The role
The Catchment Monitoring Officer role is at the heart of being able to achieve our vision as it brings together data and evidence to inform a catchment based approach in understanding local rivers. You will be identifying issues that are impacting rivers and catchments, and identifying opportunities to target and implement solutions that will improve the health of the water environment.
The Trust is recruiting a new Catchment Monitoring Officer to join our growing Data and Evidence side of our Science and Partnerships team, within a wider organisation of more than 30 staff. While it is expected that this position will continue to be funded for a number of years, the position is initially offered as a one-year contract, until this continued funding is confirmed. We will consider both full and part-time (0.8 FTE [full time equivalent]) applications. Going forwards, the role will develop partnership projects on the theme of Water Quality and Quantity and steer our catchment work towards specific priorities. For example, the role will support our growing programme of work on Nature based Solutions (e.g. Natural Flood Management, treatment wetlands etc.), urban water management and rural land management and we are looking for someone with experience in this area that could further develop this. We would be interested to hear your skills and interests which align to these or other related areas, and how you would like to develop this role in the future.
There are two primary components to the role:
This role will be essential to help us develop and plan a growing portfolio of landscape-scale Nature-based Solution (NbS) projects that will improve the resilience of our catchments, provide natural flood management benefits and support water resources. This is an exciting opportunity to establish NbS as common practice across our catchments, supporting a range of stakeholders in choosing nature recovery and working with natural processes, over engineered infrastructure, to achieve environmental outcomes and multiple benefits.
Working within the Trust’s Science and Partnerships Team, you will be responsible for developing and implementing a Water Quality and Quantity monitoring programme to evidence the impact of a suite of NbS projects, ranging from single demonstration sites to sub-catchment scale suites of interventions. You will also collate and analyse historic Water Quality datasets and identify ways of using the data to refine targeting and design of NbS. Working with partners within the organisation and externally, you will identify requirements and resources needed for the successful design of a Water Quality and Quantity monitoring programme and work with contractors to deliver this on the ground. You will need to be practical and able to trouble shoot and solve technical problems in the field. Your experience will help communicate the impact of NbS, improve the design of NbS, inform projects across the organisation, provide support to project managers and inform the development of future projects.
The Trust aims to work in partnership with other organisations wherever possible to deliver multiple objectives, provide a joined up approach for stakeholders and avoid duplication of effort. You will provide scientific expertise to help communicate with a wide range of stakeholders and communities, through a range of media, for example: meetings, events, website, workshops, phone, social media, etc. You will be personable, diplomatic, questioning, able to explain technical concepts in simple terms, have strong facilitation skills and be passionate about rivers and the environment. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing and dynamic team making a real difference for the environment.
The South East Rivers Trust (SERT) is an environmental charity dedicated to achieving healthy river ecosystems for all, across the South East of England. The Trust’s mission is to deliver outstanding river ecosystem enhancement through science-based action, collaboration, education and engagement.
SERT is a member of the national Rivers Trust, and is part of the rivers trust movement which is comprised of over 60 local trusts, which are described as having ‘wet feet’ because they concentrate their efforts on practical environmental enhancement works on the ground. The Trust’s core values are central to all we strive to achieve, including bringing positive energy, expertise and specialist knowledge to develop good relationships and to deliver to a high standard making a real difference to rivers and their catchment areas.