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What you can expect

When you join the NFU’s Trade and Business Strategy graduate scheme you will be joining a team committed to championing the future of UK farming and food production.

As a graduate you will join a unique network with unrivalled access to policy makers across the EU and UK.

This high‑quality programme will broaden your horizons and give you the knowledge and experience to develop for the good of our members and your own career. You will be provided with:

• A range of placements that will take you across England, Wales and potentially Brussels. You’ll get a two‑week induction programme at our HQ (in Warwickshire), meeting key staff and getting to know more about the NFU before you head out on your first placement.
• A range of assignment briefs that will challenge and develop your skill set and give you the chance to work with and learn from industry specialists.
• Full support and guidance whilst on placement from a placement manager and a mentor.

We like to grow our own talent and previous graduates are now in key positions, advising members, developing policy and building their profiles in an innovative and vital industry.

Previously graduates have taken an active role in aiding the development of NFU policy. This has included:

• Helping to plan our inaugural Environment Conference in Westminster attended by the Defra Minister.
• Developing case studies to demonstrate how the NFU achieves its net zero ambition for farming.
• Taken an active role in key issues such as campylobacter, avian influenza, HS2 and rural flood risk.

Where you will go

We want to provide our graduates with a rounded view of the NFU, so we will arrange placements across as many areas of the organisation as possible. Typically, placements will be based in our HQ (in Warwickshire).

If possible, time in our Brussels, London and regional offices will be arranged to provide a fully national and international perspective on policy making. Placements can last between 3 and 6 months, and you should be prepared to move location with each placement.

How we will support you

You will have one‑to‑one support from your placement manager through the practicalities of the day job.

You will have access to a £2,000 relocation fund, in addition to a starting salary of £24,500 per annum. This relocation fund is specifically on offer to provide some help in that time between placements, where you need to up sticks and move. It can help with the cost of house‑hunting, short‑term accommodation (it is not designed to cover rent) and travel expenses. You should note the fund is available as and when required and would be made available at the time of need against a specific claim.

As a welcome to the NFU you will receive a one‑off graduate entry scheme payment of £1,000.

Your assignments

During the two‑year programme you will:

• Work alongside and be mentored by our policy specialists in Stoneleigh.
• Gain experience from a number of challenging projects across the NFU. These projects will be focused on the NFU’s policy work on international trade, economics and business competitiveness, working with the Trade and Business Strategy team, as well as other teams, including on sector commodities such as arable, dairy, horticulture etc…
• Research and report on current and new challenges facing farm businesses.
• Develop your own networks, make presentations and produce clear and succinct reports for a variety of audiences.
• Learn about the food and farming industry.

In return we are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about the business and trading environment in which farmers operate, who regularly show initiative, who relish meeting new people and tackling new situations, who enjoy researching around a topic and who write and present well to a variety of audiences.