Grazing Officer

Sussex Wildlife Trust; Wiston; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dog allowance

Out of hours pay

Job summary

Sussex Wildlife Trust is seeking a Grazing Officer to join the team based at Wiston Estate. You will help deliver grazing regimes across East and West Sussex, supporting conservation objectives and stock management, including cattle, sheep, goats, and ponies as applicable.

The role involves 35 hours per week on a 7-day rota, with weekend work and out-of-hours duties. Applicants should have practical livestock experience and be prepared for seasonal tasks and asset management in a conservation

Qualifications

• Experience with handling and husbandry of cattle, sheep and other livestock is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Perform daily livestock checks and monitor animal welfare.
• Carry out bedding, feeding and winter care for stock.
• Manage basic animal husbandry tasks including tagging and castration as needed.
• Move stock onto reserves and gather for sale or return to home farm.
• Lead lambing and calving activities and support breeding operations.
• Work with tractors and trailer movements, including towing and maintenance.

Skills

Livestock husbandry

Tractor operation

Wildlife conservation knowledge

Job description

Job Title: Grazing Officer

Location: Wiston Estate

Salary: £26,475 plus dog allowance and out of hours annual payment and call out

Contract Type: Fixed term contract - 12 months

Hours: 35 hours per week over a 7 day rota

Closing Date: 5th October 2026

Interview Date: 12th October 2026

Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT)

To deliver our new strategic plan - Our Wild Sussex - we need people with bold and innovative ideas to help us to achieve our ambitions for local wildlife and wild places.

We are committed to restoring and protecting at least 30% of Sussex land and sea for nature, inspiring one in four people to take meaningful action for wildlife, building a stronger more inclusive and diverse organisation and becoming a net zero and climate resilient organisation.

We are looking for the best and most talented people to join our team and help us deliver this exciting and ambitious strategy. We are keen to hear from you even if you don't have all the skills and experience outlined in the Job Description but have the potential to grow into a role.

We particularly welcome applications from people currently underrepresented in the conservation sector, including disabled people, people from Black, Asian and other ethnically diverse backgrounds, people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, non-graduates, and people from geographically diverse communities. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

The Role

You will be part of a team that manages Sussex Wildlife Trust's livestock and delivers grazing on reserves across East and West Sussex.

SWT currently runs nearly 300 head of cattle, 1000 head of sheep and a small group of goats and ponies, all of which help deliver conservation objectives across our nature reserves. We are continuing to increase the quality and number of stock available to deliver our conservation objectives, as well as developing a sustainable grazing operation that is capable of being financially self-sufficient.

We block calve outdoors in the spring and this year will be putting 120 cows to the bull, we run this consecutively with lambing which we operate both an indoor and outdoor system, this year we have just lambed nearly 1000 ewes. A major part of the role therefore will be to carry out lambing and calving and all the husbandry that goes along with it, from tagging and castrating right up to giving the ewes and cows an MOT before bulling/tupping.

The role will include daily livestock checks, bedding up and feeding in the winter, carrying out basic animal husbandry, moving stock out onto reserves and gathering again at the end of the season ready for sale or to come back to the "home" farm. We currently use tractors on a daily basis for carting animals, feeding, bedding up and mucking out. A knowledge of and experience using tractors and tractor mounted equipment would be desirable. As well as experience towing trailers on and off road, both with the tractor and 4x4. Please note this role is 35 hours a week and is on a rota with the rest of the team to provide 7 day a week cover. You will be required to work one weekend in four, having the Friday before and the Friday after your weekend off, as well as responding to out of hours calls and emergencies where necessary.

Access to a working dog able to confidently work sheep and or cattle is desirable but not essential. There is a financial remuneration package available for this and out of hours work.

The Person

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