Location
Lewisham, London

Hours
0.8 Full Time Equivalent (4 days per week)

Salary
£35,000 pro rata

About the Role
Street Trees for Living is seeking an experienced, proactive, and creative Community Engagement Coordinator to strengthen and deepen relationships with communities in Lewisham. The role aims to advance community stewardship, raise awareness about the benefits of street trees, and increase tree canopy cover equitably. This is a minimum 1-year fixed term contract reporting to the Executive Director.

The successful candidate will manage volunteers by recruiting, developing, and retaining them, and act as the primary support for Area Reps and Street Reps, fostering a peer-to-peer network to share best practices. You will raise awareness around trees, particularly in areas with low canopy cover and underrepresented communities, and work closely with the tree care team to support volunteering and training opportunities including watering, formative tree care, and auditing.

Building meaningful relationships with community groups and individuals at a hyperlocal, neighbourhood level is key, including listening to groups to understand their emotional responses and perceptions of trees. You will collaborate with communities and partner charities to map formal and informal networks within local neighbourhoods.

The role involves using creative evaluation approaches to collect and analyse impact data such as volunteer surveys, one-to-one conversations, and case studies to measure outcomes related to health and wellbeing. You will also focus on reaching new audiences by building relationships with diverse communities and co-designing tree planting schemes in public spaces.

Community stakeholder engagement is essential, including working with community groups, Parks groups, local charities, tenants, and residents’ associations. You will organise in-person community engagement activities and training sessions such as tree walks, citizen science sessions, workshops, networking opportunities, and resource sharing.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion principles must be integrated into all aspects of the work. You will maximise communications impact by promoting the organisation’s work, raising awareness, and increasing reach through regular communication with guardians and volunteers. Content creation for social media, newsletters, and the website, including inspiring case studies and event storytelling, is also part of the role.

Street Trees for Living is a small, supportive, and collaborative team committed to fostering an inclusive and flexible work environment. Candidates with a connection to the London Borough of Lewisham are especially encouraged to apply.

About Street Trees for Living
Street Trees for Living is a community tree-planting charity rooted in the London Borough of Lewisham. We work collaboratively with local residents, schools, and community groups to plan, plant, and care for trees in urban neighbourhoods, aiming to increase climate resilience and improve health and wellbeing for all communities.

Experience
- Experience in the charity sector in community engagement or development
- Practical experience planning, coordinating, and delivering community-based events, workshops, and activities
- Experience engaging with communities in London
- Experience recruiting, training, supervising, and motivating volunteers
- Experience building and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders such as resident groups, schools, local authorities, and charities
- Experience using co-design principles to facilitate workshops with diverse communities
- Knowledge of tree planting/environmental sector is desirable but not essential

About you
- Empathetic with strong listening skills
- Able to build and maintain meaningful relationships
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to adapt to different audiences
- Strong commitment to environmental and social justice
- Passionate about the cause and able to inspire others
- Understanding of lived experience and community needs
- Excellent time management and organisational skills
- Creative problem solver
- Flexible, with willingness to work some evenings and weekends (with notice)

Qualifications
No specific qualifications required. We encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of background. A connection to the London Borough of Lewisham is especially welcomed.