Jobs & Volunteer Positions

Head of Improving Rivers 

Salary:  £55,000 to £60,000 per annum

Band:     Senior Leadership Team

Contract length:   Permanent – 35 hours per week, full time.  Hybrid working

Location:  London-based, primarily Guildhall (EC2V 7HH) and Bow Lock (E3 3JY), with work across Thames21 project locations

Responsible to:   Chief Executive

Responsible for:  Improving Rivers Managers and associated staff.

About Thames21:

Thames21 is an environmental charity which works across London and the Thames Basin to deliver high-impact nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis by restoring rivers, whilst also connecting communities to their local green-blue spaces and inspiring long-term stewardship of them.

Diversity at Thames21

Thames21 is committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the communities we serve across London and the Thames Basin. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and lived experiences.

Purpose of the role

Lead and grow Thames21’s Improving Rivers Team to deliver high-quality river restoration, catchment management and environmental evidence programmes, while contributing to organisational growth and strategic partnerships.

Key relationships

Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, Improving Rivers Managers, Finance, Fundraising/Partnerships, external partners including the Environment Agency, water companies, local authorities, GLA and mayoral bodies, academic partners, environmental NGOs and funders.

Main duties and responsibilities

 1) Strategic leadership & portfolio growth

  • Lead the strategic development of the Improving Rivers portfolio, setting clear objectives and outcomes aligned to Thames21’s plan (2023–2028).
  • As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to organisational strategy, financial sustainability, risk management and culture across Thames21.
  • Translate strategy into actionable delivery plans with measurable targets and milestones.
  • Embed effective monitoring & evaluation across projects and programmes to evidence impact and inform decision‑
  • Contributing to organisational risk management and business planning.
  • Champion innovation and the use of environmental/nature finance mechanisms where appropriate to scale delivery.

2) Programme oversight, quality & compliance

  • Direct and support Improving Rivers Managers to deliver a coherent programme of work across river restoration, evidence, and catchment partnerships.
  • Enable cross‑team collaboration (with the Engagement & Learning Team and others) to maximise multiple benefits for people and nature.
  • Ensure robust project governance, risk management and reporting. Oversee Health & Safety and CDM compliance and safe systems of work.
  • Act as one of the Duty Senior Managers in the weekend cover rota
  • Establish and maintain portfolio measurement indices and ensure timely data entry into Thames21 platforms.

3) People leadership & culture

  • Lead, motivate and develop Improving Rivers Managers; set clear objectives, undertake regular 1:1s, appraisals and PDPs.
  • Foster an inclusive, collaborative and high‑performance culture. Ensure staff wellbeing and professional development.
  • Plan and chair IR team and managers’ meetings. Maintain effective internal communications and knowledge‑sharing (e.g., SharePoint).

4) Finance, funding & organisational development

  • Hold delegated authority for budget setting and expenditure sign‑off within the portfolio. Ensure accurate financial planning, management and reporting.
  • Support development of high‑quality bids and funding agreements (statutory, partnership and philanthropic), including large strategic bids and environmental market opportunities by providing technical expertise, programme design and partner engagement.
  • Work with Finance and Fundraising to strengthen controls, update relevant policies/processes, and ensure audit‑ready documentation.
  • Contribute to whole‑organisation systems, policies and processes that support effective delivery and financial resilience.

6) External relations & advocacy

  • Represent Thames21 with senior stakeholders (e.g., Environment Agency, water companies, GLA/mayoral teams, local authorities, eNGOs, funders, corporate partners and the Rivers Trust).
  • Build and steward strategic partnerships and alliances that enable delivery at scale and unlock new funding and policy influence.
  • Act as a confident spokesperson for Thames21 when required.

7) Reporting, governance & data

  • Ensure timely and accurate portfolio reporting for SMT and Board, including dashboards/infographics and risk register updates.
  • Promote effective use of organisational systems and data within the team to improve efficiency and data quality.

Key performance indicators (portfolio‑level)

  • Water quality – monitoring & investigation: improved evidence base and prioritisation of pollution sources for resolution.
  • Improving water quality – implementation of evidence‑based actions at catchment scale.
  • Flows – natural flood management outcomes and strengthened drought/low‑flow resilience.
  • River/wetland enhancement, restoration & connectivity – ecological condition and connectivity improved.
  • Catchment‑based approach – strengthened hosting and partnership effectiveness.

Other Duties

This job description cannot cover every issue or task that may arise within Thames21. At various times the post-holder will be directed to carry out other reasonable duties in support of other Thames21 activities that are consistent with those in this Job Description HIR0926

Additional Information

  • The role may require occasional evening and weekend work. Travel across London and the Thames Basin as needed.
  • 25 days annual leave (plus public holidays) and office closure between Christmas and New Year; flexitime/TOIL.
  • Auto‑enrolment workplace pension with NEST with 8% employer contribution
  • Laptop and mobile phone for company use; season‑ticket/bike loan (interest‑free).
  • 24/7 access to our employee assistance programme.

For more information on Thames21, please visit our website at www.thames21.org.uk.

Please email your CV, as an expression of interest to Chris Coode at chris.coode@thames21.org.uk, by no later than 5pm on Friday 2 October 2026. Please mark the reference (HIR0926) in the subject box of your email.

We appreciate the time you will have taken to apply to this role, and we do appreciate that it is disconcerting when you don’t hear back from a role you have applied for. However, due to the high number of applications we expect to receive, we are unable respond to or give feedback on individual applications, but we do want to be able manage expectations. Therefore, if you do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

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Brent Catchment Partnerships Officer 

Salary:  £26,936 – £36,352 dependant on experience (Officer Band A Learning – Officer Band B Developing).

Contract length:      0.6 FTE Permanent Part-Time Position. Contract to 31st March 2028, with possibility to extend, subject to funding.      Possibility to increase to Full-Time Position, also subject to funding.

Location:  This is a hybrid position with a mixture of working from home, Thames21’s main office at the Guildhall, City of London and site visits across Thames21 catchment areas as required. Occasional working from Thames21’s satellite office at Bow Locks, East London may also be required.

Responsible to:  Catchment Partnership Programme Manager

About Thames21:

 Thames21 is an environmental charity putting healthy rivers at the heart of community life. Through environmental improvements, community engagement, education and advocacy we bring about effective and lasting change by working hand-in-hand with communities to deliver tangible and measurable improvements to our network of rivers.

Diversity at Thames21

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Thames21 is key to our success and as such we employ staff from a diverse range of backgrounds, this we feel is key in ensuring that everybody has an equal opportunity and is not treated differently or discriminated against because of their characteristics. We value the voices of our individual employees, and we strive to work in a collaborative, innovative balanced way. The postholder must actively support this.

Purpose of the job:

 This post will form part of Thames21’s Catchment Partnership team. The successful candidate will host the Brent Catchment Partnership and will be responsible for the partnership’s strategic development and expansion, working towards the successful delivery of the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) to improve the rivers and wider environment in this catchment.

The Brent Catchment Partnership covers an area of approximately 170km2, from Edgeware in the north, to its tributary with the Thames in the south by Brentford.

Main duties and responsibilities:

The officer will be expected to deliver across four priority areas:

1.Develop diverse, representative, collaborative and delivery focused partnerships

The successful candidate will need to work autonomously and proactively to seek out and positively engage strategic stakeholders within the Brent catchment area, building the influence and capacity of the Catchment Partnership network to deliver improvements for rivers and local communities. These stakeholders will include (but are not limited to) community groups, landowners, eNGOs, local authorities, government agencies and water companies.

 2.Work with partnership networks to identify, develop and fundraise for river catchment improvement projects

Working alongside external partners and Thames21 colleagues, the Catchment Partnership Officer will need to draw on their knowledge of what makes a river catchment healthy to develop ambitious and impactful catchment improvement projects that meet the targets of Thames21’s 5-year plan and the Brent Catchment Action Plan. Once identified, the successful candidate will be required to work with relevant Thames21 teams and external partners to successfully fundraise for the development and delivery of these projects.

3.Bring together identified projects into detailed, deliverable catchment and sub-catchment action plans, and monitor progress against these.

 The catchment partnership officer will be responsible for developing deliverable catchment and sub-catchment action plans that draw together projects identified across the catchment/sub-catchment area with landowner and stakeholder support. These plans should make the priority projects for delivery clear to external readers and catchment partners, enabling a strategic approach to project delivery in the catchment.

4. Break down silos by sharing information and bringing people together; in a way that is catchment wide, cross boundary and across multiple organisations.

The catchment partnership officer will be expected to share knowledge, news, funding opportunities and project progress between stakeholders through meetings, site visits, email newsletters and quarterly meetings of the whole Catchment Partnership (which the Officer will have the responsibility of arranging, coordinating and chairing, including the production of agendas, minutes and actions). The catchment partnership officer will be expected to communicate the work of their catchment partnership networks externally at relevant forums, including the River Partnerships in London (RiPL) Group, Thames Catchment Forum and strategic community events.

Other Duties

Where necessary, the catchment partnership officer may be required to support and lead on the delivery of river improvement projects, managing project deadlines and budgets. Moreover, this job description cannot cover every issue or task that may arise within Thames21; at various times the post-holder will be directed to carry out other reasonable duties in support of other Thames21 activities that are consistent with those in this Job Description. For more information and how to apply, please visit the link CPO0926

For more information on Thames21, please visit our website at www.thames21.org.uk.

To apply for this position please, email an up-to-date copy of your CV and a covering letter to recruitment@thames21.org.uk with the reference CPO0926, in the subject box of your email application.

The closing date for applications is: 5pm 3rd October 2026.

Interview dates: Commencing early October 2026 (subject to change).

We appreciate the time you will have taken to apply to this role, and we do appreciate that it is disconcerting when you don’t hear back from a role you have applied for. However, due to the high number of applications we expect to receive, we are unable respond to or give feedback on individual applications, but we do want to be able manage expectations. Therefore, if you do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

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VOLUNTARY COMPANY SECRETARY

What We Do

Empower communities to care for rivers

  • We support thousands of volunteers and community groups each year to improve their local waterways and green spaces.

Restore rivers and nature

  • We deliver practical river restoration projects that improve habitats, water quality and biodiversity.

Build climate resilience

  • We create nature-based solutions that help communities and ecosystems adapt to climate change and reduce flood risk.

The role

We have an exciting opportunity to appoint a Voluntary Company Secretary to support our Board of Trustees and help ensure our governance is as strong as the environmental impact we deliver.  Your professional skills will support an ambitious and growing charity making a real difference to rivers, wildlife and people.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from groups currently under-represented in charity governance roles.

 The Role

The Company Secretary plays an important role in supporting the effective operation of Thames21’s governance.

Working closely with the Chair of Trustees, Chief Executive and Board, you will help ensure that meetings are well organised, decisions are properly recorded and the charity meets its statutory obligations as both a registered charity and company limited by guarantee.

You will be expected to attend four Board meetings and approximately two sub-committee meetings each year, together with occasional planning discussions with the Chair and Chief Executive.  The role is voluntary, although reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

What You Will Be Doing

  • Supporting the smooth operation of the Board of Trustees and its committees.
  • Working with the Chair and Chief Executive to plan Board and committee meetings.
  • Preparing and distributing agendas and meeting papers.
  • Attending meetings and ensuring accurate minutes and action logs are maintained.
  • Maintaining key governance records and statutory registers.
  • Supporting the filing of statutory returns and governance documents with Companies House and the Charity Commission.
  • Advising trustees on governance processes and good practice.
  • Assisting with trustee induction and governance documentation.
  • Ensuring that the charity complies with its governing document and relevant legal requirements.
  • Supporting governance reviews and improvement initiatives as appropriate.

 What We Are Looking For

We are seeking someone who has:

  • Experience as a Company Secretary, governance professional, trustee, board administrator or in a similar governance role.
  • An understanding of company and/or charity governance.
  • Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
  • The ability to produce concise and accurate minutes.
  • Good judgement and discretion.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • The confidence to provide procedural advice and guidance when needed.
  • An interest in environmental issues, community engagement and the mission of Thames21.

Desirable but not essential:

  • Experience working with charities, membership organisations, companies limited by guarantee or not-for-profit organisations.
  • Knowledge of charity law and Charity Commission requirements.
  • An interest in charity governance and governance improvement.

Why Join Thames21?

This role may appeal to an experienced Company Secretary, governance professional, trustee or board administrator looking to use their skills in support of a meaningful environmental cause.  It could suit someone seeking a voluntary role alongside their career or as part of a portfolio of charitable commitments.

This role offers the opportunity to:

  • Join a friendly, passionate and professional organisation committed to creating lasting environmental and social impact.
  • See the tangible results of your contribution through projects that improve rivers, wildlife habitats and local communities.
  • Use your professional skills to support a respected and ambitious environmental charity.
  • Work closely with an experienced Board of Trustees and leadership team.
  • Gain insight into charity leadership, strategy and governance.
  • Build relationships with professionals from across the environmental, water, local government and charity sectors.
  • Support practical action on river restoration, biodiversity recovery and climate resilience.

Most importantly, you will help ensure that Thames21 has the strong governance foundations needed to deliver lasting environmental impact.

Time Commitment

Approximately 6–10 days per year, including:

  • Four Board meetings annually.
  • Approximately two subcommittee meetings annually.
  • Preparation time for meetings and governance administration.
  • Occasional discussions with the Chair and Chief Executive.

To Apply

Please send your CV and a short covering letter with the reference CS0726 explaining:

  • Why you are interested in becoming Thames21’s Company Secretary; and
  • How your experience and skills would support the role.

Applications should be sent to recruitment@thames21.org.uk.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position

Thames21, Guildhall, City of London, London EC2V 7HH.    Registered Charity No. 1103997

www.thames21.org.uk

We appreciate the time you took to apply for this role, and we understand that it can be disconcerting when you don’t hear back from a position you have applied for. However, due to the high number of applications we expect to receive, we are unable to respond to or provide feedback on individual applications. Nevertheless, we want to manage expectations. Therefore, if you do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

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