Sampling area: Co Armagh, Co Derry/Londonderry, Co Fermanagh, Co Tyrone
The Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) was launched by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and is managed by Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). It is a four year, £37m significant new initiative aimed at improving soil nutrient health and estimating farm carbon stocks across Northern Ireland. The scheme will see the collection of soil samples from approximately 700,000 of Northern Ireland’s agricultural fields. RPS has been hired by AFBI to undertake the soil sampling over a four year period from 2022 to 2026 with peak soil sampling to be undertaken during winter months November to January. Approximately 200 people will be recruited by RPS in the coming months to be soil samplers, with the main sampling period commencing in October 2024.
We’re seeking Soil Sampling Technicians to work on a full time or part time basis in this exciting scheme to enable efficient and sustainable crop production. The roles will be based in counties Armagh, Derry/Londonderry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The sampling period will be approximately 22 weeks (mid-October 2024 to the end of March 2025).
To apply for a role you must be available to work a minimum of 3 days per week.
You will be working as a member of a large RPS team collecting soil samples in farms primarily in Zone 3 with a limited number of roles available in Zone 2 (refer to map in the attached job description). Work will be site based in rural agricultural environments. Full training, support and personal protective equipment will be provided for suitable candidates.
Brief Job Description
Each Soil Sampling Technician will be part of a soil sampling team led by an experienced Team Leader and will be provided with a ruggedised mobile device which will be loaded with Arc Field Maps, base mapping and their field sample allocations. On site, the Soil Sampling Technician will navigate to their allocated fields for sampling using Arc Field Maps on their mobile device. In each field, you will be required to take a minimum of 32 shallow soil samples at equal distances across a W transect with a supplied soil corer whilst recording a GPS track on the mobile device. Soil Sampling Technicians will be responsible for bagging and labelling the soil samples.
#J-18808-Ljbffr