Area Manager
Home-based (working across Cumbria and South West Scotland)

About Us

First Milk is a wholly British farmer-owned dairy co-operative with a vision to create value for members by delivering long-term prosperity in the form of success, profitability, security and wellbeing.

Owned by the family farms that supply us with milk and invest capital in the business, we produce award-winning cheddar, regional cheeses and dairy ingredients, as well as marketing fresh raw milk to many other UK dairy processors.

We work together as one team, with a relentless focus on efficiency and quality, to deliver competitive total returns to our farmer members. We put customers at the heart of our business, creating value through strong, long-term partnerships.

We’re currently looking for an Area Manager to join our team on a permanent, full-time basis, working Monday to Friday, working 9am to 5pm with some out of hours cover required.

The Benefits

- Competitive salary
- Pension

If you have experience of working with farmers and dairy producers and an excellent grasp of agricultural issues, this is an exciting opportunity to join our growing, co-operative organisation.

In this key role, you’ll be pivotal in driving the success and prosperity of our farmer members, making a lasting impact on both the local community and the wider dairy industry.

Not only this, but you’ll enjoy the flexibility of home-working, giving you the autonomy to manage your time effectively whilst maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

So, if you want to join our herd and help us support local farmers and shape the future of the dairy industry, read on and apply today!

The Role

As an Area Manager, you will work with farmers across Cumbria and the South West of Scotland to provide support and ensure they can consistently meet the requirements of our organisation.

Focusing on regenerative farming, you will seek to encourage and assist members to become more regenerative, maximising returns and its effect on the environment around us.

Acting as the external face of First Milk, you’ll liaise with members and stakeholders to enhance their confidence and provide technical support to increase the supply of quality milk, enabling us to deliver for our customers.

You’ll develop and implement an effective farm recruitment and retention strategy to recruit new members and enable specialist milk pools to deliver customer demands, building strong, sustainable business relationships.

Additionally, you will:

- Build and maintain a database of non-member dairy farmers within the region
- Promote the benefits of membership and ensure member's needs are met
- Minimise levels of resignations
- Perform Farm Business, Regenerative Farming or similar reviews
- Monitor milk quality in the region and milk quality appeals
- Manage supplier relationships
 
About You

To be considered as an Area Manager, you will need:

- Experience of working with farmers and dairy producers
- Detailed knowledge and awareness of agricultural issues, especially in the dairy farming sector
- A high-level of understanding of milk production methods
- Excellent communication skills
- Good negotiation, engagement and influencing skills
- A full, valid driving licence

Other organisations may call this role Area Support Manager, Membership Manager, Area Customer Experience Manager, Agricultural Area Manager, Farming Area Manager, Territory Manager, or Regional Manager.

Webrecruit and First Milk Ltd are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re ready to churn out success in an udderly engaging new role as an Area Manager, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.