Project Coordinator (Part-Time)

Zero Carbon Guildford (ZCG) is looking for an experienced, organised and capable project development coordinator to help build and support our projects and enable our fantastic volunteer community to achieve more in their climate and environmental impact goals.

We are a Surrey-based charity offering practical solutions which help residents and businesses cut waste and emissions, remove confusion and misinformation on how to make a difference, and provide local solutions to a global crisis.

Overview & Purpose 

The role of the Project Development Coordinator is to assist existing ZCG projects in achieving maximum impact, and develop new projects where ideas have been put forward or gaps are identified. You will provide project management support, forming teams of self-sufficient volunteers, and provide support in monitoring and evaluation. You will be part of a team comprising paid staff and volunteers. As such, alongside project development your focus will be on supporting and nurturing personal development within the volunteer base whilst driving forward the Charity’s objectives.

An important part of the role is to help effectively communicate these objectives and the associated outcomes of ZCG projects to the public and stakeholders, in line with our engagement strategy. This will include assisting with the coordination of project-focused outreach events, the development of displays, as well as responding to email, social media and telephone enquiries, recognising that every conversation is an opportunity for further collaboration. 

Fundraising is key to the stability of the charity. The Project Development role will help to identify and develop fundraising activities which help projects to be somewhat self-sustaining. This will include identifying available funding pots and understanding project teams’ funding needs, as well as raising funds through events and community fundraising. 

We are advertising this role alongside an Operations Coordinator, and envisage each of these being ~4 days a week, which will include some evening and weekend hours. However, we are eager to recruit the best possible combination of people to the team, and will consider different working arrangements (either fewer or more hours), and individuals with experiences across the two roles.

This role is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Tasks 

• Support the successful operation of ZCG projects. This includes:

  • Liaising with project leads to ensure projects are fully resourced, including volunteer help, marketing and messaging, IT support, funding etc. 

  • Ensuring project leads are aware of and are complying with ZCG safeguarding policies and procedures.

  • Maintaining oversight of project activities and events to avoid duplication of effort, and communicate project activity to Operations and Trustee teams

  • Work with the Volunteer Recruitment Co-ordinator to ensure efficient advertising and fulfillment of volunteer roles, and encourage volunteers to actively participate in the running of projects. 

  • We envisage that this role would act as the Team Leader for the project-specific paid roles which exist for a small subset of our projects (currently three part time paid staff). 

• Support the initiation of new ZCG projects, including:

  • Exploring the feasibility, community need, and impact of new projects and assist with project proposals for Operations & Trustees, and planning and resourcing initial requirements for successful project implementation. .

  • Work with third party organisations to develop joint projects where appropriate

  • Identify and manage fundraising opportunities, such as events, membership structures, donation drives etc. ensuring all activities are within the environmental and social ethos of the charity.

• Ensuring project activity and results are communicated and reported effectively, including: 

  • Developing a key understanding of ZCG Engagement so that volunteers and activities are guided to create impactful messaging 

  • Assist projects with event planning and effective marketing 

  • Work with the Operations Team to help coordinate project information and messaging within ZERO

  • Support with reporting of project activity and results to the Operations teams and the Trustees. 

• Work with the other employees and volunteers as part of the Operations Team at ZCG to support smooth, and effective operation of the charity, and delivery of our charitable aims - this includes: 

  • Keeping up to date with correspondence on our online workspace, Slack, joining fortnightly Operations meetings (usually on a Tuesday evening) and contributing to Operations activities and decisions.  

  • Engaging members of the public who contact the charity online, by phone and through email

  • Actively champion our equality and diversity policy to foster an inclusive environment ensuring that all projects are enjoyable and a welcoming places to volunteer.

  • Undertake training as required.

Person Specification:

As  Project Development Coordinator, you will be well-organised, with excellent communication skills and the ability to engage and motivate a wide range of people. You will be passionate about environmental and climate topics, and about making a positive impact on the community. 

As such, you will:

• Have a commitment to climate and environmental issues. A deep scientific and social knowledge is not a prerequisite for the role, but a willingness and ability to learn more and develop this understanding is vital. 

• Work well within a team setting - experience leading people and working with volunteers would be highly relevant and desirable.

• Be well-organised, reliable and able to manage your own time effectively. Project management skills and experience is desirable for this role. 

• Have excellent communication skills, including to groups and individuals with different perspectives and backgrounds. In particular, this includes being able to lead, engage and motivate teams of people, and provide direction and a framework for them to excel. People management / team leadership experience is desirable for this role.

• Be resilient to changing situations and requirements; good at problem solving and thinking on your feet. 

• Have basic IT skills, for example including basic office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and experience with / ability to learn Slack, Google Mail, Google Drive / G-suite and Canva (note that we can help you learn these specific applications as long as you are generally IT-literate). Familiarity with digital design tools, such as Canva, will be desirable for this role. 

Practicalities:

• This role reports to the Operations Lead of Zero Carbon Guildford

• We envisage this role to be 4 days a week, including 1 evening meeting a fortnight, and may include some weekend working. However, we are keen to see the best candidates available, and so if you have differing requirements of hours, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

• Based in the ZERO building in the centre of Guildford with some local travel for which expenses can be claimed.    

• Annual salary of up to £30,000 full time equivalent depending on experience (at 4 days a week, this would come to £24,000 per annum)

• This is a permanent post, depending on the charity circumstances and funding.

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays (pro rata for part time) and statutory pension provision