Senior Project Officer

You will require strong subject knowledge on rivers and conservation work and a passion for both leading practical tasks and attention to detail to manage funding processes and reporting.

Experience of working with local authorities, agencies, stakeholders & landowners is essential.

Job Description Senior Project Officer

The Senior Project Officer will work with the wider Trust team and to coordinate a project team to undertake various roles to deliver various projects targets and objectives. The role is managed by the Trust’s Head of Operations.

The Trust operates in a variety of fields including project work, science based work, consultancy, day to day operations and works closely with the Forth District Salmon Fishery Board and other partners such as the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. This role will also support staff delivering the Trust’s work within this range of fields. The Senior Project Officer will provide line management support to Project Team members as required by the Head of Operations, and may support volunteers and interns at different times.

This role will include the delivery of catchment wide (eg INNS Control) and individually funded projects (eg Revive the Gogar Burn) as and when funding is confirmed. The Senior Project Officer will be part of the ongoing development of projects across a range of rivers with a focus on rivers within the Lothians. This will include all aspects of project delivery from inception, design coordination, permitting/consents, practical delivery and contractor supervision, stakeholder engagement, working closely with community groups, reporting and claims management and monitoring and evaluation. The postholder will be expected to demonstrate strong facilitation skills and experience of partnership working to support effective collaboration across communities, agencies, landowners and other stakeholders.

Project Working

The Senior Project Officer will lead on the delivery of projects including:

• River Restoration and Engagement
• Invasive Non-Native Species control
• Riparian and habitat improvement projects
• In-stream river restoration (e.g. bank protection etc)
• Natural Flood Management
• Assisting with Trust educational projects such as Fish in the Classroom
• Community and youth work projects
• Developing and facilitating collaborative partnerships
• Supporting larger scale restoration project via media production and stakeholder engagement
• Projects development and fundraising

The Senior Project Officer will take a lead on the Management of projects including:

• Consenting processes – landowners, regulatory (eg EASR)
• Baseline and project monitoring (in conjunction with the Science Team)
• Resource management including staff, procurement and contracts (in conjunction with The Trust Director)
• Financial management – timesheets, claims, cashflow projections (in conjunction with the Finance Manager)
• Project communication and promotion (in conjunction with Trust Head of Operations)

Representation at local and national levels

The Senior Project Officer will be required to work with external organisations and stakeholders at both the local and national levels, and as requested by the Trust’s Director. These are likely to include, but are not limited to:

Local Authorities, NatureScot, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Government, Marine Directorate, Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre, Landowners, Schools and members of the public.

Activities may include meeting with, liaising with and discussing views with these agencies and wider stakeholders.

General Assistance

The Senior Project Officer will be on the Trust Management Team and be expected to positively feed into strategic and trust wide discussions and decision making.

Given the evolving and broadening nature of the organisation, and in the interests of flexibility, the Senior Project Officer may be required to assist with any aspect of the Trust’s activities as reasonably requested by the Trust’s Director.

The Senior Project Officer will liaise with the Finance Manager to ensure timesheets, claims, invoicing and other audit reporting is undertaken in an efficient manner.

Communications

The Project Lead will communicate proactively both internally and externally. This will include:

• Knowledge sharing across the Trust
• Supporting presentations and occasional filming or media creation
• Contributing to case studies, blog posts and website content
• Preparing documentation, reports and materials for partners and funders

Essential / Desired criteria

Essential

Knowledge and Experience

• Strong subject knowledge of river restoration, catchment management, and conservation work.
• Experience of project delivery from inception through to completion.
• Experience of stakeholder engagement and partnership working.
• Experience of coordinating and delivering environmental or conservation projects.
• Experience of project monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
• Experience of managing funding claims, grant reporting, and associated administration.

Skills

• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills as well as strong facilitation and collaboration skills
• Ability to engage effectively with communities, agencies, landowners and partner organisations
• Financial administration skills, including cashflow monitoring, claims and budget oversight
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail
• Report writing and documentation skills
• Ability to work independently while coordinating a wider project team

Leadership and Management

• Ability to manage resources, procurement processes and contractors as well as team management skills
• Ability to contribute to management team discussions and maintain project management standards

Desirable

Technical Skills

• Experience of or qualification relating to Invasive Non-Native Species control
• Knowledge of riparian habitat management and in-stream restoration techniques
• Experience of Natural Flood Management initiatives
• Knowledge of or ability to complete/contribute to UK Hab surveys or other field surveys
• Understanding of environmental permitting and consenting processes (including regulatory approvals such as EASR)
• Knowledge and experience working with Arc GIS and StoryMaps

Demonstrable Previous Experience

• Leading river restoration projects or delivering innovative river restoration techniques
• Preparing funding applications or grant proposals
• Developing collaborative partnership working across multiple agencies or sectors
• Experience producing presentations and public-facing communications
• Existing relationships with relevant agencies such as SEPA, NatureScot, local authorities or conservation organisations