Assistant Farm Manager - Watton in Driffield

Noble Foods is a family-owned company which began in 1920 and includes successful milling, poultry, agriculture, and consumer foods businesses. Within this, Noble Foods owns several successful brands, including the UK's biggest free-range egg brand the Happy Egg Co., Big & Fresh, and Purely Organic. In a recent survey by Best Companies, we were rated as one of the Top 10 companies to work for in the Food and Drink industry.

The Assistant Farm Manager supports the Farm Manager in the daily operations of the egg-laying poultry farm, helping to ensure high standards of bird health, welfare, and egg production. This role involves assisting with flock management, coordinating team activities, monitoring farm performance data, and ensuring compliance with welfare and biosecurity standards. The Assistant Farm Manager plays a key role in maintaining smooth farm operations and supporting staff to achieve production targets.

Key Accountabilities of the role:

• Flock Management and Egg Production: Support the monitoring of hen health, welfare, and productivity. Assist in tracking daily egg production, mortality, feed intake, and weight gain. Help ensure optimal lighting, ventilation, temperature, and environmental conditions within poultry houses. Assist with the implementation of vaccination and disease prevention programmes.
• Biosecurity and Animal Welfare: Support the enforcement of biosecurity procedures to reduce disease risk. Ensure team adherence to animal welfare guidelines and farm standards. Help maintain hygiene and cleanliness across poultry houses and farm facilities.
• Feed and Nutrition Management: Assist with monitoring feed deliveries, storage, and usage. Support checks on feed quality and ensure correct rations are followed for each production phase.
• Team Leadership and Development: Assist with organising staff rotas and daily task allocation. Help train team members on farm procedures, hygiene, animal handling, and safety. Support the Farm Manager with staff performance monitoring and skill development.
• Record Keeping and Reporting: Support the collection and maintenance of accurate records (egg production, flock performance, feed usage, etc.). Use farm management software and manual logs to support reporting and KPI tracking.
• Facility and Equipment Management: Assist in monitoring the condition of farm equipment and reporting any issues promptly. Support preventative maintenance activities to minimise downtime.

Health & Safety responsibilities:

• Ensure that the team members follow the health and safety policies and procedures.
• Identify and assess the health and safety risks in the work area and implement control measures.
• Investigate and report any hazards, incidents, or injuries to a manager.
• Provide the team members with the necessary personal protective equipment and clothing.
• Monitor and review the health and safety performance of the team and take corrective actions.
• Conduct health and safety training and induction for the team members.

Social & Environmental responsibilities:

• Ensure that your team members understand and comply with the company's policies and guidelines on sustainability, ethics, diversity and inclusion, and health and safety.
• Provide feedback, coaching, and recognition to your team members on their social and environmental performance and development.
• Identify and implement initiatives to improve the social and environmental outcomes of your team's work and contribute to the company's strategy and reporting.

Skills, Knowledge & experience:

• Effective team coordination and support, with the ability to motivate and guide staff in daily farm operations.
• Strong observational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, supporting decision-making on flock health, production performance, and operational issues.
• Working knowledge of modern layer farm systems and equipment, with the ability to monitor performance, identify issues, and escalate as needed.
• Clear and confident communication skills, both verbal and written, to ensure accurate reporting, team understanding, and effective information flow.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and support smooth farm operations.
• Understanding of animal welfare, biosecurity, and compliance standards, with the ability to enforce procedures within the team.
• Basic IT literacy, including the ability to use farm management software and digital reporting tools.

Personal attributes:

• Works together with their team and regularly coaches/mentors team members and shares knowledge and experience with the team.
• Takes ownership for setting clear expectations and objectives for their team.
• Is courageous and makes bold decisions when they know it is needed to solve a problem.
• Is action orientated, agile and can change plans to stay on track and deliver against objectives.
• Ensures that team members show respect to each other and the wider business.
• Strives for excellence and demonstrates a willingness to learn and develop.

What can we offer you?

• Free hot drinks on shift
• Service Awards
• Enhanced paternity and maternity
• Free life insurance
• Enhanced Sick Pay Scheme
• Access to Perkbox with a variety of discounts including a monthly freebie from Greggs or Café Nero
• Discounted eggs and chicken
• A Celebration day after 1 years service enjoy an extra day off to celebrate a life event, such as your birthday
• Access to DigiCare + - Annual Health Check, Digital GP Consultations, Nutritional Consultations, Second Health Opinion and Mental Health Consultations.
• Discounted Gym Memberships
• Free Eye Test every two years
• Discounted mobile phone contracts
• Share in our success with the People Partnership - after 6 months service you will be eligible for a yearly bonus
• Additional Allowances for First Aiders and Mental Health First Aiders
• Wellness programme
• Employee Charity Matching Scheme

If you consider yourself to require reasonable adjustments to any part of our recruitment process, we invite you to share those requirements with us when completing your application. We will make every effort to ensure your needs are met to provide a fair and transparent process of assessment.