How non-scientific roles make The Rivers Trust bigger and better
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By Rebecca Duncan – Media and Events Lead, The Rivers Trust
In our last article, we put the spotlight on our fantastic technical team, so this time we’re mixing it up and highlighting some of the non-technical roles that are such essential cogs in the Rivers Trust machine.
To be an organisation that is science-led and data-driven, it’s important that our staffing structure is set up to give that data and science as much impact as possible. From communications and finance officers to new recruits in fundraising and human resources, The Rivers Trust is home to many staff who don’t come from technical backgrounds, but between them have a vast array of skills and play a really important role in the growth our organisation has seen over the last five years.
In this article we will share an insight into the typical working day of two team members who both reflect that substantial growth, and contribute to furthering it. We start with Natalie Coffey, who joined us as a Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator earlier this year.
Before I can tell you about my daily role, I need to explain what a stakeholder is! A stakeholder is anyone with an interest in, could be affected by, or who can influence your organisation / business / project. Even if you are working on a small project you will engage with lots of different stakeholders, from farmers, community groups, right up to regulators, landowners, and businesses. Each stakeholder may have a different interest and influence on your project and may need a different approach. This is where a Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator comes in!
I map the stakeholders involved in a project by identifying them and considering why we want to work with them. The mapping process involves using an interest/influence grid, where I map the stakeholder interest in the project vs their influence on the project. This then gives me a priority status for the stakeholder, which could be Keep Completely Informed / Manage Thoroughly / Anticipate and Manage Needs / Regular Minimal Contact. I then put this into a Stakeholder Engagement Plan which sets out who the different stakeholder’s groups are, what we want to achieve with them and how we plan to do that.
Putting the Stakeholder Engagement Plan into practice means lots of meetings! To understand the stakeholders needs I need to meet with them and have a chat, I find out what they want from the project but also what the project wants from them. It can be a balancing act managing everyone’s needs but it’s an important job! I can be chatting with CEO’s, Directors, Consultants, community groups, regulators, and water companies so a wide range of audiences with varying needs. It’s a very busy role but very fulfilling! I hope that’s given you a bit of a snapshot about the role of a Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator.
While Natalie has a big responsibility working exclusively on our Mainstreaming Nature Based Solutions project, which has 22 partner organisations and more than 100 stakeholders just at the national level, our next spotlight comes from Advocacy & Parliamentary Liaison Officer Kezia Saunders, who divides her time between lots of different areas.
Working as Advocacy and Parliamentary Liaison Officer at The Rivers Trust is exciting, as we are an environmental charity with ambitious advocacy aims covering a wide range of policy areas. In an average week, I can be working on biodiversity, regulation, planning, climate resilience, and more. With rivers in the UK and Ireland in a sorry state, The Rivers Trust is calling for urgent changes to our policy landscape that will enable solutions to these problems.
A key part of my role, and how I start many mornings, is monitoring political activity and policy developments. I look out for trending or emerging themes, leading voices on different topics, and political parties’ stances. This informs our advocacy strategy and helps target our interventions, so that we are supporting well-informed political debate around river health.
To boost the impact of our advocacy efforts, The Rivers Trust collaborates with fellow environmental groups and coalitions, such as Wildlife and Countryside Link and the End Sewage Pollution Coalition. I attend regular meetings with Blueprint for Water’s advocacy group, where we catch up on campaigns, share intel on policy development, and plan joint advocacy action. This hive-mind is extremely valuable, allowing us to discuss different perspectives, share expertise, and pool resources. Together, we produce briefings and consultation responses on freshwater issues.
Balancing out this external-facing work, I also support internal activities, such as publishing position statements on thorny topics. So, I might end my day with a steering group meeting involving experts from the Rivers Trust movement, where we discuss a statement and share experience and evidence on the subject. It is always eye-opening to hear the range of expertise across the movement.
In this role, I get stuck into the technical details of the many challenges and opportunities surrounding river health, which can be a mental workout. The antidote to this is the inspiring conversations I have with people within The Rivers Trust and beyond, all pushing for real change that will improve the health of our rivers and wider environment.
The Rivers Trust isn’t just for scientists
Natalie and Kezia’s roles are just two of many non-technical positions that enable The Rivers Trust to be a powerful voice for rivers and the communities around them. Even someone who doesn’t come from a scientific, technical, or even an environmental background can make a career here and contribute to our work – the only essentials are passion and commitment. Who knows – our next staff member profile could be about you!
Check out jobs with the Trust at https://theriverstrust.org/about-us/careers
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