{"id":14781,"date":"2023-03-14T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T10:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charityjob.co.uk\/careeradvice\/?p=14781"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:19:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T15:19:18","slug":"what-its-like-working-for-a-conservation-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charityjob.co.uk\/careeradvice\/what-its-like-working-for-a-conservation-charity\/","title":{"rendered":"What it’s Like Working for a Conservation Charity"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":14804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9142],"tags":[356,9124],"class_list":["post-14781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-charity-sector","category-charity-causes","tag-career-change","tag-entry-level"],"acf":{"job_search_bottom_form":false,"image":14804,"background":14804,"excerpt":"Ever wondered what it's like to work for a conservation charity? Here's Jessie's experience of working as Development Officer at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). ","contenttypes":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","menu_title":"","content":"I<\/span>\u2019<\/span>m very proud to work for the <\/span><\/span>Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)<\/span><\/span><\/a>,<\/span> a wildlife<\/span> conservation<\/span> charity with a bold vision: a world where nature is protected, valued, and loved. RZSS has pledged <\/span>by 2030 <\/span>to<\/span> r<\/span>everse the decline of at least 50 species<\/span>, c<\/span>reate deeper connections with nature for more than a million people<\/span> and e<\/span>nable more than 100 communities to better protect nature.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","menu_title":"Getting into fundraising","content":"

Getting into fundraising<\/h2>\r\nI\u2019ve worked in the charity sector since 2018 and began my fundraising journey as an alumni fundraiser while at university. After graduating with an English and History degree, I worked in the education team for education charity Edinburgh Science. I was then a communication and fundraising officer for social care charity Carr Gomm, followed by a position at Music in Hospitals and Care as a trusts and foundations fundraiser. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nI\u2019ve always believed in the missions of the third sector, have felt connected to nature and seen the value in protecting it. I wasn\u2019t good at science and so never dreamed that I\u2019d be able to work for a conservation charity, but I\u2019m so glad that my career path led me here. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs a development officer, I fundraise for both national and international conservation, learning, and community projects. <\/span>The development team at RZSS enables individuals, companies, and grant-giving organisations to support these innovative programmes and help to protect threatened species from extinction.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe projects I fundraise for are incredibly varied, inspiring, and exciting to share, from pine hoverflies and wildcats in the Cairngorms National Park, to chimpanzees in Uganda, giant anteaters in Brazil and many more. RZSS provides expertise, skills, and action to conservation projects in Scotland and in 20 countries around the world, including carrying out cutting-edge science at its dedicated Wildgenes genetics lab.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_14808\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"526\"]\"\" It's not all giraffeing around- I promise![\/caption]\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","menu_title":"An optimistic, accommodating culture","content":"

An optimistic, accommodating culture<\/h2>\r\nMany of my colleagues, as well as RZSS volunteers, members and patrons are passionate about wildlife, their place in it and how to better safeguard species. I\u2019ve been in this role for almost a year, and what has been a breath of fresh air is the appreciation of new ideas and opportunities to participate in the delivery of projects. <\/span>This makes me a better fundraiser and a better advocate for RZSS and all the organisation is working to achieve. I like to visit staff delivering projects and my colleagues have been incredibly receptive to this.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs a result, I have:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n