River and Fisheries Project Officer

West country Rivers Trust is recruiting a River and Fisheries Project Officer. This is a permanent contract after a successful 4 month probation period.

The starting salary for this role is £26,500.00 – £29,700.00 per annum (dependent on experience)

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 25 days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays, with a reward for long service – an additional 1 day per year for each year worked over 5 years, up to a maximum of 30 days for employees serving 10 years continuous service
• Additional leave covering the Christmas Closure period
• WRT contributes 9% of salary to a personal pension scheme (following a three-month postponement period), plus Life Assurance cover
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Hybrid & Flexible Working

Apply by midnight on Sunday 28th June 2026.

Interviews will be held in person at our offices in Stoke Climsland on Thursday 9th July 2026.

For queries about this role or the application process please contact

The River and Fisheries Project Officer is a key member to the River and Fisheries Team in delivering project work, habitat work and monitoring of our catchments throughout the Southwest. Upcoming and existing projects include: fisheries (including eel) monitoring and conservation, shad research and fish passage improvements.

Reporting to the Head of Fisheries and Ecology, the post holder will be encouraged to develop their knowledge and experience of working in and alongside rivers.

• Act as project officer on one or more projects, delivering outputs to a high standard and upholding WRT’s reputation
• Apply for consents, permits and exemptions required to deliver project work, with support from the team
• Work with the Operations Team and subcontractors to safely and professionally deliver work on WRT projects and tenders
• Undertake procurement and some supplier contract management

• Support planning and delivery of the Team’s monitoring programme, including electric fishing surveys and habitat walkovers
• Collate site data, records and images for reporting purposes
• Undertake fieldwork and site supervision independently, with appropriate support from the team

• Engage professionally with the public, landowners and volunteers, representing WRT externally
• Attend, plan and assist with organising events, meetings and workshops, including dissemination of materials and minutes
• Contribute to promotional and educational events and workshop delivery

• Support the production of technical and output reports, collating data and drafting project paperwork
• Lead on a specialism within the role, developing knowledge and skills commensurate with a Project Officer position

• Collaborate with project teams to achieve objectives and milestones
• Support the Team Manager in the development of junior staff
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the level of the role

• Fisheries expertise and experience
• Demonstrable experience and knowledge of freshwater fisheries, water quality, water resources, or Water Framework Directive management
• Evidence of keeping abreast of current best practice, legislation
• Knowledge of geomorphology, fisheries conservation and or river restoration (E)
• Experience or working knowledge in conservation or environmental sectors (D)
• Experience in fish passage projects (D)
• Experience in working with contractors, stakeholders and other organisations (D)
• Experience obtaining consents and planning permission for environmental projects (D)
• Experience of ecological survey techniques (D)
• Experience in bid or tender writing (D)

• A proactive approach and ability to use initiative and problem solve
• The ability to carry out survey fieldwork and contractor/site supervision work as part of delivering a busy catchment schedule
• The ability to manage your own workload and meet deadlines
• Strong written communication skills
• Effective oral communication with the ability to build positive working relationships
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and work as a team
• Demonstrable experience of working with MS Office suite especially Word and Excel
• Ability to travel across the area of operations as required by the role

• A degree in conservation or ecology or a relevant degree-equivalent vocational qualifications will be considered if highly relevant to the position.

The above are Essential criteria unless indicated as Desirable.