River Project Officer

Do you love our chalk streams? Would you like to make a positive difference? Are you a practical, organised good communicator who can get things done?

We are recruiting a river project officer to continue ARK’s work to improve rivers and wetlands for the benefit of wildlife and people in the Pang and Kennet catchments. ARK is a rivers trust, part of the Rivers Trust Movement working to achieve wild and healthy rivers valued by all.

We are looking for someone who is self-motivated, practical and hands on, passionate about improving the environment and enjoys a varied role. You will be able to communicate with stakeholders from board members to school children, enjoy practical activity and be enthusiastic about continuing to develop your knowledge and skills.

Job Summary

In this varied role you will join a small but dynamic team making a real difference for the freshwater environment. You will be responsible for supporting and developing projects to improve chalk stream habitats, as well as increasing public engagement and understanding of rivers. There will be a strong emphasis on working with local communities, and building communication with diverse partners including landowners, community groups and industry.

The job will suit someone with a strong interest in the water environment, particularly chalk streams. You will need a good understanding of river processes and the Catchment Based Approach, strong communication skills, the ability to manage a combination of tasks and the confidence to work independently at times.

Your principal responsibilities will be to:

• Organise, co-ordinate and support community volunteers to carry out citizen science surveys for water vole, river water quality, riverfly trout redds and invasive species (with appropriate training as required).
• Record, collate and share results of data collection so it can be used to drive action
• Give talks and presentations to schools, community groups and project partners
• Keep web content current
• Build new activities to engage and inspire stakeholders, facilitating meetings, workshops and a communications programme to build momentum for chalk stream recovery.
• Work closely with the ARK team, providing practical and administrative support as needed.
• Be able to work on site across the Kennet and Pang catchments, including the ARK office in Marlborough.

Qualifications and Skills

Essential

• Understand river ecosystems, how they function and the issues they face
• Have good interpersonal skills with the ability to learn from other practitioners, and work with partner organisations, staff and volunteers
• Be competent and confident using tools and carrying out practical tasks, ideally in a habitat restoration environment.
• Be able to inspire, motivate and lead a volunteer team
• Be personable, diplomatic, questioning and able to explain technical concepts in simple terms
• Have experience organising and delivering successful events
• Have the ability to effectively manage a varied workload
• Hold a degree or have significant technical experience in a relevant discipline, for instance geography, geomorphology, environmental science, freshwater biology, ecology.
• Hold a full driving licence, with access to a car. A shared work vehicle is available.
• Be proficient in IT – Outlook, Excel, Microsoft Office, WordPress.

Desirable

• Experience carrying out practical habitat restoration work, ideally in rivers
• Experience in communication, marketing or social media
• Live in the Kennet or Pang catchments

What we offer

We offer a flexible, supportive working environment and encourage hybrid working. We think it’s important to have an office base so that the team can meet regularly and learn from each other, so in a typical week we expect that staff will work from home, office and in the catchment. Please don’t apply if you want to only work remotely. We want you to learn and grow with us, so we support professional development through training, CPD opportunities and learning alongside experienced colleagues. Our culture is friendly, supportive and mission driven. We all love rivers and our office is across the meadow from the River Kennet.

This is a full time role, but many of our team work part time and we will consider applications from people who would prefer to work part time.