Community Liaison Officer - Talent Community

Community Liaison Officer 
Location: Didcot, South Oxfordshire

Would you like to play a key role in delivering one of the UK's most ambitious digital infrastructure projects? 

Laing O'Rourke is delivering a £1.5bn+ hyperscale data centre project in Didcot, one of the UK's largest and most significant digital infrastructure developments.

We are looking for a Community Liaison Officer to join our project team and play a key role in the successful delivery of this flagship programme.

The Community Liaison Officer is the primary point of contact between the project and the local community, building and maintaining positive relationships with residents, businesses, local authorities and other stakeholders throughout the construction lifecycle.

Working closely with project delivery teams, you will ensure communities are informed, listened to and supported, helping to minimise disruption, resolve concerns promptly and protect Laing O'Rourke's reputation. You will also support community engagement, social value initiatives and wider project commitments, helping to deliver positive outcomes for the communities in which we work.

Key Responsibilities

• Community and Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the main point of contact for local residents, businesses and community stakeholders, building positive relationships and supporting meetings, consultations and engagement events.
• Community Communications: Prepare and distribute clear, timely communications, including newsletters, project updates, advance works notices and information about construction activities and potential disruption.
• Community Impact Management: Liaise with construction, logistics and project teams to understand upcoming works, identify potential impacts and coordinate measures to minimise disruption.
• Enquiries and Complaints: Manage enquiries, feedback and complaints professionally, coordinating responses, tracking actions through to completion and escalating significant issues where necessary.
• Stakeholder Records and Reporting: Maintain accurate stakeholder databases, engagement records, correspondence and complaints logs, and prepare regular reports on engagement activity, risks and outcomes.
• Social Value and Community Benefits: Support local employment and skills initiatives, education engagement, careers events, school visits and partnerships with community organisations.
• Events and Project Support: Help deliver community events, public exhibitions, site visits and stakeholder briefings, while advising project teams and supply chain partners on community relations and local sensitivities.
• Governance and Compliance: Support compliance with planning conditions, client requirements, Community Liaison Plans, data protection requirements and agreed project commitments.

Skills

• Previous experience in community engagement, stakeholder management, customer relations, communications or a similar public-facing role.
• Experience in construction, infrastructure, engineering, utilities, regeneration or major projects would be advantageous.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain construction activities clearly and accessibly.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to engage effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience handling enquiries, complaints and sensitive issues calmly, professionally and diplomatically.
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing demands and follow actions through to completion.
• Strong attention to detail and confidence maintaining records, reports and stakeholder management systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and an understanding of community engagement, planning and social value requirements within construction projects would be beneficial.
• A relevant qualification in communications, public relations, community development or a related discipline is desirable but not essential.
• A full UK driving licence may be required depending on the project location.

Attributes

• Proactive and approachable: Confident engaging with communities and identifying emerging issues early.
• Accountable and dependable: Takes ownership of enquiries, actions and commitments through to resolution.
• Collaborative: Works effectively with project delivery, logistics, client, sustainability, social value and corporate affairs teams.
• Empathetic and respectful: Listens to community concerns and understands the potential impact of construction on people's daily lives.
• Resilient and adaptable: Remains calm and professional when managing challenging conversations and changing priorities.
• Professional and discreet: Handles sensitive, confidential and personal information appropriately.
• Community-focused: Committed to minimising disruption, strengthening local relationships and supporting positive, lasting community benefits.

At Laing O'Rourke, you'll play an important role in connecting our projects with the communities around them, helping us build trust, deliver on our commitments and create a positive and lasting legacy.

Don't match all the criteria? We are open and always happy to hear from people with transferable skill sets and a commitment to learning.

About us:
We are an international engineering and construction company delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in the UK, Middle East and Australia.

Certainty, reliability, quality – this is what our clients want. And at Laing O'Rourke, we have more than 150 years of experience delivering it. Laing O'Rourke's story is one of energy, passion, ambition, people and teamwork. We harness the power of our experience, stretching back over a century and a half to deliver certainty for our clients.

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we would like to enable access to candidates with long term health conditions and disabilities through the ‘Offer an interview scheme'. This supports applicants that meet the essential criteria by offering an interview for the advertised position. Please let us know prior to interview what adjustments are required as well as discussing how we can support you in the workplace.

We want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you need the application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please email resourcingteam@laingorourke.com

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