JOB DESCRIPTION

Position: Farming and Rural Skills Senior Educator

Reports to: Farming and Rural Skills Education Manager

Salary: Dependent on Experience

Location: Dumfries House, Cumnock

The King’s Foundation

The King’s Foundation is a charity founded by King Charles III and was first formed in 1990. Inspired by the vision and values of His Majesty, the Foundation focuses on creating better communities where people, places and the planet can coexist in harmony.

The charity offers education courses for over 15,000 students annually, health and wellbeing programmes for nearly 2,000 people every year, and spearheads placemaking and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas to revitalise communities and historic buildings.

The King’s Foundation is headquartered at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and acts as custodian of other historic Royal sites including the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland, and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, which are open to visitors. The Foundation also carries out its work at educational and cultural hubs in London, based at The King’s Foundation School for Traditional Arts in Shoreditch, Trinity Buoy Wharf on the River Thames and the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea.

The work of The King’s Foundation is underpinned by our Founder His Majesty The King’s philosophy of harmony: that by understanding the balance, the order and the relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a more sustainable future. We have a diverse and inclusive workplace, creating a welcoming, safe space for everyone. This means that every member of our team can bring their whole self to work. We encourage qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply to and join The King’s Foundation and bring their valuable skills and experiences.

The Foundation is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees, including the provision of workplace adjustments. We do not tolerate discrimination based on protected characteristics (age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership) or other difference such as socio-economic background or social origin.

The Role:

The King’s Foundation education programmes are designed to be flexible and adaptable to the ongoing needs of industry and the planet with the opportunity to develop innovative and exciting workshops to fill current gaps. This role will suit individuals who are keen to make a positive impact on education approaches and are interested in innovation in curriculum delivery.

THE KING'S FOUNDATION

The post holder will be responsible for overseeing delivery from The MacRobert Centre, under the direction of the Education Manager, helping to realise the vision of The King’s Foundation and support the industry skills gap at local and national level.

The farming and rural skills curriculum sets out to introduce learners to best practice in regenerative farming approaches, animal welfare, and creating a sustainable food supply chain.

The MacRobert Centre has two large teaching classrooms which double as small conference rooms as well as a well-equipped outdoor byre. The adjacent Valentin’s Farm is home to rare breeds to allow a broad teaching resource. A mix of learners and programmes can run concurrently due to the size of the centre and a flexible approach to teaching is required.

The post holder will be able to create a positive learning environment to pass on farming and rural skills and knowledge to young people 14+, adult new entrants and those already in the profession. Due to the holistic nature of our education strategy, the post holder will have the opportunity to work with colleagues, on interdisciplinary programmes across the curriculum suite.

Key Tasks

Specific Duties will include:

• Delivering farming and rural skills workshops and activities to a variety of age groups and abilities.

Designing and evaluating workshops and activities that are in line with the aims and vision of the curriculum area and wider foundation, including Learning for Sustainability and the vision of Harmony in line with The King’s Foundation mission.

Keeping up to date with current practices and policies in FRS education and industry, through networking, CPD and personal development.

Assisting the FRS Education Manager with compiling evidence for annual reports and newsletters for directors, funders and partners.

• Overseeing and maintaining effective administrative systems, policies and procedures to provide an organised and efficient structure for the delivery of programmes and communication within the FRS curriculum area including coordinating timetable of delivery and utilising existing booking systems and attendance records.

Liaising with external partners and consultants utilised in the delivery of education programmes.

• Preparing and maintaining equipment and facilities to a high standard prior to and following education activity, monitoring and requesting stock as appropriate.

Carrying out and reviewing risk assessments for education activities, following procedures for first aid and incident reporting.

Furthering the wider education work of The King’s Foundation through contribution to team meetings, joint education activity and events and cross curricular CPD sessions.

• Overseeing quality control of programmes within an assigned remit.

Person Specification

The essential skills, knowledge and experience required are:

• Relevant HND or degree level qualification combined with strong industry experience.

Farm animal handling experience (cattle, sheep, poultry, pigs)

Knowledge of the future of the UK wide FRS sector including skills shortage, growth industries and how these factors impact employers and future employees.

Knowledge of the education and training environment in relationship to schools and further education, as well as alternative routes into farming and rural skill careers.

• Good understanding of regenerative and sustainable farming approaches.

Experience working within education related activities with a track record for innovation and enthusiasm.

Strong interpersonal, communication, and organisational skills.

• Ability to work proactively and flexibly to achieve set objectives.

• The ability to work well within a team, maintaining positive relationships with the wider education and estate staff.

Ability to create high quality presentations/visual aids. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office software (e.g. PowerPoint, Excel and Word, Windows, Adobe).

• Able to represent The King’s Foundation professionally at all times.

Other:

• The post will be based at Dumfries House Estate, The MacRobert FRS Training Centre, Cumnock with the requirement to travel on occasion.

Your working hours will be 37.5 hours per week, linked to the target audience needs and will include weekend and evening working at regular intervals in line with curriculum needs.

• You must have the legal right to work in the UK.

This post is considered to be a regulated activity therefore any offer will be subject to a satisfactory disclosure check with the Disclosure Scotland.

Applications: Please submit a cover letter and CV (please note one A4 page maximum each for CV and letter) to Gordon Watson, email address: - hr.recruitment@kings-foundation.org and request an application form.

Closing date for applications: Wednesday 5th of August 2026 at 3pm.

Applications will be reviewed on receipt, and interviews may take place before the deadline.