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Plant breeding rights specialist

Plant breeding rights are a form of intellectual property attributed to breeders who apply for them because they have bred, developed or discovered new plant varieties

Training, qualifications and skills Bespoke training is provided on the job. No formal qualifications are required. Essential skills include communicating and influencing, and delivering at pace.
Career progression opportunities Senior policy advisor, project manager
Useful links https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plant-breeders-rights

Focus on: Plant Variety and Seeds Policy Advisor

Eleanor Gibson-Forty
DEFRA
Full time, salary up to £35K

A policy advisor provides support, guidance, and expertise on existing and new legislation relating to novel plant varieties developed through plant breeding which have agricultural and horticultural end uses.

Transferable skills are key to being a successful policy advisor, so if you can’t get specific policy experience, focus on improving your skills such as listening and communicating, leading, making effective decisions and working together.

My main role as a policy advisor is to lead the drafting of a number of statutory instruments (SIs) that implement changes to domestic legislation relating to plants as a result of EU Exit. These SIs allow provisions of an Act to be amended without having to pass a new Act. It is the most frequently used method to align legislation with current political decisions. Leading an SI requires a lot of cross departmental engagement, including with legal advisors and with the devolved administrations (Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). I transferred to the role of policy advisor from a service delivery role within the Plant Varieties and Seeds team so I had experience and knowledge of the plant breeding industry and EU Exit politics.

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.