Senior Project Officer (Community Development and Training)

Reference: SPOCDT26
Location: Home-based within or near Devon (with travel across the county)
Contract: Fixed term until December 2026 (10 months)
Hours: 15 hours each week
Salary: £28,000 FTE per annum (£11,200 actual for 15 hours per week)

Groundwork South is seeking a motivated and experienced Senior Project Officer (Community Development and Training) to support delivery of our National Lottery-funded Communities Prepared programme in Devon.

Communities Prepared works with volunteers and communities across England to help them build the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. This includes supporting communities to plan for climate-related risks such as flooding, storms, heat waves, and severe weather.

This role will play a key part in delivering the final stages of the Devon Resilience Innovation Project (DRIP), a £7.3 million programme funded through the UK Government’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme and administered by the Environment Agency.

Working closely with partners including Devon County Council, you will engage with communities across Devon to increase awareness of flood risk and support them to strengthen their resilience.

About the Project and the Role

The Devon Resilience Innovation Project (DRIP) is testing innovative ways to improve flood resilience in communities across Devon. This role will focus on engaging 28 priority communities to assess uptake of support for community emergency planning and Flood Warden training.

Key Responsibilities

As Senior Project Officer, you will:

• Design and deliver a targeted community engagement plan across Devon.
• Raise awareness of local climate and flood risks.
• Support communities to develop emergency and flood plans.
• Help establish and support Flood Action Groups and Flood Wardens.
• Deliver training and workshops both online and in person.
• Work collaboratively with programme partners and stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on community engagement and participation.
• Track and evidence engagement activity and outcomes.
• Contribute to project meetings and programme reporting.
• Share learning with the national Communities Prepared team.

We are looking for someone with:

• Experience in community engagement or community development.
• Experience delivering training or workshops.
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders or partners.
• Confidence working independently in a remote role.
• An interest in climate resilience, emergency planning or environmental issues.
• A willingness to travel across Devon.

Not all communities will take up the offer of support, so an important part of the role is ensuring engagement is clearly tracked and reported.

The role involves regular travel across Devon and occasional travel to Bristol for team meetings.

Knowledge of community emergency planning or flood resilience would be an advantage but is not essential.

Closing date for applications: 22nd March 2026
Interview date: 26th March 2026

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the ‘find out more information & apply’ button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

Groundwork South is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of the community.

No agencies please.