Senior Project Officer (Restoring Rivers & Catchments)

Hours: full time 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Permanent (hybrid working)
Area: predominantly the East of our region

Bring your environmental passion for rivers to life!

Are you an experienced in managing river restoration projects and looking for the next step in your career? Would you like to work with the Restoring Rivers and Catchments team, for a growing charity, who is invested in improving and making a real difference to our rivers here within the South East of England, which hosts some of the rarest chalk streams on the planet?

About The Role

If you have experience leading, designing and developing projects to improve the environment, our rivers or river catchments, we have an exciting opportunity for a person to come and join us as a Senior Project Officer on a permanent basis.

The South East Rivers Trust is an environmental charity bringing rivers and their catchments back to life. Working in 12 river catchments across the south east of England, the Trust connects communities and mobilises citizen scientists to educate and engage people on the importance of rivers, and supports and challenges stakeholders, businesses and individuals to protect them. The Trust uses data and evidence to target positive action and works with nature to make rivers healthy again. This includes tackling water pollution, addressing water scarcity, reconnecting rivers and restoring habitats.

We lead on a range of exciting, challenging and fulfilling projects which vary significantly in size, complexity and type. No two projects are the same. We often have the opportunity to direct and mould them into novel, bold and ambitious schemes which are directed and/or monitored with a science-based approach. The projects will typically cover natural flood management (NFM), water resource management, fish passage including weir removals, easements or fish passes, wetland/backwater creation and in-channel habitat improvements such as the introduction of large wood and gravel through to re-channelling works.

The Senior Project Officer role offer an exciting opportunity for an experienced and knowledgeable individual to oversee all stages of river and catchment enhancement projects, from conception to development, design and physical implementation. Working in the Restoring Rivers and Catchments Team, you will use your proven ability to lead on our larger projects, ensuring that they are delivered on time, on budget and to a high standard. We encourage creative thinking to come up with exciting, ambitious and novel solutions with the possibility to put your own stamp on the project. The role will require you to manage, delegate and work collaboratively within the Trust and with external partners, stakeholders and professional services to identify and deliver meaningful and impactful projects for the benefit of the environment and communities.

About Us

The South East Rivers Trust (SERT), is the river restoration charity for the South East of England. Our vision is that rivers across the south east are clean, healthy and rich in biodiversity. Our mission is to restore and protect rivers and their catchments against multiple threats and a dramatically changing climate. We do this by:

• delivering evidence-based and nature-based solutions on land and in rivers;
• inspiring and empowering more people to protect rivers for the future.

Working at SERT is rewarding, fulfilling and busy. We work collaboratively and with passion, and this is reflected in our core values of: delivering high quality work, using expertise and scientific understanding, building good and effective relationships, and bringing positive energy to all we do. With rivers and catchments needing serious action to survive, our aims are growth and impact – so you’ll be comfortable with challenges and excited by change. If this sounds like an environment that you would thrive in, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested in applying for this role please visit our website for more information, a full job description and application form.

The deadline for application is 11:59pm on Sunday 21st September 2025. We reserve the right to close the recruitment early.

If you would like to discuss the position please email [email protected] with your enquiry and we will arrange to call you back.

Please note: All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We do not have a licence to sponsor applicants from overseas.