Community Engagement Officer – Land Access

Orkney is famous for its landscape, its history, its culture, and its nature. The Orkney Native
Wildlife Project (ONWP) aims to protect Orkney’s unique and globally important wildlife, and
the benefits that it provides for local people from an invasive non-native predator: the stoat.
The project is looking for a confident Community Engagement Officer to be based on Orkney and
who can support the project in building and strengthening existing relationships with the local
community.

Stoats were first reported in Orkney in 2010. They pose a serious threat to the Orkney vole, a
species found nowhere else in the world, and many birds including hen harriers, short-eared
owls, red-throated divers, waders, and seabirds. This wildlife supports Orkney’s thriving
tourism industry, and represents a crucial haven for species which are threatened elsewhere in
the UK. It is therefore essential that stoats are removed from Orkney before they do major
damage to this unique wildlife.

The project works with hundreds of landowners in the local community to undertake the largest
stoat eradication of an inhabited area anywhere in the world. We are implementing comprehensive
biosecurity measures alongside the eradication, to reduce the risk of reinvasion and secure a
long-term and sustainable legacy for the project. We also conduct wildlife monitoring
throughout Orkney to understand the impact that stoats are having, and work with schools and
the local community to enable and encourage wildlife conservation! 

The project, a partnership between RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council and
funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), EU life and the Nature Restoration Fund
alongside other funders and partner contributions, started in 2018 and is in the middle of its
implementation phase. Our community team are a key function within the project and are required
to be flexible and adaptable to an ever-changing project landscape. We are looking for someone
who will actively seek out new relationships and inspire confidence in our local communities.

What’s the role about?

We are looking for a person who is passionate for our native wildlife and has a desire to
engage with our local community on how they can help protect it. You will be responsible for
building relationships with local landowners as well as securing new land access agreements and
maintaining historic ones. You will be able to take complex ecological issues and be able to
explain them in a way that those without an ecology background can understand.

You will be able to inspire our local community, creating confidence in the project as well as
yourself as an individual. You will have a good understanding of how small communities work and
how important good relationships are in island communities.

Key activities will include:

• Helping to deliver our ambitious community engagement programme.
• Building relationships with landowners.
• Speaking with local landowners and securing access for the project to complete trapping
  activities.
• Working alongside our community engagement manager to ensure that the project has the land
  access needed with appropriate record kept so that the project can be successful.
• Building and maintain relationships with the local community including landowners,
  supporters and volunteers.

This role will require weekend and evening work as and when required. This will be based around
the needs of the project and will be focused on arranging appropriate times to speak to
landowners who may work during the day.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• A good understanding of the project.
• The ability to demonstrate work-related experience.
• Experience dealing with the public.
• An understanding of the issues effecting local landowners.
• Experience in monitoring the effectiveness of your own outputs and responding dynamically.
• Experience of dealing with potentially controversial issues and reputational risk.
• Strong communication skills.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of working on nature conservation issues

This is a Fixed-Term 4 month role for 37.5 hours per week. 

For further information please contact [email protected] 

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.

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

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes
attached to the top of this advert.

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,
we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any
additional support you may need to complete your application.