Public Affairs and Water Policy Officer

Public Affairs and Water Policy Officer

This role is predominantly home-based with regular travel to locations across the UK specifically London. Office facilities are available at our Newark office (Tuesdays to Thursdays) for those within easy travelling distance.
up to £36,380 per annum

Permanent, Full Time (35 hours per week)

Closing date for applications: 12th July 2026

First interview: 21st & 22nd July (Online Interview)

Second interview: 29th July (Online Interview)

About Us

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 945,000 members, over 33,000 volunteers, 4,100 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity, formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live and work.

Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.

The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities.

About You

The post will support the Head of Public Affairs in helping the Wildlife Trust movement make arguments and develop relationships with parliamentarians in order to influence policy in Westminster, to the benefit of nature recovery. You will work with policy, campaigning, and communications colleagues to build support for The Wildlife Trusts’ advocacy priorities, including work on water policy.

You will have an understanding of the legislative process and parliamentary procedures and will have the ability to communicate detailed policies in a compelling and persuasive way, especially in written form. Experience of and a proven track record of working with politicians is advantageous, as is experience of supporting successful advocacy campaigns and fronting policies and programmes. You should feel comfortable with policy work as well as parliamentary advocacy, any past experience of water policy will be particularly useful.

The Wildlife Trusts value passion, respect, trust, integrity, pragmatic activism and strength in diversity. We are passionate in promoting our aims, and we pride ourselves on being inclusive. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

RSWT take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. Please click here to read our commitment statement. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level.

RSWT are committed to increasing the diversity of its staff through its Levelling the Field recruitment pledge and, as a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming recruitment experience for all applicants. Applicants with disabilities and from ethnic minority backgrounds, will be considered for the next stage of the selection process should they meet all the minimum criteria for the role outlined in the person specification detailed as essential criteria in the recruitment pack.

As part of our Disability Confident Scheme, RSWT offers an interview to a fair and proportionate number of applicants with disabilities and therefore not all applicants with disabilities would be entitled to an interview as they must still satisfy the minimum requirements for the job. This commitment is designed to help reduce barriers and promote equal opportunity. We actively work to remove barriers throughout the recruitment journey and are dedicated to creating an accessible and supportive recruitment experience by offering reasonable adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process, as well as within the workplace. If you would benefit from any adjustments to support you during your application or interview process, please let us know and we will be pleased to put the appropriate support in place.