Role: Communities Coordinator
Hours: 37.5 per week Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £25,000-£33,000
Holiday: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays
Based: Home Based with travel to London and across the UK
Probationary Period: 3 months
Reports to: Head of Campaigns
Benefits: An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year / Flexitime policy / 5% pension contribution
We are River Action
We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britain’s rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution. We support community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, and call out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end pollution.
We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and community mobilisers to deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of community and wildlife.
Britain’s rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action to bring them back to life.
Who we are looking for:
We are looking for highly engaged people who share our passion for rivers, wildlife and people who bring a creative, collaborative and investigative approach to campaigning. For this role we are looking for a confident and resilient community organiser who can build strong relationships to support communities to create change locally.
What you’ll be doing:
The Communities Coordinator will support community groups to campaign for clean rivers at a local level. By facilitating grass roots action you’ll be galvanising a strong and powerful network of community activists that have the power to create change both locally and nationally. You’ll be responsible for taking River Action’s national campaign strategy to a local level. You’ll work closely with the Campaigns Manager and the wider team to develop a Community Toolkit (including advice for activists, and guidance and services for communications, fundraising, legal support and citizen science projects) to support communities as well as provide strategic support to empower community activists to campaign for clean rivers. You’ll work closely with the Campaigns Manager and wider team to amplify the stories of those taking action at a local level and connect campaign groups to the wider national agenda. You’ll be working collaboratively with the River Action team to devise, develop and deliver our strategy ensuring our programme of community engagement is equitable, diverse and inclusive. You’ll be working closely with other organisations to ensure our community support compliments the work of others and meets the needs of community groups we work with.
Main Duties
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Contribute to the development and implementation of River Action’s campaign strategy.
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Develop River Action’s Community Toolkit as a package of support for local campaign groups.
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Identify community groups within river catchments areas River Action is working and build positive and impactful relationships..
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Organise site visits to develop good relationships and in-depth understanding of local issues impacting river health.
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Convene and align local stakeholders around river catchment and regional campaigns.
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Facilitate local community groups’ campaigns and provide support in line with our toolkit’s support package.
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Facilitate the creation of community group citizen science projects, integrated within a national system for gathering and sharing evidence of pollution.
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Organise community crowdfunding for citizen science and communications.
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Plan and host webinars, training sessions and online and in person events.
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Develop good working relationships with regulators including Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Environment and Protection Agency.
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Support the CEO and Campaigns Manager to identify and deliver legal challenges at a local level.
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Maintain and develop partnerships and working relationships with other key groups and stakeholders working in similar areas of work to River Action.
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Identify opportunities to engage, empower and expand River Action’s network of supporters.
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Support the Communications Coordinator to create inspiring and engaging digital media content and news stories, including taking photographs and videos and conducting interviews.
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Support the Campaigns Manager and Communication Coordinator in responding to the reactive news agenda.
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Contribute to the Monitoring and Evaluation system for demonstrating impact of River Action’s community engagement work, reporting against KPIs.
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Contribute to fundraising efforts particularly crowdfunding and drafting of funding proposals to support Campaigns and Fundraising Teams and the charity’s mission.
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Work as a motivated and collaborative team player within a fast-paced team.
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Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the post as requested by your line manager or any other member of the River Action team.
Other Duties & Responsibilities
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Adopt a positive approach to personal and professional development; engaging in one to one meetings and relevant training.
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Be aware of, and act on, relevant health and safety responsibilities as an employee of River Action and adhere to these wherever you are working.
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To maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at River Action.
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UK travel will be required. Training & operational activities may require overnight stays away from home, in which case standard River Action procedures apply.
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Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse workplace.
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Work collaboratively with colleagues across River Action to collectively deliver our ethos and mission.
What you’ll bring
The position will suit an energetic, collaborative, resilient community organiser with a passion for aligning and mobilising communities to drive environmental change. The ideal person will be an excellent communicator, a natural convener, well-organised, and thrive within a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The person will have a passion to protect and renew our waterways and hold those responsible for environmental destruction to account.
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Experience in working with and supporting community groups.
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Experience in developing guidance documents and toolkits.
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Expertise in convening and galvanising people around a common cause, using a diplomatic and sympathetic approach combined with urgency.
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A head for organisation and excellent time management working in a calm and logical way.
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An understanding of the issues that are impacting our rivers.
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The ability to establish and maintain effective contacts and relationships with senior and influential external individuals and bodies.
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The ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with a wide range of people both verbally and in writing including the media, community groups, other NGO representatives, supporters and followers on social media.
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Great IT literacy.
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Ability to work independently and take initiative to solve problems.
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Ability to work flexible hours as necessary.
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Ability to travel to remote locations not necessarily well-served by public transport.
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A good team player with a willingness to muck in as and where required.
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Ability to think clearly even when working under pressure.
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A passion for River Action’s mission and vision.
Diversity and Inclusion
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. So if you like the look of this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we would still like to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this or other roles.
How to apply
To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter explaining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role and a written submission as described below to jobs at riveractionuk dot com. Only applications including all three documents will be accepted.
Written Submission:
This year, River Action will be developing its Communities Toolkit aimed at local campaign groups and activists seeking to develop their own local campaigns to rescue their rivers locally. As part of your application, we would like you to put together a one page document outlining a plan for the toolkit, mapping out the main structure and content of the toolkit and how you would deliver it to communities. We will particularly be looking at your style of communication and creative skills. Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you may be asked to present this idea.
Closing Date: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 23:00 Friday 24 May. Screening calls and first-round interviews may be conducted with short-listed candidates before the application deadline. The deadline may be closed early if the right candidate is found.
Interview Date: Interviews expected to be held from 24 May via video conference.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
This is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate and driven individual with excellent organisational skills to join our UK-wide Membership Venues Team, who are vital to the success of our Membership Fundraisers and helps the RSPB to raise the funds it needs to reach our ambitious goals to save nature.
Membership Venues Officers
Reference: APR20249075
Location: Flexible in UK - Home-based
Salary: £26,379.00 - £28,319.00 pro rata
Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave (pro rata)
3 full time vacancies are available with various hours and various contract lengths. If a particular contract is of interest, please indicate on your application form.
1 x Fixed term/Full-Time (37.5 hours p/w) - Maternity cover (12 months with possible extension)
1 x Fixed term/Full-Time (37.5 hours p/w) - Secondment cover (12 months with possible extension)
1 x Permanent/Full-Time (37.5 hours p/w)
About the role
You will be responsible for planning and organising a calendar of events for our team to attend, from shopping centres to country shows, high streets to our reserves, and everything in between, so that they can inspire members of the public to become members of the RSPB.
Our aim is to inspire external partners about our attendance at their events or venues. We are looking for someone who is a confident relationship builder with excellent telephone and email manners and communication and negotiation skills. You must have impeccable organisational skills, a keen eye for detail, and be able to manage several tasks at once, recording all key details on our CRM database system daily to ensure that our team of Membership Fundraisers have everything they need to attend their events and venues.
You will be part of a successful and energetic team covering the whole UK. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across the country. This position can be conducted from home, however, occasional travel, including to a local office, reserve or elsewhere in the United Kingdom, will be required.
Benefits:
- 34 days’ annual leave (including BH, which can be worked if desired to get that time back);
- Life Assurance scheme – 5x yearly salary;
- Pension matched up to 7% contribution;
- Confidential assistance programme with a qualified counsellor;
- Sabbatical once every 5 years – up to 4 weeks with an RSPB-approved scheme;
- Annual employee volunteer day – get paid to volunteer with a charity of your choosing;
- Opportunities for career development within various directorates.
What we need from you
Essential skills, knowledge and experience:
- Strong communication and negotiation skills, including customer service skills.
- Effective planning and decision-making skills.
- Geographical understanding of the United Kingdom.
- Solutions focused approach with the ability to overcome setbacks and last-minute changes to get the best outcome for the RSPB.
- Competent in the use of Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook.
- Confident in learning about and using new software (eg, CRM database and Fundraising Portal). Training will be provided.
Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:
- Understanding of fundraising and what makes a good fundraising venue.
- Knowledge of potential fundraising venues.
- Experience of relationship development, particularly through cold contacting potential clients and suppliers.
Additional Information
The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make these roles permanent without further advertising.
Closing date: 23:59, Sunday, 2nd June 2024
We will interview as and when applications come in and reserve the right to close the advert once sufficient applications have been received.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
As part of this application process, you will be asked to complete a full application form, including evidence of how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.
Please do get in contact should you require any reasonable adjustments at the application/interview stage.
We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their whole selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people on nature's side and more diverse people. People of colour and disabled people are underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sectors. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.
The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
No agencies please.