Engaging Communities Officer – Trees for All in Chelmsford

The Woodland Trust is looking for an Engaging Communities Officer – Trees for All at our Hainault Site. As an Engaging Communities Officer, you will support the delivery of the Woodland Trust’s Trees for All programme in northeast London as part of the Woodland Trust’s Central Region team. You will work with communities, partners and stakeholders across the London Borough of Redbridge to help more people connect with trees, woods and nature.

The Role:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with community groups, schools, volunteers, local authorities and delivery partners to support Trees for All objectives across northeast London.
• Plan and deliver inclusive community engagement projects, events and tree-planting activities that connect people with trees, woods and nature.
• Engage, inspire and support underrepresented communities, reducing barriers to participation and improving long-term access to local green spaces.
• Recruit, coordinate and support volunteers, ensuring positive experiences and successful delivery of engagement activities.
• Promote Woodland Trust initiatives through effective communications and outreach, maximising participation, impact and community involvement.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners to extend the reach, quality and sustainability of projects and programmes.
• Ensure activities are effectively planned, monitored and evaluated, maintaining accurate records and compliance with GDPR, safeguarding and reporting requirements.
• Champion the Woodland Trust’s values by embedding sustainability, equality, diversity, inclusion, health and safety and biosecurity standards in all aspects of delivery.

This is a hybrid position with a mix of home working and from our Hainault Forest Site. Site attendance would be required once or twice a week on average. Occasional travel to other offices and remote locations may also be required. This is a fixed term contract for 2 years. Part time working 30 hours per week.

The Candidate:

• Experience building and maintaining effective relationships with community groups, schools, volunteers, local authorities and partner organisations to support successful project delivery.
• Experience planning, organising and delivering engaging projects, events and programmes that promote environmental, education, health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Experience developing and delivering inclusive engagement activities that effectively reach and support underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Track record recruiting, coordinating and supporting volunteers, ensuring positive experiences and meaningful participation opportunities.
• Confidence promoting projects, campaigns and initiatives through a range of communication channels, creating engaging content and case studies to maximise impact.
• Experience engaging and educating children, young people and vulnerable adults, helping communities understand the environmental, social and health benefits of trees and green spaces.
• A track record of monitoring activity, managing records, budgets and databases and contributing to reporting, evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Confidence and accuracy ensuring all activities are delivered in accordance with safeguarding, health and safety, GDPR and biosecurity requirements while maintaining high professional and organisational standards.

The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced DBS Check, as part of our pre-employment screening.

Benefits and Wellbeing:

• Joining our team means you’ll be part of our fight for a greener, healthier planet for people and wildlife.
• We take good care of our staff, offering support and training opportunities.
• Enhanced Employer Pension
• Life Assurance
• Flexible and hybrid working options (7am – 7pm)
• Generous annual leave – 25 Days plus Bank Holidays (pro rata for part-time)
• Buy and sell holiday scheme
• Enhanced parental pay
• Employee assistance programme

To support inclusivity and remove barriers for candidates, we publish all salaries upfront and proudly follow the We Show the Salary pledge. The salary listed is the set salary for this role, and we don’t ask applicants to state their current pay or expectations.

About Us:

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity. We want to see a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to make a difference by protecting, restoring and creating woodland and getting more trees in the ground.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

To achieve our mission, we need to better reflect society and the communities we work in. People of colour and disabled people are currently under-represented across the environment and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we particularly encourage you to apply.

Application information and advice:

For fairness we keep our candidates’ personal details hidden from the hiring managers, and we do not ask for your CV at application. Make sure that your personal statement clearly shows how your skills and knowledge link to the specifications in the job description and you share with us your passion for the role. Even if you don’t meet every requirement of the role, we encourage you to apply. Completed applications will be reviewed by a hiring manager and/or a member of the recruitment team, and you will receive an update on the outcome of your application via email.

Acceptable Use – Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We understand that candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their job applications. However, we ask that any information submitted reflects your own experience, skills and understanding. During interviews, candidates are expected to respond independently without the use of AI tools.