The Community Liaison Officer will serve as the primary link between Universal and the public, acting as the main point of contact for local residents and stakeholders. The role is responsible for keeping the community informed of development progress and key issues, establishing and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders, and managing a notification system for emerging issues outside standard working hours. The Community Liaison Officer will log, investigate, and respond to community concerns in a timely manner. As a condition of planning consent, UDX is required to appoint a Community Liaison Officer to lead all core government-facing commitments, including local outreach to support job creation, environmental and regulatory compliance, community relations, and collaboration with Talent & Culture on statutory quarterly reporting.
- Acts as the first point of contact for members of the public and ensures that all local residents and stakeholders are kept informed of key issues through written and verbal communications, proactively managing enquiries, addressing concerns in a timely manner, and fostering constructive, trust鈥慴ased relationships that reinforce Universal Destinations & Experiences reputation within the community. This role will lead required government facing commitments as per defined in the Special Development Order.
- Establishes and maintains relationships with key stakeholders, including local government officials, local education establishments and business and industry associations. This will require disseminating the construction programme to all interested parties, managing enquiries with accuracy and professionalism, and providing timely, well鈥憆easoned responses to complaints and concerns. Ensures transparency, maintains community trust, and supports smooth delivery of programme commitments.
- Maintains the notification systems outside standard working hours to ensure the local Bedford community is made aware of key scheduling updates. Distributes information about any work scheduled outside of standard hours at least five working days in advance, ensuring timely, accurate, and consistent updates through real鈥憈ime channels such as the project website and/or SMS alert system. Proactively monitoring these platforms to address emerging issues and maintains compliance with all communication requirements per the SDO.
- Logs, investigates and responds to all noise鈥憆elated enquiries from residents through written and verbal communication. Provides thorough documentation of each enquiry, identifies root causes in coordination with relevant project teams, and issues clear, timely responses. Reports monthly to the Principal Contractor(s) and Bedford Borough Council on enquiries received, actions taken. Identifies emerging trends and any recommended mitigation measures to support continuous improvement and compliance.
- Convenes and attends meetings with external groups, including the socio鈥慹conomic taskforce. Produces reports of such meetings (including for submission to His Majesty鈥檚 Government) to a high professional standard. Ensures accurate documentation of discussions, clear articulation of actions and outcomes, and timely dissemination to all relevant internal and external stakeholders to support compliance, transparency, and informed decision鈥憁aking.
- Supports other key community initiatives and projects as needed.