Outreach and Communications Officer

Creating space for people, nature and landscape partnerships

Fixed-term contract for 2 years (with possibility of extension)
Part-time (0.6 FTE)

Us

The Cromarty Firth Watershed Environmental Trust is a newly established charity working to improve river health and restore biodiversity, address climate change impacts, influence land use practices and promote river catchment partnerships between land owners/managers, organisations, groups and communities. We are passionate about nature, land use and people. We wish to support livelihoods of the area, create spaces for health and well-being, deliver education and green skills and champion cultural heritage and the arts, all connected and embedded in the landscape.

Core work/objectives

• Restoring and enhancing natural habitats, increasing connectivity and improving biodiversity across the watershed. For example river, salmon and other aquatic species health
• Improving climate resilience for landscape, land uses and communities
• Developing a long-term multi-catchment initiative
• Creating a network of micro-community tree nurseries to grow various species/provenances for biodiversity, climate resilience and community stewardship
• Developing local hubs for nature connection, education and training
• Working and partnering with communities and organisations to increase scope of impact and diversity of projects and programmes
• Developing and establishing long-term monitoring sites across the catchment
• Undertaking relevant catchment research
• Maintaining a dynamic social presence with accessible content that keeps pace with life in the catchment

Our people

Currently we operate with a Director and a Project Co-ordinator, both with decades of knowledge and experience in landscape and habitat management and community engagement. We are looking for a person to join this enthusiastic team, working towards implementation of our 100 year vision of socio-ecological enhancement with recognisable nature and economy benefits. Governing the organisation are eight Trustees who have a strong connection with the local landscape and a wealth of experience in fish biology, species conservation, ecological research, forest and land management, water management and renewable power generation.

You

Be a part of a new landscape-wide environmentally-driven catchment organisation that encourages creative and innovative approaches linking nature and livelihoods with the arts and education. Can you bring originality, engage dynamically with multiple groups of people, and create compelling multi-media communications to raise awareness for the Cromarty Firth area? Are you passionate about education and teaching people in exciting ways to convey messages about the beautiful and astounding stories surrounding nature and people? If so, then we would like to hear from you.

If you feel you would be an excellent and innovative candidate but don't quite meet all the essential person specification requirements, please do submit an application.

Job description

• Lead, in partnership with the support of the Director and Project Coordinator, the education, outreach and communications programme of work
• In conjunction with colleagues, develop relationships with stakeholders, community groups and relevant organisations
• Liaise with schools and educational organisations to set up and assist in the delivery of a nature, land and water connections programme
• Help prepare funding bids
• Plan, organise and deliver workshops and events
• Manage social media channels and website, developing innovative content and material
• Follow, document and showcase the journey of the organisation, the catchment and its people
• Tell stories that engage a range of audiences in a diverse way

Person specification

Essential

• Experience in planning and delivering community outreach projects
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with experience of engaging with diverse groups, stakeholders, communities and individuals
• Experience in developing and maintaining positive partnerships with organisations to deliver project outcomes
• Media experience, skills in social media engagement and content management and developing interesting and compelling content
• Clear and demonstrable passion for nature and the outdoors
• Self-motivated and able to prioritise and work independently without close supervision
• Comfortable being outdoors and delivering sessions in rural areas
• Willingness to undergo relevant Disclosure Scotland checks and necessary training
• Based in the Cromarty Firth watershed, or within reasonable commuting distance
• Legal right to work in the UK
• Full UK driving licence and access to own car

Desirable

• Degree, or relevant experience, in nature/environmental field
• A creative storyteller with experience of producing short films/reels, creating high quality virtual and audio content and editing with multi-media software
• Experience in education, development and knowledge of educational systems
• Experience of fundraising activity and writing funding applications
• Knowledge and experience of creating podcasts
• Working with schools and education programmes
• Experience with use of, design and development of apps and online programmes/platforms/interfaces

Closing date: Monday 15th December 2025.

Interviews expected to be second week in January 2026.