The Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT), established in 1889 by Sir John Bennet Lawes, supports original and innovative agricultural research, primarily through supporting Rothamsted Research’s national and international agricultural science by providing land, facilities and funding.  

LAT, a charitable trust, owns the estates at Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts and Broom’s Barn, Suffolk, which is made up of land, commercial and residential buildings. LAT provides an annual research grant to the Rothamsted Research Institute Director and accommodation for nearly 200 people, as well as supporting over 30 commercial tenants, primarily start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs. LAT also makes capital grants and investments to help modernise and create new facilities at the Rothamsted campus.

LAT is currently developing an estates masterplan to renovate and reinvigorate the existing estate and to further enable the vital work of Rothamsted Research and the Campus’ tenants. Supported by BBSRC, this c. £200 million programme will be a significant project for LAT in coming years. In addition, LAT is also promoting a portion of land for residential development.

Together with Rothamsted Research, BBSRC, and Rothamsted Enterprises, our united vision is for the Rothamsted name to inspire the culture of innovation required to future-proof our food systems and enable the world to eat and live sustainably.

LAT is governed by a Board of Trustees who are also Directors for the purposes of company law. The Board play a vital role in making sure that LAT achieves its core purpose. They oversee the overall management and administration of the charity, ensure that LAT has a clear strategy, and that our work and goals are in line with our vision.

Just as importantly, they support and challenge the executive team to enable LAT to grow and thrive, and through this, achieve our charitable purpose:

“To advance the science of agriculture for the public benefit through original investigation and research, which may embrace all or any subject(s) connected to or bearing upon agriculture, including animal or vegetable physiology, meteorology, botany and chemistry”. 

As our governance structures evolve and several longstanding Trustees step down following the end of their terms, we are seeking a new Chair and several new Trustees to join our Board. We would value the contributions of individuals who would bring experience in any of the following skills: organisational leadership either from a business or charitable background; a strong understanding of the UK science, research and innovation environment; charities law and regulation; strategic estates management; large-scale building projects; and strong financial acumen. All Trustees must share our commitment to achieving our charitable purpose and to furthering the vision of Lawes Agricultural Trust.

We have engaged Perrett Laver to support the recruitment to these posts. 

For an informal discussion about the Chair role, please contact Ryann Schutt at ryann.schutt@perrettlaver.com or +44 (0)20 7340 6224. 

Application is by submission of a curriculum vitae and a covering letter of application. 

The closing date for applications is 9:00 GMT on Monday 2^nd December.  

If you require any reasonable adjustments to assist you in the application process, please contact Sarah Snelling at sarah.snelling@perrettlaver.com. If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or our application process more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us at accessibility@perrettlaver.com. 

Privacy Policy  

Protecting your personal data is of the utmost importance to Perrett Laver and we take this responsibility very seriously. Any information obtained by our trading divisions is held and processed in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation. The data you provide us with is securely stored on our computerised database and transferred to our clients for the purposes of presenting you as a candidate and/or considering your suitability for a role you have registered interest in. 

Perrett Laver is a Data Controller and a Data Processor, and our legal basis for processing your personal data is ‘Legitimate Interests’. You have the right to object to us processing your data in this way. For more information about this, your rights, and our approach to Data Protection and Privacy, please visit our website https://perrettlaver.com/privacy-statement/