HS2 recruits special community engagment team

THE company behind the HS2 high speed rail programme is to recruit a team of dedicated community engagement specialists to try and allay fears over the development of the project.

The specially-recruited team will be trained to understand and respond to the views of people living along the route of the rail line.

The team’s recruitment follows feedback from the project’s Residents’ Commissioner, local authorities and local communities.

The 11 specialist roles will be based in regions along the proposed route for Phase One of HS2, between London and the West Midlands. Their primary role will be to ensure that HS2 is both talking and listening to all those who are affected by the project in their area.

This will involve responsibility for the running of local information events and ongoing dialogue with communities to ensure the organisation listens to and acts on people’s concerns.

The roles will also help HS2 to better recognise the needs of each community as the project moves towards construction.

The successful candidates will become the ‘go-to’ people within the communities and HS2 Ltd said would be “integral in identifying local issues, needs and requirements”.

Jonathan Lord, Senior Area Engagement Manager, HS2 Ltd said: “As HS2 moves towards construction we recognise that it will have a significant impact on the lives of local residents and businesses who live and work along the line of route.

“We are looking to build a strong team of experienced community engagement specialists to put the concerns of people at the heart of what we do and to give us a thorough understanding of local issues.

“We need to continue to listen to and act on local concerns about HS2 and having the right people on the ground is critical to our community engagement.”

Details on how to apply are on the HS2 Ltd website.