Advocacy and Parliamentary Affairs Officer

The Rivers Trust is a leading environmental charity and the umbrella body of The Rivers Trust movement, comprising over 65 independent local charities. Our vision is for wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all. We are at a pivotal point in our history as water supply, water quality and climate resilience rapidly rise up the public and political agenda, our evidence, expertise and voice have never been more important.

The Role

Reports to: Director of Communications and Advocacy
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Location: Home-based, with regular day travel to London (maximum two-hour commute to Westminster)

Purpose of the role

• Play a crucial part in our position as a strong voice for our rivers.
• Support our work on political influence, policy development and stakeholder management, particularly within the parliamentary sphere.
• Work on issues relevant to river health, climate adaptation, planning, land use, agriculture, pollution and nature’s recovery.

Key responsibilities

• Parliamentary monitoring: tracking legislation, select committee reports and inquiries, debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
• Influencing and advocacy: developing strategies to influence decision-makers, including drafting parliamentary briefings, consultation responses and speeches.
• Leveraging the relationship of the Rivers Trust Movement with local MPs.
• Stakeholder engagement: building relationships with parliamentarians, civil servants and coalition partners.
• Building relationships with technical experts in The Rivers Trust and members of The River Trust Movement to gather their evidence and support and ensure our actions give voice to their advocacy needs.
• Liaising with member trusts and their umbrella bodies in the devolved nations to ensure alignment and exchange of best practice and knowledge with their processes.
• Campaigning: Work closely with Comms team colleagues to support the delivery of campaign actions, digital activity and events, drafting articles, blogs and campaigning materials. Including, mechanisms for the public to engage with MPs on key issues of relevance to improving the state of our rivers.
• Drafting: Coordinating and leading the development of organisation-wide Position Statements, briefings and consultations responses.

Salary & Benefits

This is a Grade 4 position with a salary of c.£35,000, plus:

• 9% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave (rising to 28 days with service) plus statutory public holidays
• Life assurance
• Flexible working hours
• Option of a 9-day fortnight
• Home-based working
• Commitment to career development and training
• A supportive and inclusive working culture

About You

Knowledge, skills, experience, and personal qualities:

Essential

• Proven experience in a parliamentary or similar advocacy role.
• Strong analytical skills: Ability to monitor, interpret and summarise parliamentary activity, legislation, select committee reports, debates, and inquiries.
• Understanding of Parliamentary Processes: A solid grasp of law-making, parliamentary procedures, and the legislative landscape in England, with awareness of devolved nation practices.
• Ability to develop and implement comprehensive advocacy plans.
• Digital Literacy: Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
• Experience of managing an organised approach to delivering multiple tasks, events, and deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• An understanding of and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and how it relates to the role.
• Enthusiasm, self-reliance and resilience.

Desirable

• Political Awareness: Up-to-date knowledge of current issues affecting river health, climate adaptation, planning, land use, agriculture, pollution and nature recovery.
• Demonstrated knowledge and proficiency with communications technologies
• Strong copywriting and copy-editing abilities.
• Established parliamentary relations.

Qualifications/ Education

• Level 6 e.g. Honours degree, degree apprenticeship in a relevant subject or equivalent experience

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through this site. We are unable to accept applications by email or other methods. If you have questions not answered in the advert or Recruitment FAQ, please contact tessa.wardley@theriverstrust.org (please do not use this email address to apply).

Closing date: Midday, 10 March 2026

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are particularly keen to improve the diversity of our Trust. As part of our commitment to positive action under the Equality Act 2010, we strongly encourage applications from people from ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

We are committed to making our recruitment process accessible to everyone. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we will be happy to support you.