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.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
The 5Rights Foundation is looking for a Research Officer to join our small and high impact team in fighting for a digital world that supports children and young people to flourish.
At 5Rights, we work with governments, policy-makers, technologists, and NGOs all over the world to advocate for one simple principle: the enormous potential of digital technology will only be realised when it is designed with children and young people in mind.
If you’re passionate about exploring emerging tech; if you’re enthusiastic about contributing to one of the most lively policy debates of our time; and if you’re committed to working on behalf of the one billion children who are online, we’d love to hear from you.
We are looking for someone organised, meticulous, creative and critical-minded to conduct ongoing practical research into the tech children are using, ensure our policy team understand how it works and impacts children, and gather the evidence to drive change.
Experience of providing research support in a policy environment and knowledge of technology policy, privacy, children’s rights or a related field would be desirable. Additional language skills such as French or Spanish is an advantage. We are offering remote working (with part-time co-working space access in London or Brussels) with employee contracts in the UK or Belgium; salary ranges from £22,400 – 24,900 or EUR 31,600 – 35,100 (for Belgium) depending on experience.
About 5Rights
5Rights Foundation exists to ensure a digital world that will serve children and young people today and for future generations.
We are a small team of senior professionals and experts delivering change in how the digital world works. We have shifted the narrative and the agenda through provocative comms campaigns (e.g. Twisted Toys), pioneering research (e.g. Pathways) and award-winning tools (e.g. Child Online Safety Toolkit). We continue to drive real-life change thanks to an outstanding track-record of delivering legislation (e.g. Californian Age Appropriate Design Code), policy and regulatory frameworks (e.g. UNCRC General comment No. 25), and industry standards (e.g. IEEE 2089).
Key responsibilities
Reporting to the Head of Compliance, you will:
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Be the expert in the room! Make sure 5Rights knows what it needs to know, and be confident in holding us and those in our network to the evidence.
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Conduct thorough and organised research, including rapid evidence assessments, report summaries, and deep-dives into emerging technologies.
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Conduct consultation and exchange sessions with young people from around the world as part of our Youth Engagement Programme, learning about their experience and helping them understand how tech works.
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Liaise with technologists and experts around the world, exchanging knowledge and staying up to date on the latest developments, research and emerging issues.
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Gather evidence for and support compliance actions.
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Maintain tracking tools and a well-organised evidence repository.
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Help coordinate research projects and evidence-gathering programmes.
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Draft ad hoc briefings for senior staff on relevant developments, or ahead of meetings and conferences.
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Contribute to 5Rights reports, positions, communications and fundraising materials.
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Represent 5Rights as an expert at meetings and events.
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Provide support to the policy, tech accountability and innovation work of 5Rights more broadly as needed.
Person specification
You’ll be a confident and skilled researcher, a clear, fresh thinker, and an excellent writer. High attention to detail, an eye for nuance, and the ability to digest complex information quickly and communicate it coherently are all musts. A background in technology issues or children’s rights is preferable, but not essential. Most of all, we’re looking for someone who’s thorough, proactive, super smart, and committed to our mission.
ESSENTIAL skills and attributes:
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Thorough and thoughtful researcher
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Clear, concise, and engaging writing style in English
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Confident verbal communicator in English
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Inquisitive and keen to share the results of your research
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The ability to use your initiative, exercise good judgment and make nuanced recommendations
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A meticulous eye for detail and proven ability to design and deliver high-quality research products.
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Team player, but also able to work independently, setting goals and meeting them
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Able to make good decisions on the relative importance of competing tasks, and meet deadlines.
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Reliable, patient and with the relentless focus required to get complex deliverables over the line, managing processes from A-Z;
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A can-do, action and solution-oriented attitude;
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A commitment to the Foundation’s work and values
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Right to work in Belgium or the UK.
DESIRABLE skills and attributes:
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Knowledge of technology policy, privacy, children’s rights or a related field.
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Experience of providing research support in a policy environment.
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Experience working internationally and in culturally-diverse settings;
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Ability to work and research in other languages, such as French or Spanish.
Remuneration and details -
Location: Remote position with employee contract in UK or Belgium. Hybrid working in 5Rights’ London and Brussels co-working office spaces is available.
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Salary: £22,400 – 24,900 for UK-based candidate, with flexibility depending on experience; EUR 31,600 – 35,100 for a Belgium-based candidate.
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Working hours: Full time, with some accommodation necessary for work across time-zones and for out of office hours sessions with young people.
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Statutory pension contribution.
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25 days of annual leave.
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Work equipment including a laptop and mobile phone will be provided
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Starting data: asap.
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Reporting line: Head of Compliance.
5Rights values diversity and we strongly encourage people from under-represented groups to apply for this role. We aim for our recruitment to be inclusive and equitable, and we strive to constantly learn and improve in this regard.
Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a written task as part of our recruitment approach. The task will take 2 hours. First round interviews will be held over Zoom.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.