Agronomy Assistant (36175)

Position Title: Agronomy Assistant 

Position Type: Temporary - Full-Time ​

Position Location: Scarborough 

Requisition ID: 36175 

Agronomy Assistant – 5month FTC

About McCain.

At McCain, we’re feeding the world: from French fries to Smiles, we contribute to the important role food plays in people's lives. That’s why we’re dedicated to ensuring our core values—Family, Authentic, Trusted, and Quality—shine through every day. As a privately owned family company with over 60 years of experience, a presence in more than 160 countries, and a global team of 22,000 people, our values and culture are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that we can work together, along with our business and community partners, to bring sustainable growth and positive change today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. Join us and see how you can MAKE IT at McCain!

Why join the McCain family.

• Your Life – we’re here to help you fulfil your potential, flourish, and thrive in work and life.
• Your Success – work alongside passionate individuals who are committed to supporting your career ambitions, drive, and success.
• Your Impact – we want you to make a meaningful, lasting impact for you, for your colleagues, and for the business.

About the role.

You will join our agronomy team to assist in the planning, implementation and reporting of the McCain trial program; consisting of the variety breeding programs, other research and development, regenerative agriculture trials and knowledge transfer (KT) demonstrations.

• Assist in the planning and design of trial layouts. Prepare for the planting, harvesting and storage of the potato trials.
• Carry out the potato planting and harvesting operations. In collaboration with the growers ensure that the growing crop treatments, (e.g. fertilising, irrigation, etc.) are applied effectively and in a timely manner.
• Monitor and record key crop growth, trial performance data and making use of drone mapping technology.
• Assist in the grading and quality assessment of all McCain agronomy trials.
• Collect and analyse potato tuber samples from both field and storage crops to assess yields and quality.
• Liaise with Trial Manager to accurately prepare and report trial data to Variety Development Agronomist and R&D and Regenerative Agriculture Agronomist.
• Responsible for maintaining a safe working environment, assisting Trial Manager with implementation of SOP’s and maintenance of risk assessments.

Leadership Principles.

Our principles, each with related practices, guide our actions across the organisation. Together, they address how McCain interacts with our customers and employees, and how we work as individuals and collectively to find success. While each role adheres to the Leadership Principles, individual roles may focus more on a specific principle or principles.

We are customer obsessed. Customers are our starting point. By understanding their needs and leveraging data and consumer insights, we drive mutual success.

We think big and plan ahead. Through ambition, curiosity, and smart risks, we can accomplish goals, refine processes, and innovate to scale success.

We bring out the best in our people. We create safe spaces for our people so that trust and empowerment come naturally. Inclusion is about listening first, showing humility, and working together.

We act like owners. Together, we clear obstacles and do the work that makes us all successful and proud to be part of McCain.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR.

Preferred Experience

• Hands-on agricultural or horticultural experience (2–3 years): Practical experience in a relevant field is highly valued.
• Familiarity with agricultural machinery and towing: Previous experience operating farm equipment and performing towing tasks would be advantageous.
• Potato crop experience: Experience working directly with potato crops is a plus.

Essential Knowledge & Qualifications

• Relevant degree: A BSc (or equivalent) in Agriculture, Horticulture, Biology, Crop Science, or Environmental Science is required.
• Industry insight: A strong understanding of the agricultural sector and crop production processes is essential.
• Digital proficiency: Confident use of Microsoft Office and general computer literacy is a must.
• Driving licence: A full, clean UK driving licence is required.

Desirable Skills & Certifications

• Equipment certification: Possession of NPTC Sprayer and/or Industrial or Rough Terrain Forklift certificates is desirable.
• Analytical skills: Familiarity with data handling and statistical analysis would be beneficial.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

Although we do encourage you to taste the goods, you’ll be pleased to know we don’t pay you in chips & cheese. For working hard, you’ll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• Company Car
• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Private medical insurance scheme
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• ‘Chips In’ Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long-term development of McCain communities across the globe

WHERE YOU’LL WORK…

Being in the office every single day is a thing of the past. Here at McCain, we champion hybrid working. This means we don’t have a set expectation of exactly when you need to be in the office – however we do encourage our full-time, office-based people to connect in person with others for around half of their working time as that’s the best way for us to build and maintain our connections. Our head office (Customer Experience Centre) is on the outskirts of Scarborough – 1.5 hours away from Leeds City Centre, and about an hour from York. We have lots of colleagues who travel to and from our Experience Centre (even if it is just for a good coffee!) and because hybrid really does mean hybrid at McCain, they get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues when they’re in the office, and balance that with working from home to ensure they get a good life-work balance.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. We see value in ensuring we have a diverse, antiracist, inclusive, merit-based, and equitable workplace.  As a global family-owned company we are proud to reflect the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that diversity drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. 
 
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.
 
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with the Global Privacy Policy 
 

Job Family: Agriculture      
Division: GB Agriculture 
Department: ​New Varieties Agronomist ​
Location(s): GB - United Kingdom : England : Scarborough 

Company: McCain Foods (G.B.) Ltd