Engagement Manager

Engagement Manager

Holiday: 25 days per year plus bank holidays.

Probationary

Period: 3 months.

Reports to: Head of Department.

Line

Management: Depending on experience, may line-manage the Senior Engagement Coordinator.

Benefits: An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year, Flexitime policy, 5% pension contribution.

Overview

River Action is a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britain's rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution and water shortages.

We support community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, take legal actions and call out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end river pollution and secure freshwater.

We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and stakeholder mobilisers to deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of communities, rivers and wildlife.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Stakeholder Engagement
• Develop and deliver River Action’s stakeholder engagement strategy.
• Manage relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Develop and implement engagement or public affairs strategies.
• Identify, map and prioritise key stakeholders across government, regulators, business, NGOs, academia and civil society.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with senior external stakeholders.
• Create opportunities for strategic collaboration that advance River Action’s mission and objectives.
• Monitor stakeholder developments and identify opportunities and risks.
• Managing Stakeholder and Community Engagement
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of River Action’s stakeholder and community engagement programme.
• Ensure effective delivery and continuous development of the River Rescue Kit and Community Toolkit as key resources supporting grassroots campaigners and community groups.
• Oversee catchment-based engagement strategies that strengthen community-led action, advocacy and campaigning.
• Work closely with the Senior Engagement Coordinator to identify opportunities to expand and strengthen River Action’s network of stakeholder and community groups, campaigners and partners.
• Ensure insights, evidence and priorities emerging from stakeholders and local communities to inform River Action’s public affairs, policy, legal and campaigning work.
• Monitor the effectiveness and impact of community engagement activities and ensure learning is shared across the organisation.
• Support the development of engagement frameworks, systems and processes that enable effective community mobilisation at scale.
• Public Affairs and External Influence
• Support the delivery of River Action’s Public Affairs strategy.
• Build relationships with parliamentarians, political advisers, local authority leaders and relevant government officials.
• Support engagement with regulators including the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Ofwat and other relevant bodies.
• Represent River Action in external forums, roundtables, conferences and stakeholder meetings.
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement around key campaigns, policy initiatives and legal actions.
• Strategic Partnerships
• Develop partnerships with environmental NGOs, think tanks, academic institutions, financiers and businesses.
• Identify opportunities for joint initiatives, campaigns and advocacy activity.
• Strengthen River Action’s position within the wider environmental and public policy landscape.
• Convene strategic partnerships to support policy and campaigning objectives.
• Organisational Leadership
• Work closely with the Head of Public Affairs to support delivery of organisational objectives.
• Provide strategic direction, support and oversight to the Senior Engagement Coordinator, ensuring community engagement activity aligns with organisational priorities and objectives.
• Provide stakeholder intelligence and strategic advice to senior leadership.
• Contribute to organisational planning and public affairs priorities.
• Support cross-team working between Public Affairs, Campaigns, Communications, Legal and Fundraising.
• Ensure strong integration between River Action’s community engagement, public affairs, campaigns, communications and legal work.
• Communications and Representation
• Act as an ambassador for River Action externally.
• Support media opportunities through stakeholder engagement and relationship building.
• Prepare briefings, stakeholder reports and engagement plans.
• Help identify influential voices and advocates who can amplify River Action’s work.
• Monitoring and Reporting
• Maintain stakeholder engagement plans and CRM records.
• Monitor engagement outcomes and report against agreed KPIs.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activity and recommend improvements.

Essential Experience

• Significant experience in stakeholder engagement, public affairs, external affairs, partnerships or advocacy.
• Experience managing relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Experience developing and implementing engagement or public affairs strategies.
• Experience overseeing or managing community engagement, organising or grassroots campaigning programmes.
• Experience translating community priorities and local evidence into policy, advocacy or campaigning objectives.
• Experience working across complex stakeholder environments.
• Experience representing an organisation externally.

Essential Knowledge

• Understanding of UK water‑related political, regulatory and policy‑making processes.
• Understanding of stakeholder engagement and influence strategies.
• Understanding of community engagement, organising and mobilisation approaches.
• Knowledge of environmental, sustainability or public policy issues.

Essential Skills

• Exceptional relationship‑building and networking skills.
• Strong influencing and negotiation abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong strategic thinking and political awareness.
• Ability to balance strategic stakeholder engagement with community‑led campaigning and mobilisation.
• Strong understanding of how grassroots engagement can support policy, legal and public affairs objectives.
• Ability to develop engagement strategies that connect local action with national influence and impact.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and complex stakeholder relationships.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of water policy, environmental regulation or agricultural policy.
• Experience engaging with Westminster, Whitehall or devolved administrations.
• Experience developing partnerships with businesses and financiers.
• Experience supporting policy or advocacy campaigns.
• Experience working with community‑led environmental campaigns or citizen science initiatives.
• Diversity and inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement?

Studies show that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria.

We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace.

So if you like the look of this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we’d still love to hear from you.

You may be just the right person for this role.

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