Engagement Officer

Job Title:                    Engagement Officer 

Salary:                         £34,169 - £36,351 at £17,085 - £18,175 at 0.5 FTE

Contract length:        Fixed Term to 31 December 2027, possible extension. 0.5FTE (17.5 hours per week)

Location:                        We offer hybrid working with office work in the Guildhall, City of London and Bow, East London and project work in London Borough of Enfield

Responsible to:          Engagement Programme Manager

About Thames21:

 Thames21 is an environmental charity putting healthy rivers at the heart of community life. Through environmental improvements, community engagement, education and advocacy we bring about effective and lasting change by working hand-in-hand with communities to deliver tangible and measurable improvements to our network of rivers.

Diversity at Thames21

We at Thames21, work with diverse communities and as such we view Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as being key to our success and as such we employ staff from a diverse range of backgrounds, this we feel is key in ensuring that everybody has an equal opportunity and is not treated differently or discriminated against because of their characteristics. We value the voices of our individual employees, and we strive to work in a collaborative, innovative balanced way. The postholder must actively support this.

About the project

Salmons Brook Restore and Reconnect is a bold and pioneering project. It will restore 3.4km of the Salmons Brook through Enfield Chase, transforming council-owned farmland into a thriving river landscape. It forms a critical early phase of a wider Landscape Recovery scheme, it marks the first use of Stage Zero principles in London, returning the river to its natural, pre-human state.

The restoration will create a dynamic, multi-channel system with wetlands and wet woodlands, boosting biodiversity and climate resilience. It will help protect around 2,000 properties from flooding downstream in Edmonton and has been described by the Environment Agency as “the single most important piece of river restoration work in London to date.”

Local communities will be at the heart of the project. Through inclusive engagement, especially with underrepresented groups, the project will turn the Salmons Brook into a shared space for nature, wellbeing, and connection, delivering lasting environmental and social impact.

Purpose of the job:

We are seeking a skilled engagement officer to work on our projects in London and the Thames Basin. This role offers an opportunity for the post holder to make a difference to diverse areas of London, with differing challenges and an array of ambitions.  

Main duties and responsibilities:

·       Map the communities in Edmonton to understand local demographics and identify key stakeholders.

·       Through a range of activities and meetings, get to know, listen to and build strong working partnerships with community groups and leaders, organisations, institutions and residents, that support, enable, and champion the project.

·       Run public consultations and focus groups with underrepresented communities in the environmental sector to explore perceptions, barriers, and ideas about the Salmons Brook River and Enfield Chase.

·       Deliver bespoke activities and events co-designed with focus group participants, ensuring activities are culturally relevant, accessible, and responsive to community needs.

·       Collaboratively design a Programme of River Acitivties, shaped by local communities and relationships with existing volunteer groups, offering inclusive activities such as guided walks, arts-based sessions, and wellbeing events.

·       Build a catchment-wide community network, uploading details to Thames21’s CRM system in line with GDPR.

·        Represent Thames21 and Salmon’s Brook Restore and Reconnect at relevant local forums and proactively recruit volunteers through in-person engagement events.

·       Collect and record qualitative and quantitative data on events and activities run, including written and verbal feedback from partners and participants, photos and numbers of attendees keeping to GDPR requirements. Evaluate this information to develop the methods for engagement and inform future activities.

·       Carry out the administrative duties to run events including conducting risk assessments and method statements, managing event registrations, liaising with local councils and community groups and maintaining and managing events equipment. 

·       Work with the Thames21 Training Officer, to facilitate volunteers to be trained in Thames21’s modules to maintain and monitor local sites. Includes supporting existing volunteers and assisting with building their capacity and connection to the Thames21 network.

Other Duties

This job description cannot cover every issue or task that may arise within Thames21. At various times the post-holder will be directed to carry out other reasonable duties in support of other Thames21 activities that are consistent with those in this Job Description.  For more intormation and how to apply, please see the attached Job Description.