Location
Based in Melrose and working across the Scottish Borders, Scotland

Hours
Part-time, 0.5 FTE (2.5 days per week)

Salary
£31,200 pro-rated to 2.5 days/week (£15,600 per annum)

About the Role
The Community Engagement Officer will work with community groups, schools, individuals, and households across the Scottish Borders to increase connection to nature, focusing on red squirrels, their ecology, and their role within healthy ecosystems. This role supports the Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN), a partnership project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, aiming to secure the future of red squirrels across Northern England and Southern Scotland through coordinated conservation efforts.

The Scottish Borders is a rural region with socioeconomically disadvantaged communities still impacted by the decline of the local textiles industry. Many communities have red squirrels present in gardens and community spaces, but awareness of their conservation importance is limited. The Officer will engage new and diverse audiences, especially those underrepresented in conservation, using red squirrels as a flagship species to foster nature connection and motivate positive conservation action.

Main responsibilities include planning and delivering engagement activities and events, supporting local squirrel groups to recruit volunteers, providing training and skill-sharing opportunities, collaborating with project staff across regions, contributing monitoring data and case studies, supporting advocacy efforts, managing and mentoring junior staff, assisting with communications and social media, championing equality and inclusion, completing risk assessments, ordering resources, compiling reports for funders, and contributing to advisory and management groups.

Experience
- Experience working in community settings and with diverse groups, delivering activities to engage and train varied audiences.
- Proven ability to plan and deliver community events including promotion, risk assessment, team organisation, equipment ordering, and venue booking.
- Experience engaging people with nature, community coordination, and supporting behavioural change.
- Experience working with volunteers and adapting activities to suit different groups.

About you
- Excellent people and communication skills, able to work effectively with diverse audiences.
- Innovative, creative, and an excellent team player.
- Self-motivated, well-organised, and able to deliver within agreed timescales.
- Positive, solution-focused attitude.

Qualifications & Knowledge
- Essential knowledge of good practice in working with diverse communities, young people, and volunteers.
- Understanding of barriers to engagement in socioeconomically deprived or marginalised groups and how to overcome them.
- Knowledge of pathways to nature connectedness and techniques to engage new audiences.
- Ability to communicate effectively, produce reports, presentations, and grant applications.
- Good working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
- Understanding of red squirrel conservation principles and safeguarding procedures.
- Full current driving licence and use of a car.

Desirable
- Knowledge of the target community areas and red squirrel conservation in the UK.
- Experience with red squirrel conservation activities such as survey techniques or grey squirrel control.
- Experience in project and financial reporting.
- Experience in line management or mentoring.
- Experience using digital engagement tools including social media.
- Relevant training in community organising, Forest School, environmental education, or equivalent vocational experience.
- Recent safeguarding training or willingness to undertake it.