Job Profile: Principal Agroforestry Researcher

Name: Will Simonson

3 people standing in a green field in conversation, 2 wearing hats and 2 wearing wellies — Will on the right, meeting an agroforestry farmer (Organic Research Centre)

Employer: Organic Research Centre

Location: Home based

Job Responsibilities

I manage a team and research programme on agroforestry, which is all about integrating trees into farm systems for the economic and ecological benefits they can bring. The work includes developing funding proposals and implementing projects aimed at understanding the benefits and challenges of agroforestry and managing trade-offs and synergies in its practice. As a team we do a lot of knowledge exchange activities, making research results accessible to farmers and other stakeholders to encourage the adoption of agroforestry in the UK and Europe.

people in a summer meadow amongst trees concentrating on the ground — Some fieldwork involving drilling a borehole in an agroforestry field in order to monitor its water table (Organic Research Centre)

Majority of time is spent doing: Project management and research. As a team we employ a range of different approaches, from literature reviews/synthesis, to field-based trials, surveys, interviews and workshops, modelling and – increasingly – AI. Managing research projects also comes with the admin demands of budget management, reporting, and coordination with partner organisations. We sometimes adopt what is known as the “living labs” approach: bringing together a network of stakeholders in a particular geographical area to co-design, with the research community, solutions to challenges faced in farming and the environment.

Time is spent mainly indoors. Much of the work is desk based, but fieldwork is also undertaken on commercial farms and demonstration sites around the country and I travel for meetings with colleagues and partners and attend conferences and other big events.

Fieldwork is seasonal, and so are various important knowledge exchange opportunities. For example, there are a number of important events in our summer calendar including the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival, Agroforestry Open Weekend, Agroforestry Show, and National Organic Conference.

3 people sitting on a stage in front a large display. One person is talking on a microphone — Will speaking about agroforestry at an agricultural conference called CropTec (Organic Research Centre)

Qualifications needed

I have a PhD and Masters degree. The latter is a minimum qualification for most of the research positions on our team, and needs to be in a relevant discipline.

Skills needed: Research training and skills, including field data collection and analysis, and workshop facilitation. Scientific and popular writing skills are also important, and presentation skills help for the knowledge exchange events.

Advice to anyone looking at similar roles

Look out for any opportunity to gain relevant experience as a volunteer or intern, for example over long summer breaks while at Uni, or in the early years after graduating.