Chalk Stream Resilience Officer – Lavant

Are you captivated by the beauty of chalk streams and passionate about helping them thrive? Are
you able to inspire people to love and care for rivers? Do you have the skills and knowledge to
make river improvements happen? If so this could be the role for you.

Purpose of the job:

Chichester District Council (CDC) have made a fantastic investment in their precious chalk
streams, working together with the Western Sussex Rivers Trust to focus on Chalk Stream
Resilience.

This role will bring people together to make significant improvements to the Lavant chalk
stream. We’re targeting actions to improve water quality, restore natural processes and connect
people with this rare and special habitat on their doorstep. We have wonderful passionate
volunteers in this catchment, and a diverse group of stakeholders primed and ready to get
started on improving the river. This is an unprecedented opportunity to play a key role in
securing a brighter future for the Lavant chalk stream.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Establish and grow a sub-catchment partnership for the Lavant, hosting regular meetings and
  fostering a positive spirit of collaboration.
• Inspire the partnership to strive for an ambitious vision to restore the Lavant to good
  health, drawing out common aims and objectives and developing a pipeline of projects.
• Plan and deliver tangible ‘on-the-ground’ action to improve the health and resilience of
  the River Lavant.
• Identify and facilitate opportunities for quick-win projects to improve water quality,
  build resilience to climate change and restore natural processes.
• Working with internal and external colleagues to plan and deliver such projects, eg.
  landowners, contractors, Environment Agency and Southern Water.
• Work with the community and partners to plan and deliver public events to inspire people to
  cherish the Lavant and understand its value for us all.
• Liaise with Western Sussex Rivers Trust (WSRT) Communications support, and CDC Comms team
  to formulate a Communications plan and deliver regular Communications outputs.
• Work with the WSRT Volunteer Coordinator to recruit and train volunteers to monitor water
  quality, Riverfly and invasive non-native species.
• Assist with the delivery of awareness-raising and education sessions for local groups,
  schools, parish councils etc., working with other WSRT team members.
• Monitor progress against agreed objectives and prepare regular reports to CDC,
  participating in meetings and giving presentations when required.
• To support WSRT work on a wide range of projects on other rivers, focusing on volunteer and
  community engagement, education, river restoration etc. as appropriate to the postholder’s
  skills and experience.

Benefits:

• You will be a member of a small, dynamic, passionate, and supportive team, joining WSRT at
  an exciting time of growth.
• 10% Recharge policy – WSRT team members are encouraged to take 10% of their working week
  for mental and physical recharge, getting out into the catchment to explore a new area, further
  their knowledge or enjoy a river-related activity.
• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and Christmas to New Year shutdown.
• Flexible working.
• Employee assistance programme (counselling, specialist legal and financial support).
• Pension scheme (3% employee, 5% WSRT).

How to Apply:

Please email a cover letter and CV to [email protected]. If you would like further information
about this role or working for WSRT please get in touch for an informal discussion.

Your cover letter should detail how you fit the role & person specification and be no
longer than two pages.

Applications should be made by Monday 7th Oct 2024 at 9am.

In-person interviews will take place on Monday 14th October 2024.