Executive Liaison To Ceo

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) is a growing organisation for farmers, led by nature friendly farmers across the UK.

We support farmers on their nature friendly farming journeys and demonstrate to policy makers and the wider public what farmers can do to help nature, the environment and climate whilst still producing plentiful quality produce. Farmers are key to addressing the climate crisis and biodiversity decline; urgent policy support is needed to take nature friendly farming to scale.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work closely with the CEO to bring about really positive change in the farming sector at a pivotal moment, when we have the chance to make a significant impact on the climate and nature.

About the role

• Facilitate discussions on nature friendly farming for the NFFN CEO when he attends meetings e.g. with government figures such as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, events and conferences, preparing briefs on key people and topics for discussion with a number of government and farming sector organisations.
• Monitoring external and internal policy developments, NFFN positions (from NFFN Head of Policy) and stakeholder positions.
• Be accountable for effective management and oversight of meetings and the relevant committees and advisory panels the CEO sits upon, including: collating papers, managing agendas, taking notes and organising follow-up discussions and meetings.
• To provide necessary support to the CEO in their day to day influencing work at high levels, as well as with the delivery of strategic objectives of the organisation.

Responsibilities

• High level coordination of formal and complex meetings, initiate/produce documentation for meetings and key stakeholders.
• Produce agendas and papers, taking minutes and/or action notes as requested.
• Research and provide background information and briefings for each meeting as appropriate.
• Undertake horizon scanning and intelligence gathering to ensure the organisation keeps up to date with and responds to external developments.
• To support the CEO with forward planning, preparation and proofreading, presentations and briefings communications.
• Power mapping of stakeholder engagement and strategic prioritisation support.
• Build and manage stakeholder relationships.
• Provide internal briefings to the Senior Leadership Team.
• Organise media appearances and event attendance.
• Attend and support CEO at high-level events, such as parliamentary events, and other advocacy opportunities.
• Manage and prioritise incoming and outgoing key correspondence, demonstrating high levels of discretion and confidentiality, responding to some as instructed in the CEO’s absence.
• Social media support as required.
• Oversee the CEO’s diary commitments.
• To undertake any other responsibilities or tasks that the CEO believes is necessary for the effective running of the CEO’s office and responsibilities.

Key Contacts and Working Relationships

Internal

• CEO
• UK Chair of the Board
• Chief Operating Officer
• Senior Leadership Team
• Policy staff
• Administrative Team

External

• MPs
• Special Advisors
• Government Officials
• Partner organisation executives

Person Specification

Essential qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent

Essential skills and qualities

• Experience working in a parliamentary or policy setting, ideally in the farming or environment sector
• Strong interest in politics and a good grasp of UK parliamentary procedure
• Passionate about the benefits of nature friendly farming and the aims of the NFFN
• Manage a diverse workload efficiently and effectively
• Experience working as part of a fast-moving and high-performing team
• Strong experience in stakeholder engagement and influencing
• Strong organisational skills
• Flexible, with experience working independently and to tight timescales
• Excellent research and analytical skills
• Computer literate with working knowledge of G Suite, Microsoft Packages
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Able to form and maintain relationships with a wide range of senior stakeholders
• Able to maintain confidentiality when dealing with highly sensitive or contentious information

Desirable qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience

• A good understanding of the agriculture policy area and associated biodiversity and environmental issues
• Experience of political monitoring
• Experience in preparing briefings and note-taking at executive level
• Project management skills
• Full UK driving licence
• Confident using social media platforms
• Experience using Trello

To apply for this role, please complete the application form found on our website https://www.nffn.org.uk/news/hiring-executive-liaison-to-ceo  outlining out how your experience matches the job description, and send to info@nffn.org.uk