Loch Abar Mòr - Community Engagement Lead

About

Loch Abar Mòr is a landscape-scale partnership bringing together land managers, communities and businesses in the West Highlands who have all made a 50-year commitment to nature restoration as a solution to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Convened by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture (SBP), the partnership works at a regional scale to restore and reconnect a thriving network of natural habitats, to return more wildlife to the landscape, and to create new social and economic opportunities for Lochaber’s communities.

Loch Abar Mòr launched in May 2024 with six founding partners, and has since grown to 14 partners who steward more than 120,000 acres of land and share a 50-year vision to create a rich mosaic of habitats, alive with nature and weaving across boundaries, in which people work and live with a sense of pride and belonging.

Purpose of this role

This new role will lead community and landowner engagement for the Loch Abar Mòr partnership during its current planning and exploration phase, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme (ELSP).

The Community Engagement Lead will work closely with the Loch Abar Mòr Partnership Manager and Nature Restoration Officer to build and deliver a plan to engage communities and landowners around the partnership's aims and aspirations. This includes leading a comprehensive stakeholder analysis, co-designing a Theory of Change – including social change tipping point analysis – with communities, landowners and partners, and proactively engaging under-represented stakeholders and landowners.

The postholder will play a central role in ensuring that Loch Abar Mòr's plans for large-scale nature restoration are shaped by, and command the support of, the people who live and work across Lochaber.

Key liaisons

The role will report directly to the Loch Abar Mòr Partnership Manager, with oversight by SBP’s Head of Projects.

The role will work closely with the Loch Abar Mòr Nature Restoration Officer, and will form and deepen relationships with Loch Abar Mòr partner organisations through the Partner Steering Group, as well as with a wide range of communities, landowners and other stakeholders across Lochaber – with an emphasis on those not yet engaged with the partnership.

The role will also be part of the wider SCOTLAND: The Big Picture team and work closely with SBP colleagues, including the finance, fundraising and communications teams, to draw on SBP’s support processes, as well as skills and experience relevant to the partnership.

Key duties/responsibilities

• Act as SCOTLAND: The Big Picture's community engagement lead for Loch Abar Mòr, building on best practice from comparable landscape-scale initiatives and creating new and innovative methods of connection that suit Lochaber.
• Lead a comprehensive stakeholder analysis across the ecological, social, economic and political dimensions of Lochaber, assessing interests, influence and relationships, and embedding findings into the partnership's delivery strategy.
• Design and deliver an inclusive programme of community engagement, including workshops, drop-in sessions, site visits, volunteer activities and participatory events that target the groups identified in the stakeholder analysis and build understanding, trust and support for nature restoration.
• Develop and deliver methods for including communities in the co-design of major projects so they work alongside landowners and partners to create a Theory of Change for landscape and seascape restoration across Lochaber.
• Identify, build relationships with and proactively engage under-represented communities and stakeholders, working sensitively with Lochaber's Gaelic language, culture and heritage, and considering barriers to participation.
• Work with the SCOTLAND: The Big Picture communications team to develop and deliver engaging communications that tell the story of Loch Abar Mòr across a range of channels, including social media, newsletters, websites, presentations, printed materials and film, to demonstrate the ecological, social and economic benefits of landscape-scale nature restoration.
• Recruit, coordinate and support volunteers and citizen scientists, ensuring activities are delivered in accordance with GDPR, health and safety requirements and good practice.
• Identify, collect and manage qualitative and quantitative evidence to evaluate the outputs, outcomes and impact of the partnership's work, translating learning into accessible reports, presentations, visual content and case studies for communities, partners, funders and investors.
• Support the day-to-day administration of the partnership's engagement programme, responding to enquiries, coordinating activities and ensuring the partnership continues to operate effectively in delivering its objectives.
• Represent Loch Abar Mòr at meetings, conferences and events as required.
• Undertake any other duties reasonably required to support the partnership's aims.

Experience

• Minimum two years' experience working in a community development/engagement setting.
• Proven record of planning and delivering engagement/consultation events, ideally including on contested or sensitive topics.
• Experience of undertaking stakeholder analysis and developing strategies for effective engagement.
• Experience of developing high quality materials and resources for events.
• Experience of building partnerships and effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including land managers and community organisations.
• Experience of working independently/remotely.

Desirable but not essential:

• Education to degree level or equivalent in ecology/conservation or a related subject.
• Previous involvement in nature recovery initiatives, preferably within Scotland.
• Experience of planning and supervising volunteer activities.

Key skills/attributes

• High level of emotional intelligence for building positive relationships and partnership working.
• Ability to communicate appropriately and confidently with a wide range of stakeholders, including land managers, community organisations and members of the public.
• Strong understanding of the community and voluntary sectors, based on experience.
• Excellent organisational skills, including time management and prioritisation, with the tactics and approach to effectively manage a busy workload and meet deadlines.
• Excellent writing and research skills, with the ability to prepare high quality external-facing materials and compelling text to engage others with projects.
• Ability to work within a budget in delivering events and activities.
• Passion for nature and its recovery, against the backdrop of the climate and biodiversity crises.
• Knowledge/understanding of nature restoration and its social, cultural and political context in Scotland, particularly in relation to land use and community engagement in the Lochaber region.
• Conscientious, self-motivated and able to work well without close supervision.
• Competent with IT and able to learn quickly/troubleshoot problems independently.
• Suitably located to enable regular attendance of meetings and events in Lochaber.
• A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle to enable travel to remote rural locations.

Terms and conditions

This role is part of the wider SCOTLAND: The Big Picture team, who act as the partnership convenor, banker and administrator without liability, as well as the employer of any staff required to deliver Loch Abar Mòr’s aims and objectives.

Salary: £34,000–£36,000 depending on experience. Salaries are paid on the last working day of each month by bank transfer and cover the period of the first of the month to the last day of the month.

Place of work: This role is home-based, with a need to regularly (approximately once a week) attend meetings and events in Lochaber. For this reason, we have a strong preference for candidates who already live in or near to Lochaber, or are in a position to relocate for the role. Any relocation would be at the individual’s expense. You will require a suitable home office environment to enable safe, comfortable working without interruption, and an internet speed that can support video calls and online working. A laptop, monitor and peripheral IT equipment will be provided. As the role requires travel to rural sites, a full UK driving license and access to a reliable vehicle are essential. Attendance of meetings and events held in other parts of Scotland will also be required periodically, including in-person meetings with the whole SBP team. Travel expenses will be paid in accordance with SBP’s expenses policy.

Contract: Initially fixed term for 12 months, with an intention for this to become a permanent role, subject to funding.
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Flexibility: Subject to ensuring that the needs of the role are met, we endeavour to meet the flexible working needs of all employees.
Holidays: 28 working days per annum including public holidays, plus 5 additional office closure days between Christmas and New Year.
Pensions: You may be eligible to be enrolled into SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’s employee pension scheme. Written terms of the scheme are available on request.
Probationary period: 3 months.
Notice period: 1 week during the probation period, thereafter 2 months.

Closing date: Midday on Monday 14 September 2026.

First round interviews will be conducted by video call, with a provisional interview date set for Tuesday 22 September. Second interviews, by video call or in person, may follow after this if required.

Any offer of employment will be made subject to the provision of a valid right to work in the UK.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture is committed to equality of opportunity for all and we make recruitment decisions by matching our operational needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage or civil partnership.