Rivers of Light Project Officer
Newmarket Chalk Streams Trust CIC
Following a National Lottery award, Newmarket Chalk Streams Trust CIC is seeking a Project Officer to help deliver the Rivers of Light – Newmarket’s Secret Chalk Streams! Project, raising awareness of the local chalk stream network and improving its wildlife, landscape and biodiversity.
This unique combination of a vanishingly rare habitat and strong community arts and education involvement requires an inspirational person to deliver a comprehensive restoration and awareness-raising programme. The task will require the coordination of landowners, businesses, government agencies, local authorities, schools and universities, communities and a plethora of interest groups.
Job title: Project Officer
Contract: 3 years fulltime 5 days a week on self-employed basis
Hours: 40 hours per week, flexible, generally office hours but including some weekend and evening work
Salary: £37-40,000 depending on experience
Responsible to: Board of Trustees
Workbase: working from home
Starting Date: as soon as possible
Transport: full driving licence and a car may be useful for this job but not essential
Agreed expenses: will be covered
Annual leave: 25 days holiday + 8 bank holidays
This post is subject to a probationary period of 3 months.
About Newmarket Chalk Streams Trust CIC
The Newmarket Brook is in poor condition, and very few local people knew about it when our project started. It was formerly named Newmarket No.1 Drain, which says something about its condition. Since ecologist Kevin Hand and artist and musician Louise Eatock set up the Chalk Stream Trust two years ago, many people now know more about it and its fractured ecology. It is now known to be a chalk stream and winterbourne, which naturally flows just after the winter rains but is dry in the summer. However, despite this, it forms the beginnings of a green corridor through a town which is seriously lacking in public green spaces. The stream has already garnered a following due to our atmospheric ‘Rivers of Light’ parade which each February draws hundreds of local folk to join a lantern-lit procession along its banks, and the ‘Rivers of Light’ film made about this event.
There is a wide social and economic divide in Newmarket between the better off, often linked to the higher levels of the racing community, and those with economic and social challenges. Our project is bringing everyone together to focus on the community and environmental opportunities provided by our chalk stream network, which begins in the wealthy villages to the south, connecting our landowning supporters such as the Jockey Club and Tattersalls with the centre of town, the industrial area and Studlands housing estate to the north before flowing on across the Fens to the Great Ouse river.
We quickly developed good connections with experts in many fields, schools and many other chalk stream organisations, including the Cam, Ely and Ouse Rivers Trust, of which we are now a member. We recently secured National Lottery Communities funding some of our work, including appointing our first employee.
We are seeking someone who is as excited as we are by the prospect of creating a restored and freely flowing chalk stream that is a green corridor and a powerful focus for our community, arts, educational and environmental aims, drawing together all Newmarket’s diverse interest groups.
Skills and Experience
- Ability to self-organise and work both independently and collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, from community groups and schools to landowners, farmers, racing stables, water companies, government agencies and others
- Inspirational interpersonal and communication skills.
- An understanding of water and chalk stream ecology and management, and experience of working with water systems/environments and the Catchment Based Approach
- Excellent organisational skills and leadership abilities.
- Experience of the environmental and arts charity sectors.
- Financial and numerate skills to maintain accounts and monitor good use of funds.
- Expertise in fundraising and bid writing.
- An awareness of and interest in a wide range of flora and fauna, plus some identification skills if possible.
- Graduate equivalent or higher in a relevant subject useful but experience even more important.
- Strategic planning and business development.
- Ideally the applicant would live in or near Newmarket, Cambridge or the surrounding areas, or be able to visit these areas regularly and easily.
Personal attributes
- Enthusiasm and positivity.
- Reliability and integrity.
- Ability to cultivate effective relationships with a wide range of people based on mutual trust and respect.
- Empathetic and diplomatic, a good listener and communicator who can inspire all to achieve the project’s goals and aspirations.
- Passionate about all that NCST could achieve.
This amazing person is our ideal candidate, if they don’t exist we hope we will choose the best applicant available!
Roles and responsibilities
1 Project delivery. Be responsible for the effective delivery of our work and create supporting projects.
2 Develop the existing network of stakeholders, communities and partnerships, ensuring effective communications between interest groups, the Project Officer and the Trustees.
3 Monitor financial resources to deliver objectives, raise further funds to do this, and if necessary, explore funding for a continuation of this job and perhaps others beyond the current 3 years. Keep comprehensive records of financial transactions.
4 Report regularly to the Chair and Trustees on progress, requirements and issues, both informally as required and at the monthly Trustees meetings, in person in Newmarket or online.
Strategic Priorities
The Project Officer should report on how the Trust is delivering against its strategic priorities, including:
- Engagement of all ages and abilities in regular use of the green corridors and the streams, promoting interest in the ecology of chalk streams including flora and fauna and in scientific and artistic activities related to the project.
- Enhancing educational opportunities for involvement across all sectors from primary to higher education through arts activities and citizen science, including use of the Rivers of Light documentary filmed about the streams.
- Promoting nature recovery and enhancement to deliver our vision of a healthy, natural river enjoyed by the whole community.
- Chalk Stream restoration.
- Natural flood management.
- Improving water quality.
- Improving public access to all parts of the stream network.
After interviews and selection, we will:
- introduce the new Project Officer to our many existing supporters, organisations and contacts in the community, environment, arts and education.
- show them the chalk stream network in detail, walking the routes with the ecologists, geologists, town planners, arts workers, educationalists and others who have helped us learn about it.
- complete with them a detailed plan of their work for the first year and beyond.
The Year 1 plan will include:
- Determining existing knowledge in and around Newmarket of the streams, their issues and the opportunities for community involvement they offer. Talking with as many residents as possible, including hard-to-reach minority groups, via the film showings, public meetings, school visits etc. Using local people’s thoughts to guide the project, and their memories and experiences of the Brook to highlight its community value.
- Learning as much detail as possible about the current biodiversity of the streams and green corridors including current pollution inputs, sources, and water levels. This might involve schools, degree and higher students from Cambridge and elsewhere, citizen scientists and volunteers. Local experts have offered to help with baseline surveys, bioblitzes, monitoring pollution inputs and sources and water levels.
- Developing and helping to run the planned Poetry Challenge, Earth Day, Art Stream Signs project showing where the Brook flows beneath the town, the next Rivers of Light Parade and the art workshops to deliver it, and many other supportive events
Application process
Please send your CV, 2 references and a covering email, outlining why you are interested and how your experience links to this job specification (the equivalent of around 2 sides of A4), to newmarketcst@gmail.com
Suitable applicants will be invited to give a short online presentation to Trustees, with follow-up questions, on 26 /27 August.
A small number of applicants will then be invited for in-person interviews in Newmarket and beside the stream on 3 and 4 September.
NCST CIC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the successful applicant will sign up to our EDI policy and follow our Safeguarding policy, including DBS checks.
Newmarket Chalk Streams Trust
July 2025
