• Career structure and qualifications
• Scope of work in the National Trust
• General information about rural surveying as a profession

Why the Trust employs rural surveyors

The National Trust is one of the UK's largest landowners, owning nearly 250,000 ha. Land management is fundamental to its work, which is why rural surveyors have always been at the core of the Trust's staff.

Whilst responsibility for the management of properties and visitor business lies with property managers, rural surveyors continue to have a vital role to play in the care and management of the Trust's vast estate.

The National Trust is one of the most successful conservation charities in Europe and has the overriding purpose of protecting wonderful places for the benefit of the nation. In doing this it cares for a wide variety of properties including some of the most treasured landscapes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland such as the mountains of the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Mournes, or the spectacular coastlines of Cornwall, Pembrokeshire or Antrim. And it cares for a great deal in between.

Most of the Trust's land is dependent on agriculture and farming in one way or another and as such the Trust is concerned about the future of farming and the rural economy. It has adopted a ground-breaking Agriculture Policy for the management of its own land and is deeply involved in the ongoing debate about the future of the countryside through its 'Farming Forward' agenda.

This it is determined to do both by speaking from its own land management experience when trying to influence government and by putting its ideas into practice on the ground, such as its pioneering Whole Farm Plan Initiative which is the key to providing a more sustainable future for many of its holdings.

With a rent-roll of over £25 million per annum generated through more than 12,000 agreements there is no doubt that the Trust depends on the skills and expertise of the rural surveyor. However it takes more than qualifications, which the rural surveyor is well equipped to provide.

It needs people who are forward looking and who have the imagination and vision to help develop innovative solutions to the rural issues we face today.

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Career structure and qualifications

The Trust's portfolio and objectives offer an unparalleled variety of work and experience for the rural surveyor. This extends beyond agricultural estates to residential and commercial property, 'general practice' and legal work, environment, conservation, planning, project management and much more.

Recognising the importance of the rural surveyor in this work the Trust has created a career structure which provides opportunities for rural surveyors at all levels, from trainees entering the profession to directors.

The Trust's Director of Conservation and Land Use Director are both from rural surveying backgrounds and they are supported by a Head of Rural Surveying and Deputy Head of Rural Surveying based centrally.

Each of the Trust's eleven regions has a regional rural surveyor who leads a multi-disciplinary team of land management experts including other rural surveyors, nature conservation advisers, farm & countryside advisers and land & property data officers.

These regional teams include a total of twenty-two senior rural surveyors who are responsible for the provision of a professional estate management service within a defined area of the region. These, in turn, are supported by eighteen rural surveyors who provide professional services and are building their post-qualification experience. The number of these posts in each region varies according to local needs.

The Trust's commitment to the profession is also reflected in the ten positions for assistant rural surveyors, which provide opportunities for graduates to work towards their Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) in order to enter the profession.

These will usually be two-year contracts subject to an approved Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) structured training framework. Entrants who have an accredited degree or diploma course approved by the RICS will then undertake two years of structured training to become fully qualified. (For information about becoming a surveyor- see General Information below or check the RICS website.)

On successful completion of training, help will be given in finding full-time employment opportunities either within the Trust or elsewhere. The short term nature of these posts means that training opportunities are likely to arise fairly frequently.

The Trust's commitment to training does not end at the APC and ample opportunity is given for staff to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to meet changing needs and to further their careers. This includes internal training courses in specialist areas of conservation as well as support for external continuing professional development.

As a charity it is difficult for the Trust to compete on salary alone, however it does provide exciting and challenging opportunities for rural surveyors who really want to make a difference to the care of our countryside. Full salary ranges are set out below. Starting salaries are subject to negotiation but are usually in the lower quarter of the range. In addition the Trust provides a pension scheme, generous holiday allowance and an optional car scheme subject to a 7,000 mile per annum usage threshold.

Full salary ranges (effective from 1 April 2007):

• Regional Rural Surveyor £34,722 - £52,082
• Senior Rural Surveyor £27,403 - £41,105
• Rural Surveyor £23,520 - £34,198
• Assistant Rural Surveyor £19,549 - £28,423

For more information about current vacancies in the National Trust please visit our jobs pages.

If you would like to know more about rural surveying in the National Trust please see 'Scope of work' below. For further information contact: David Evans, Head of Rural Surveying on email: david.evans@nationaltrust.org.uk.

To find out about the origins of the profession, what it involves today and how to become a rural surveyor, please see 'General information about rural surveying as a profession' below.

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Scope of work in the National Trust

The Trust cares for and provides access to more land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland than any other private landowner. This responsibility requires all the traditional skills of the rural surveyor to look after the owner's interests together with an additional emphasis on the conservation of wildlife, historic features, landscapes, environment and buildings, and the important provision of public access. That the National Trust employs over 65 practising rural surveyors is a clear reflection of these property management responsibilities.

Estate management services
Rural surveyors provide a professional service to the Trust's property managers and advice to area managers, directors and committees. They work closely with other specialists dealing with areas such as nature conservation, archaeology, historic buildings, public affairs and information. Some rural surveyors also fulfil the role of property manager, eg where an estate is predominantly agricultural.

Each regional rural surveyor has responsibility for overseeing standards of estate management and co-ordinating professional matters. They are usually members of regional management teams and contribute to the region's planning, budgeting and policy development. Increasingly, regional rural surveyors along with management staff are involved in liaising with other organisations, representing the Trust and promoting its work as a countryside and environmental organisation to external audiences.

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Land use
Agriculture is the predominant land use on the Trust's land, with 60% of its 245,000 hectares let on agricultural tenancies. The Trust works with 700 farmers who rent whole farms and a further 1300 who rent areas of land of varying sizes. The Trust depends upon farming practices for the maintenance of many important habitats and landscapes.

Rural surveyors work closely with farm tenants and are often involved in negotiating tenancies to help achieve the Trust's conservation and access objectives. Where certain farming systems are crucial to this, the Trust looks to underpin the economic viability of its farms, for example, by re-using redundant farm buildings or local marketing initiatives for farm produce.

The Trust cares for a huge variety of buildings and structures including more than 5,000 houses and cottages many of which lie within the sixty villages of which the Trust owns all or part. Finding uses for the buildings the Trust owns can be a challenge in itself, such as finding a working blacksmith for the forge at Pamphill; a joinery business for redundant barns at Cotehele or the letting of a hairdresser's salon in Yorkshire.

Demands upon Trust properties come in many forms and specialist activities often require a licence agreement to be prepared by the rural surveyor. Agreements for rock climbing, paragliding or model plane flying are relatively routine. Agreements for the de-scaling of the White Cliffs of Dover or for communication with alien life forms at Cley Hill in Wiltshire are perhaps more unusual!

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Conservation
Much of the Trust's work involves the restoration or improvement of historic features or habitats and rural surveyors have to have an imaginative approach to find ways to achieve these objectives. The reorganisation of farm tenancies may be necessary to enable a parkland restoration scheme to be carried out or, as at Hartland Moor in Dorset, to allow what is now the largest heathland-restoration scheme in Europe to get under way.

In Kent the regional rural surveyor is looking at how the Trust can find ways to preserve an increasingly rare and threatened example of the hop growing and harvesting process so characteristic of that area.

In a single week he/she may be involved in a wide range of activities from planning improvements to farm effluent systems to considering the impact of a road scheme; from negotiating complex grazing arrangements to contributing to the development of Trust policy. One thing is certain, however, the range of properties the Trust owns, the issues affecting them, and the range of people involved in their care will always ensure that the life of a rural surveyor with the Trust will never be boring.

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General information about rural surveying as a profession

Rural surveying - sometimes called land agency - looks after the interests of owners and occupiers of rural property, and deals with all aspects of the use and occupation of land and buildings. This includes purchases and sales, finding suitable uses and users, setting up the best form of agreement with occupiers and managing or advising on ongoing 'landlord and tenant' relationships.

In fulfilling these functions rural surveyors have to have a thorough understanding of the many external factors which impact upon the management and occupation of land including: legal requirements and processes; town and country planning; rural issues; government policy; environmental considerations and financial and economic factors including sources of funding and grant aid. This understanding is developed through their professional training and development.

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The origins of rural surveying
The profession evolved from that of the estate steward who, in medieval times, was appointed to run the country estates of landowners who were absent dealing with politics, war or pleasure, or who simply did not wish to be involved in the day-to-day management. Traditionally this role would have involved the administration of the estate, the letting of farms and cottages, collecting rents, ensuring repairs were carried out, the management of woodlands and safeguarding the owners sporting rights.

In the UK today more than a third of rural land is occupied under various forms of tenancy or agreement. As the rights and liabilities of the ownership and occupancy of land has become ever more complex, particularly where a landlord/tenant relationship exists, this property management function has developed into a profession which now gives expert advice and property management services to a wide range of clients. Rural surveyors are often employed directly by larger landowners - from county councils, financial institutions and private estates to conservation bodies like the RSPB and the National Trust. Others work for professional firms providing professional advice and services to owners and tenants alike.

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Training
The management of rural estates involves a broad range of skills and expertise. To become a qualified rural surveyor typically requires five years training - sometimes six, including recommended pre-college work experience. Most rural surveyors will first obtain a specialist degree in land management followed by at least two years work-based training to prepare for an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). However there are opportunities for individuals to gain a qualification from a wider academic background (see www.rics.org/careers).

Once qualified they are required by the institution to continue their professional development in a structured way to ensure that they keep up with the ever-changing world of property management. A list of the subjects covered in a rural surveyor's training are set out below. Within this broad grounding there is scope for specialisation and rural surveyors will often develop particular expertise in certain areas of their work.

A rural surveyor's training covers:

• Personal and interpersonal skills
• Business skills
• Data and information management and IT
• Professional practice
• Law including:
  • Land law
  • Landlord and tenant
  • Agricultural
  • Town and country planning
  • Contract and tort
• Mapping and measurement
• Rural estate management
• Agriculture and farm business management
• Accounts, finance, land economics and taxation
• Planning and rural land use
• Rural policy
• Conservation and countryside management
• Recreational land use
• Valuations
• Forestry and woodland management
• Farm and rural buildings