Pesticide Usage Surveyor

Fera is recruiting a new member of staff to join the team delivering the national Pesticide Usage Surveys (PUS). Fera has been collating data on the use of pesticides in the UK from across Great Britain for almost 60 years and continues to do so. The PUS team gather the data, produce published reports and create powerful, accessible databases available online and directly from Fera. Surveys are undertaken on a 4-year rolling programme and cover arable crops, outdoor vegetable crops, grassland and fodder crops, edible protected crops, soft fruit, orchards, potato storage, aerial sprays and amenity uses. The team also participates in research projects and undertakes analysis of the extensive PUS databases we hold. The work is commissioned by the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) of the Health and Safety Executive.

This post would suit a well organised person with practical experience of the agricultural and horticultural industry, those with an interest in current on-farm practices and an interest in data collection and management.

**Job title**:
Pesticide Usage Surveyor

**The post holder would be expected to**
- Conduct follow-up work associated with individual pesticide usage surveys, for example obtaining data on seed treatment and information on potato storage.
- Assist with data entry, and the validation and analysis of the data after transfer to the PUS databases;
- Assist in the production of reports for submission to the Expert Committee on Pesticides;
- Carry out preparation and background work for future pesticide usage surveys, including agronomic notes.
- The post holder may also be asked to participate in other work conducted by the Land Use and Sustainability Team.

Experience of working in an area of agriculture and horticulture, either from the practical or R&D side of the industry, experience of obtaining co-operation from farmers and growers would be beneficial.

**About the team**:
This vacancy is within the Land Use and Sustainability team in the Plant Protection Programme

The Land Use and Sustainability team has long-standing expertise in liaising with farmers and industry for surveillance and data gathering purposes and collation and analysis of the data. Our work is strongly supported by expertise in agriculture, ecology, economics, spatial analysis and geographic information systems

**About Fera**

**Fera **are part of Capita Plc, a leading UK provider of technology enabled business services. We’re supporting and improving the lives of millions of people every day and we can only do this with the right people in place, working towards a shared goal. We encourage an open, honest working environment where everyone can be true to themselves and people are valued for their differences. We’re always challenging each other to learn and improve, because we know when we work together, we can deliver better outcomes. We work across such a huge range of businesses and sectors, that you’ll have the opportunity to grow and develop your career in any number of directions.

**What’s in it for you?**
- A competitive basic salary of up to £25,000 (Depending on experience)
- 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
- The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
- Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks and plenty more
- Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle - from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
- Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform

**What we hope you’ll do next**:
**To view our Covid-19 and process adjustments information, please visit the Capita Careers site.**

**Equal Opportunities**

**Location**:
York
,

United Kingdom

**Time Type**:
Full time

**Contract Type**:
Fixed Term (Fixed Term)