Stakeholder Engagement Specialist

Do you have experience of stakeholder engagement and communications?

Are you looking to develop your career within an exciting environmental company?

We are looking for a communications and engagement professional to manage and deliver work with our clients, their stakeholders and local communities. You will report to our national Stakeholder Engagement Lead and will co-ordinate the delivery and help directly deliver our stakeholder engagement work supporting our clients nationally.

This role will be based in our clients’ Haywards Heath or Portsmouth office, depending on the preference of the selected candidate.

The job will involve:

Building positive working relationships with key stakeholders such as the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities, Internal Drainage Boards and Water Companies.

Working with communities at risk of flooding and coastal change to communicate technical messages and build consensus on scheme and design options.

Developing communications and stakeholder engagement strategies for high profile flood and coastal schemes including: stakeholder engagement analysis; event planning for public facing activities, content creation for public facing materials, public affairs activities, workshop facilitation and support, consultation drafting, media monitoring amongst others.

Supporting Project Managers with advice, specific activities and training to enable them to deliver projects effectively.

Our client supports agile working which provides for greater flexibility with the way that they work.

Qualifications and experience

An ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate considerable experience working with a range of stakeholders, a good understanding of broader communications and public affairs, alongside a good understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different flood and coastal management organisations. Applicants should have a degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

We are looking for a candidate who is:

• a motivated self-starter.
• personable and approachable.
• in possession of excellent communication skills.
• able to organise others.
• good at negotiating shared outcomes.

Core skills required:

• Project management.
• Stakeholder engagement experience.
• Development and application of communications and engagement plans.
• An aptitude for communicating complicated technical information to non-specialist audiences.
• Experience applying a broad spectrum of engagement techniques and tools.
• Experience delivering shared outcomes through infrastructure projects.
• Experience working with local communities.

The following skills would be desirable:

• Experience of working on flood and coastal erosion risk management projects.
• An understanding of flood and coastal funding arrangements.
• An appreciation of flood and coast technical work including flood modelling, options appraisal and detailed design and delivery.
• Experience of applying inclusive approaches to stakeholder and community engagement work.
• Experience of working with flood and coastal stakeholders, such as the Environment Agency, Local Authorities, Water Companies and Internal Drainage Boards.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.