Trial Officer (M/F)
- Sutterton, UK
- Research
- Permanent
You have proven working experience in the establishment and maintenance of open field trials, including cabbage? Do you enjoy evaluating new varieties? You are enthusiastic about contributing to the success of agricultural operations within an international environment?
Keen to learn more about the Trial Officer position we have available?
What will you do?
As a member of the Research team, you will play an important role in the management of trials as well as the evaluation of our new varieties.
What will you do?
Cabbage trial management:
- Establish, maintain and evaluate small scale cabbage storage trials at our station
in the UK and with external growers in North European countries (Poland, Germany etc.). - Ensure all activities are completed in the time frame set by the breeder based in Japan.
- Evaluate collected data and prepare reports; communicate results accurately and precisely back to Japan.
Participate in various agricultural operations:
- Assist other brassica breeding programs at Sakata UK with hybrid evaluations and data entry.
- Give support to local team in UK in field activities and research trial evaluations of other crops.
Seed Shipment & Inventory Management:
- Manage the inventory in the seed room.
- Prepare seed for trials, pathology tests and for sending to other breeding stations;
Organise seed shipment when necessary.
Where will you work?
You will be based at the UK office (Sutterton, Lincolnshire), employing 17 people.
You report hierarchically to the locally based cauliflower breeder, based on the station, and you support our cabbage breeding team based in Japan.
Your trials will be mainly at the UK office. However, periodically it will be necessary to work away from the main site and this may require overnight stays within Northern Europe.
The work combines both field presence and office work. You will work in an international and multi-cultural environment. You will collaborate with pathology, biotechnology, marketing, sales, seed production and QA teams in other Sakata subsidiaries.
Do you fit this profile ?
- You have an agricultural/horticultural qualification and 1-3 years’ relevant experience or more than 5 years working trial management or similar experience, preferably in the vegetables/seeds sector.
- You master horticultural growing techniques for brassica crops in field and you can identify brassica pests and diseases.
- You enjoy working with brassica crops and open field work no matter the weather conditions.
- You can manage the physical demands of cutting and harvesting cabbage for prolonged periods during the evaluation.
- You are a highly disciplined professional with excellent organisational and planning skills and are able to deal with peaks of activity, both busy and quiet.
- You demonstrate high flexibility and reliability.
- You are capable to adapt yourself to different cultures and environments and you manage your day-to-day business using very good teamwork.
- You are fluent in English (reading, writing and speaking), other languages skills (like Polish, German) are welcomed.
- You are proficient MS-Office and possess a Category B driving license; Ideally, you also have licenses for other types of vehicles.
- You need to have a valid UK work permit.
Want to know more about the company?
You will be part of Sakata Vegetables EMEA team, part of the Sakata Group.
What makes Sakata different is that while being a key international player in the seed business, the company has retained a family spirit. This means 3 things:
- it’s a people-oriented company where it is easy to communicate at all levels
- you will work closely with your colleagues and customers and will never be far from the fields
- as a result of its Japanese origins, you'll be working for a stable company with an emphasis on long-term culture.
What are the next steps?
- Apply by clicking below.
- Get your first interview with Rory + Take.
- Get your second interview with Stuart + Mélanie.