Engagement Officer

Salary:                        £34,169 – £36,351 1.0 FTE for 35 hours per week.

Band Level                   Band B, Level 2

Contract length:         6 months, starting October-November 2026 with possibility of extension

Location:                   Office work in Guildhall EC2V, operational work in Bow E3, and outreach work in the River Ravensbourne Catchment (e.g., London Boroughs of Lewisham and Bromley) required, plus optional remote desk working.

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

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Thames21 is 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 projects:

 The role is made up of projects located along the Ravensbourne Catchment, in Lewisham and Bromley, working with local communities to restore and enhance urban rivers and blue spaces; delivering habitat improvements, increasing biodiversity, improving fish passage and river connectivity, reducing erosion and flood risk, and creating healthier, more resilient natural environments for both wildlife and people.

Purpose of the job:

We are seeking a skilled engagement officer to work on the Ravensbourne Catchment. This role offers an opportunity for the post holder to make a difference to a diverse area of London, with differing challenges and an array of ambitions. 

About you:

The key skill for this role is being able to start and maintain a dialogue with people, sharing concerns and finding common ground. The project relies on creating strong networks of local institutions, such as schools and local authorities; grassroots organisations and groups; community leaders and representatives from the public and private sectors, including councillors and politicians.  

The key value for this role is curiosity. Being able to ask questions, listen and encourage people to get involved in whatever way they are able, will help you succeed. 

You’ll thrive in this role if you are able to work with communities to co-design and plan a broad range of activities with people living in the area.  By working together with local people in diverse communities beside waterways, you will establish a new and positive ongoing relationship between Londoners and their blue spaces. 

Main duties and responsibilities:

·        Identify, understand and represent the perspectives of key community groups and individuals, building strong, trusted relationships and resilient community networks across the Ravensbourne Catchment

·        Work collaboratively with project partners, including local authorities, landowners and community organisations, to ensure coordinated and effective project delivery. 

·        Plan and deliver a public programme of health and safety compliant activities that increase awareness, enjoyment and understanding of the project sites, project objectives and the wider Ravensbourne River Catchment. 

·        Collaborate withThames21’s Communications Team to promote projects, celebrate achievements and learnings; and produce high-quality content for the website and other channels. 

·        Work with the Thames21 Engagement & Learning and Catchment Partnership teams to incorporate project learnings into best practice and contribute to future funding applications. 

·        Represent Thames21 at community events, activities and partnership meetings, championing the organisation’s vision and work.

·        Maintain accurate and organised records, ensuring all administrative and statistical data is captured and   regularly uploaded to the Thames21 database. 

·        Implement robust monitoring and evaluation processes, gathering feedback from partners and participants, assessing project effectiveness, and contributing to internal quarterly reports and funder reports.

·        Participate in Thames21 Team Meetings and contribute positively to a collaborative, supportive working environment.   

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.

Additional Information

·    The post holder must be willing to occasionally work in the evening and at weekends

·    25 days paid annual leave are available pro rata plus public holidays. 

·    Thames21 office is closed between Christmas and New Year.

·    Thames21 operate a flexitime system of working.

·    Thames21 have an ‘Auto Enrol’ Workplace Pension Scheme with NEST. Auto‑enrolment workplace pension with NEST with 8% employer contribution.

·    Thames21 benefits from a workplace union with IWGB

·    24/7 access to our employee assistance programme

·    Laptop & Mobile phone for company use.

The closing date for applications is: 9am, Thursday 22nd October 2026. To apply for this position please, do with a CV and covering letter in the Charity Job inbox (EO0926), in the subject box of your email application.

Interviews:29th October – 3rd November (subject to change)

We appreciate the time you will have taken to apply to this role, and we do appreciate that it is disconcerting when you don’t hear back from a role you have applied for. However, due to the high number of applications we expect to receive, we are unable respond to or give feedback on individual applications, but we do want to be able manage expectations. Therefore, if you do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Please advise in your application if you are happy for us to contact you for any future opportunities should they arise, if you are not successful for this position.

No agencies please.