Community Engagement Manager

The Orkney Native Wildlife Project (ONWP) is the world’s largest stoat eradication initiative, launched in 2018 as a partnership between RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council. Working with local communities and landowners, the project protects Orkney’s unique wildlife and supports its internationally recognised wildlife tourism.

We are seeking a Community Engagement Manager to lead the project’s communications and outward-facing work. This is a key leadership role, where effective engagement is central to successful delivery. You will bring experience in both leading teams and delivering impactful communications and engagement.

As Community Engagement Manager, you will oversee the delivery of communications, community engagement and, as required, wildlife monitoring activities. You will manage a team including officers and volunteers, ensuring they are supported, trained and equipped to deliver the programme of work.

You will establish effective processes to monitor and evaluate activity, enabling progress against objectives to be clearly assessed. A key focus will be building and maintaining strong relationships with communities, stakeholders, landowners and media, ensuring they are informed and engaged.

Working closely with partner media teams, you will plan communications to maximise impact while identifying and managing reputational risks collaboratively. You will also produce clear reports and change requests, manage budgets, and work across the wider ONWP and RSPB teams to support aligned delivery and shared goals.

Essential skills and experience:

• Demonstrable experience delivering communications, media campaigns or PR activities that achieve defined objectives, including identifying and managing reputational risk, evidenced through outputs, outcomes or impact shown in previous work, volunteering or study.
• Ability to lead and manage people, including setting clear objectives, supporting performance, maintaining motivation, and implementing change, demonstrated through examples of coordinating or supervising individuals or teams (formally or informally).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with evidence of producing clear, accessible content for different audiences (for example reports, briefings, media materials or presentations) and maintaining accurate records.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders (such as colleagues, partners, media or the public), using tact, diplomacy and negotiation to achieve positive outcomes.
• Experience planning, organising and delivering events, campaigns, talks or similar activities, including coordinating logistics, contributors and communications to meet agreed objectives.
• Ability to work collaboratively, actively listening to others’ ideas and feedback, and adapting plans or approaches in response to change or new information.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, demonstrated by effectively managing multiple tasks, deadlines or projects in a fast-paced environment and coordinating input from others to deliver results.
• Knowledge or experience of conservation, environmental or land-management contexts, gained through work, study, volunteering or lived experience, and the ability to apply this understanding to role responsibilities.
• Ability to gather, analyse and present information to support evidence-based decision-making, including preparing or contributing to proposals, recommendations or change requests with clear rationale.

Additional Information:

This role will be based in the Orkney Native Wildlife Project office in Kirkwall, Orkney.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. However, in line with our internal recruitment policy, current employees who meet the criteria will be given priority consideration.

This is a Fixed-Term role to the end of December 2027 for 37.5 hours per week. The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 07/09/2026. For further information please contact [email protected]

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, and are particularly interested in applying, please contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

As part of this application process you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.