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.
Here at Battersea, we are looking for someone to join our Finance & Corporate Services Team to provide comprehensive and proactive executive assistance to the Director and departmental functions across the Directorate.
The successful candidate would be responsible for providing effective EA support, convening and supporting committees and regular meetings across the directorate, supporting on strategic workstreams across the Directorate, and providing a range of administrative and co-ordination support to the Heads of the Finance & Corporate Services Teams including support for team projects.
We are looking for someone who has experience in a similar role with a demonstrable track record of inbox and diary management, administrative support to a Director across multiple functions, with a proven ability to manage the day-to-day operations of a busy office, prioritising a high-volume workload effectively and exercising a high degree of judgment, tact, and discretion at times working to deadlines.
What we can offer you:
In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:
- 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year
- Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes
- Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
- Generous pension contributions – up to 10% employer contribution
- Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
- Annual interest-free season ticket loans
We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.
Our hybrid working model:
We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.
Diversity and inclusion:
At Battersea, we are committed to developing and supporting a diverse workforce and inclusive culture in all aspects of our organisation. We aim to ensure that this pledge, reinforced by our values, is embedded in our day-to-day working practices and our work together.
By hearing from and valuing different experiences, perspectives, and contributions, we know we can provide the best expert care for every dog and cat who needs us. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those from diverse ethnic communities and people with disabilities, who we know are currently underrepresented in our workforce.
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.
More about us:
At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.
Closing date: 24th May 2024
Interview date(s): w/c 27th May 2024
For full details, please download our recruitment pack.
To apply for the role, please click the button below. All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.