Catchment Resilience Project Officer

Hours: Full-time. 37.5 hours working week.
Duration: Permanent contract.
Location: Blended model: home working plus office space in Bungay provided. Candidate must be based within easy travelling distance of the Waveney Catchment due to the number of site visits and face-to-face meetings required for the role.

The River Waveney Trust (RWT) is an environmental charity dedicated to improving and protecting the River Waveney, making it a better place for people and wildlife. We are part of the Rivers Trust movement, a network of over 60 Rivers Trusts across the UK. We work on a variety of projects with partners, communities and volunteers to deliver a wide range of projects including river restoration, natural flood management, farm advice, river access, river monitoring, volunteer events, community engagement and education.

The role will suit an individual with experience working with farmers/landowners and delivering environmental projects, with an emphasis on rivers and catchments, specifically natural flood management (NFM). We are interested in transferable skills and there will be opportunities to learn within the role.

We are committed to providing equal opportunities and welcome applications from all groups, communities and personal circumstances. The staff team is welcoming, open and inclusive and places a high value on supporting each other to work to the best of our abilities.

Main Responsibilities

Note that the role until March 31st 2027 is to manage delivery of the final year of a 3-year Defra funded Natural Flood Management project based in Diss. On completion of the project the role will work alongside the rest of the team to develop and deliver a suite of catchment resilience / nature-based solution (NbS) projects across the catchment.

• Project manage a suite of NFM projects in the Diss area, including landowner relationships, permitting, tendering and on-the-ground delivery / contractor and consultant management.
• Work closely with farmers, landowners, local communities and partner organisations to develop and deliver Catchment Resilience & NbS projects across the Waveney Catchment. This includes land use changes, natural flood management, landscape water holding features and river restoration projects.
• Promote Catchment Resilience & NbS: run community meetings, develop land manager relationships and secure site visits, as necessary, to raise awareness, and secure delivery sites.
• Use mapping programmes such as ArcGIS, Scalgo and Scimap to help effectively site and design Catchment Resilience & NbS projects.
• Scope out the feasibility of projects in the field, develop ideas into outline designs, translate into detailed designs, with support from the RWT Catchment Resilience team.
• Deliver relevant farm advice as needed on land management changes related to water in the landscape.
• Carry out monitoring and data collection as required, including using volunteers where appropriate.
• Seek funding for land managers to maintain features on their land.
• Promote NbS in media, print, newsletters, at talks and events and on social media.
• Lead on funding bids to secure NbS delivery funding.
• Seek funding and develop funder relationships, to ensure continuity of NbS and catchment resilience work in the catchment.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Annual leave: Annual leave entitlement is 25 days, plus bank holidays, plus your birthday off.

Hours of work: A working day is 7.5 hours, generally from 9am-5pm, with an unpaid half hour lunch break. Flexible work hours are fully acceptable for personal circumstances and we are happy to accommodate any requirements needed in order to make the role work for the right candidate.

Pension: 9% employer pension offered.

Driving licence and vehicle: A full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential. Due to the remote nature of the work, we cannot accept applications from individuals who do not have a driving licence or access to a car. The candidate is expected to insure their own vehicle for work-use (this should not increase the premium). Mileage expenses are paid at £0.45 a mile. Mileage does not cover commuting to the office but will cover agreed commutes from home and office within the catchment.