Now recruiting our next round of Champions for the AFN Network+

Applications have now closed.

We are recruiting our next round of Champions for the AFN Network+
​Are you committed to driving progress towards achieving net zero through the agri-food system by 2050?
Do you have expert practice, knowledge and know-how in agri-food?

We are looking for six Champions to bring their expertise from industry, academia and the public sector and from any point in the agri-food system to lead a series of activities and support the mission of the AFN Network+.

AFN Champions will drive progress by:

• building an inclusive community of practice across their theme and the wider AFN project;
• synthesising ideas and thinking from across their networks to ensure inclusive input into the scenarios and plausible futures work, and the pathways and roadmapping phases of the project;
• mapping the research and innovation landscape in their own and adjacent thematic areas and crucially, identifying critical knowledge and activity gaps to be addressed.

 
We are looking for six new Champions to act as Ambassadors for the AFN Network+ and to lead a theme within agri-food, identified by our current Community of Practice.

The six themes are:

1. Healthy and sustainable diets
2. Land productivity
3. Food security and trade
4. Land use and land management
5. Circular food systems 
6. Behaviour change

Through a series of engagement activities each of the six Champions will create a network of people committed to the drive towards achieving net zero by 2050. Champions are encouraged to look for synergies across the themes and will be expected to work together. 

Further information on the role of the Champion and how to apply can be downloaded here

The online application form, can be found here
 
Closing date for applications is 23:59 on Thursday 7 September 2023.
 
We would particularly like to encourage Early Career Researchers and people working outside Higher Education to apply, although senior academic applicants are also welcome.
 
The appointment is for a 12-month period from 1 January 2024 and each Champion will receive a block grant of £60K per annum funded at 80%, with a 20% match commitment from the applicant’s host organisation.
 
India Langley, current Champion for New Approaches in Production, from LettUs Grow

“It is important that we remember that a net-zero food system is not just about reducing carbon emissions. It's about creating a food system that is sustainable, resilient, equitable, and just.

Our role as Champions is not just to generate knowledge, but also to bridge gaps, to build bridges, to foster collaboration. I urge anyone working in industry to get involved. To create such a food system, we need all the voices we can get - the voices that echo our own and the voices that challenge us. We need the scientists and the farmers, the policymakers and the businesspeople, the academics and the activists.”

​You can read India’s full blog, where she talks more about her experience of being an AFN Network+ Champion, and why it's important to include voices from across the food system, here
 
Closing date for applications:             23:59 on Thursday 7 September 2023

Any queries can be directed to Claire Pickerden, c.pickerden@leeds.ac.uk, in the first instance.

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