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SalaryABOUT US
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. We want to see a world where trees and woods thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to make a difference in tackling the nature and climate crises, helping protect, restore and create our vital woods and trees.
THE ROLE
The Engagement and Communications Officer (ECO) is part of an exciting new ‘Building Capacity Project’ which seeks to develop the skills and capacity of communities on the west coast of Scotland to deliver the aims of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest i.e. protect and restore Scotland’s globally important temperate rainforest. The Woodland Trust has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for this project's initial two-year ‘development’ phase.
The ECO will support the Project Development Manager, project team members and local staff working in three landscape-scale project ‘hubs’ (in Argyll, Morvern and Torridon). The role will provide opportunities for audiences to connect with Scotland’s rainforest and build the skills and capacity needed to sustainably restore it. This involves working with communities, organisations and specialists to a) raise awareness of Scotland’s rainforest, b) facilitate volunteering, on-the-job training and the sharing of learning about how to restore it, and c) inspire a long-term commitment to look after it.
The ECO will plan and deliver communications and engagement activities during the project's development phase, and support the Project Development Manager to create a comprehensive activity plan for the delivery phase. This includes surveying audiences to benchmark attitudes; managing a launch event; using existing (or establishing new) local and regional communication channels to reach audiences and share progress; co-developing with partners a series of meaningful engagement opportunities; supporting project ‘hubs’ to develop their own communications and engagement plans and monitoring the impact of project activities.
This is an 18-month fixed-term position. Should our funding bid for the subsequent five-year ‘delivery’ phase be successful, we hope the ECO will remain in post to support the delivery of these plans.
THE CANDIDATE
You will have experience building relationships with a range of stakeholders including community organisations and are comfortable collaborating and engaging effectively for different outcomes e.g. learning, consultation or facilitation.
You will be able to confidently organise and deliver a range of events from online webinars to community gatherings; have working knowledge of using social media for marketing, capturing interesting content and writing engaging stories, and you’ll be happy self-managing a diverse and varied workload.
Plus you’ll have experience working as part of a project team, supporting funding bids, budgeting for, and reporting on the impact of your activity. Oh and have a genuine interest in Scotland’s rainforest of course!
A full UK driving licence is required so you can travel across the west coast when required. Access to your own vehicle would be ideal.
Our Organisational Nature enables us to understand better what it means to be part of the Woodland Trust, empowering us to make an impact, every day. We want you to be able to role model our values; ‘Grow Together’, ‘Focus’, ‘Make it Count’ and ‘Explore’ to ensure each of us plays our part in helping to protect, restore and create our woods and trees.
WHAT TO EXPECT BY JOINING A TEAM AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE
There’s no other organisation like the Woodland Trust. Joining the team you will be making your contribution to tackling the nature and climate crisis. In return, we recognise and value our people. You'll have our full support, training and opportunities for professional development, along with a contributory pension, life assurance, good holiday allowance and the opportunity to work flexibly from home.
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
At the Woodland Trust, we want to reflect and represent the full richness of diversity in the UK. Fewer of our employees are Black, Asian or minority ethnic; disabled; from lower socio-economic backgrounds or under 25; so we are particularly keen to receive your application if you are from one or more of these groups. We can also discuss anything you may need to achieve your full potential at any stage of the process. We assess your application solely on your demonstrated suitability for the job. Nothing else.
To ensure anonymised recruitment, if you have uploaded your CV, shortlisting panels do not see your CV until shortlisting has been completed. Before submitting your application, please ensure you have completed the supporting information section with details of experiences that clearly evidence as many aspects of the job description as possible.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. If you are interested, we'd encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.
