harmony with nature, producing natural, healthy food whilst protecting and restoring the environment.

As we expand and grow our business, you will lead the design and development of farming standards for meat (including beef, lamb and chicken), eggs and dairy. You will work closely with the procurement team to identify and source new meat and dairy raw materials, supporting product innovation in new and existing product categories and ensuring that we partner with suppliers aligned to our farming approach (prioritising animal health and welfare, climate, biodiversity and farming community) and ensuring evidenced progression across our impacts.

Responsibilities

• Establish scalable baseline standards for welfare, antibiotics, climate and nature across all categories
• Partner with the Business Development strategy group and procurement to enable good growth in to new product categories
• Be the key point of contact for colleagues and suppliers for your categories, building strong relationships
• Engage with a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, suppliers, customers and co-owners at all levels
• Lead projects with support from the Regenerative Farming Manager to respond to the needs of our business in enabling good growth and unlocking value
• Support develop of our aims to develop a free range supply chain, carrying out farm visits, collect data and evidence as necessary to ensure that our standards are met
• Support The Regenerative Farming Manager in delivery of wider business projects such as working with academia 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
• Contribute to the ongoing development and evolution of our farming standards

Requirements

Essential: Significant in-depth knowledge of beef and dairy farming with knowledge of a range of farming sectors and the wider food 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

Benefits

• Competitive 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
• Learning and development opportunities