Career Opportunities

The South East Rivers Trust (SERT) is a busy, charitable organisation, consisting of approximately 40 employees and 10 Trustees, working across the rivers in the South East of England. Our rivers flow through a mixture of urban and rural locations, benefiting people’s wellbeing and pleasure, which we want to protect and enhance. We work to improve our rivers through education and practical conservation; we are looking to actively grow our team to deliver practical work, to improve water quality and to enhance natural beauty for all.

SERT is made up of five teams, running about 60 projects at any one time. We work with multiple stakeholders, from landowners to councils, delivering a wide range of environmental benefits. By joining us, you will have an exciting opportunity to use your skills, experience and passion to make a real impact on our natural world by running your own projects, while working as part of a team. You will be making a real difference to rivers and the wider environment in this corner of the UK. Most roles offer the chance to not only plan and monitor changes in our rivers, but also to be hands on — getting into the water and physically improving the ecosystem. We operate a hybrid working policy with most staff attending the office in Leatherhead once a fortnight, working from home and outdoors in our catchments.

SERT’s 12 catchments, located across the south east of England

Benefits you will enjoy if you work for us:

  • 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays. After three years’ service, staff receive an extra day of annual leave each year (maximum of 28 days).
  • Hybrid working
  • Pension contribution of 9% salary, subject to 6% employee contribution
  • Life assurance (3 times your  annual salary when signing up to the SERT pension scheme).
  • Time off in Lieu
  • 4 staff awaydays per year
  • Flexible bank holidays
  • Enhanced leave policies including sickness, maternity and paternity
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Wellbeing team, with trained Mental Health First Aiders

Commitment to career development and training, including but not limited to:

  • Individual career development plans
  • Attendance at external training and conferences relevant to role
  • Internal training relevant to role
  • One personal development day per year
  • Access to resources and training via affiliated memberships

If you don’t see a vacancy that you feel is suitable for you listed below but would like to explore the opportunities at the South East Rivers Trust, please send us your CV and contact details to jobs@staging.southeastriverstrust.org. A member of our team will be in contact with you. Please note, all CVs and applications are kept on file for six months.

Take a look below at the jobs available at the South East Rivers Trust.

  • Catchment Officer

    Salary  £29,203 -£38,189

    Bring your environmental passion for rivers to life!

    The South East Rivers Trust has an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic individual who is keen to make a positive, lasting difference to the aquatic environment in the south east of England.

    The Role

    We are seeking a Catchment Officer, to lead our work in two catchments across our area. You will be our primary representative in your focal catchments, and will be responsible for leading and chairing the local Catchment Partnerships. Through your Catchment Partnership work, you will develop a deep local knowledge of your rivers and their stakeholders, which you will leverage to develop programs of data and evidence gathering that will help to understand the issues impacting river health in the catchments. Based on this knowledge, you will work with partners to develop catchment plans and co-design solutions and mitigation projects that will provide multiple benefits and make a real difference to river health.

    We are particularly keen to hear from candidates with a level of scientific and/or technical expertise, for example in land management, wetland design, aquatic biodiversity, habitat enhancement, nature-based solutions, biodiversity net gain, natural flood management, fisheries science, water resources, or water quality. You will bring this expertise to our Catchment Partnerships and share it across the whole of our organisation.

    The role will suit a natural leader and good communicator with relevant technical knowledge who is personable and diplomatic with a passion for the water environment and its improvement.

    This position will predominately cover the Loddon, Cuckmere and Pevensey Levels catchments.

    Please see the full  Catchment Officer Job Description

    How to apply:

    Please send the following documents to jobs@staging.southeastriverstrust.org :

    The deadline for application is 11:59pm on Sunday 22nd September 2024.  We reserve the right to close the recruitment early.

    Interviews will take place week commencing 30th September 2024.

    If you would like to discuss the position please email jobs@staging.southeastriverstrust.org  with your enquiry and we will arrange to call you back.

    Please note: All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We do not sponsor applicants from overseas.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

At SERT, we are committed to offering equal opportunities and positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. We use a redacted process to reduce unconscious bias during shortlisting and ensure all applicants are judged solely on merit. Our equal opportunities monitoring forms helps us understand the diversity of applications we receive and are analysed on an annual basis.

SERT offers flexible working options to support everyone as individuals. Please get in touch if you require assistance with the application and/or interview process and our team will do the best to accommodate reasonable adjustments, where possible. For more information, please refer to our EDI Policy

Privacy notice

When submitting your application to us, it is important you are aware of what will happen to your personal data after the position is filled. Please read our Applicant GDPR Notice.