Westcountry Rivers Trust is recruiting an Evidence and Engagement Officer.

The starting salary for this role is £30,700 per annum.

Apply by midnight on Sunday 15th November 2026 by CV and Covering Letter to: https://hr.breathehr.com/v/evidence-and-engagement-officer-49167

For queries about this role or the application process please contact recruitment@wrt.org.uk

Formed in 1994, the Trust was established to restore Westcountry rivers.  Measures to protect rivers can help to save money for farmers, lower costs for water companies, boost tourism, reduce the need to dredge estuaries and even benefit human health.  

Today the charity works with a wide range of stakeholders from landowners to local communities, businesses, farmers and water companies to restore and protect the rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas for the benefit of people, wildlife and the local economy. There has never been a more important time to work on the rivers of the West Country as the impacts of climate emergency and the ecological crisis is forcing society to invest in building catchment resilience. 

Spurred by a shared love of rivers, the Westcountry Rivers Trust is very much a grassroots organisation, brought into existence from the bottom up. In the early 90s, a group of individuals, passionate but concerned about the waterways around them, began to stitch together their ambitions for restoring Westcountry rivers, laying the foundations for the Trust we know today.

Everything the Trust does is informed by the best available science. Their work is driven by an ‘ecosystems approach,’ considering the function of the entire catchment, not just the rivers that flow within them.

It was this new perspective not to mention the hands-on and tireless approach to river restoration that grabbed the attention of so many supporters and funders, and which lies behind the flourishing rivers trust movement. Since then, the Trust now has circa 75 employees with an annual turnover of c£3m running multi-annual projects spread across a wide range of funders. 

The Trust has three main delivery teams and a support services team.  Our employees work on delivery sites, from home, and from the office.

Westcountry Rivers Trust is an environmental charity working across the Southwest to improve our rivers for the benefit of all. With support from various funders, we deliver change in our rivers and on the land that drains into them. We bring together stakeholders and interest groups in catchments across the Southwest to develop and deliver catchment action plans that bring lasting and meaningful benefits for people and the environment.

The Evidence & Engagement Team supports the Trust's whole-ecosystem approach to planning and delivering nature-based solutions for catchment management and river improvement initiatives. The team helps ensure we deliver the right measures in the right places, and monitor and report the impact of our work. Effective engagement and communication are essential to keeping stakeholders, both external and internal, informed and involved.

This role will work primarily on the Community Water Enterprises (CWE) project. CWEs put communities at the heart of caring for nature-based solutions such as rain gardens and wetlands, which soak up rain, ease pressure on sewers, reduce flood risk, create greener spaces and protect rivers. A CWE is a locally rooted team bringing together customers, communities, water companies, councils, charities and others to look after many of these small features, creating local jobs and training to deliver routine care, quick fixes and clear public reporting. The multi-year programme is led by Wessex Water and funded through Ofwat's Water Breakthrough Challenge. It aims to prove the approach can be repeated and adopted widely. WRT leads the Southwest pilot, one of two nationally. 

This post will be central to making the pilot work on the ground, by building relationships with local people, running in-person events and workshops, supporting volunteers and community crews, and gathering the evidence that shows the difference the work makes. You will spend much of your time face to face with communities, in community venues and on sites, mainly in East Devon, West Dorset and Somerset.

Through your relationships, particularly with members of the public and local community groups you will also inform and inspire people to take further action for rivers; signing up to a pledge to our rivers, wider volunteering, or donating to support WRT’s wider work to bring our west country rivers back to life. 

We are looking for someone who is passionate about the environment and enjoys working with people, with a keen interest in evidence-based engagement. You will work closely with colleagues and with partners from across the water, local authority, community and charity sectors. 
 

 

 

 

 

 Planning and delivering community engagement projects and events.