Climate FORTH Project Officer – Community & Youth Development (Maternity Cover)

We are looking for an enthusiastic and organised individual with a passion for partnership working to help deliver Climate FORTH: Furthering Our Resilience Through Heritage. 

This is an ambitious project by Inner Forth Futures (IFF) – a collaboration of 9 organisations, who have committed to working together with advisory organisations, stakeholders and community groups to achieve a shared vision. The IFF vision is that the sense of connection, purpose and place that put the Inner Forth at the forefront of the industrial development of Scotland will be revitalised. We aim to achieve this using a landscape scale approach with heritage at its core to engage people in new ways in the Inner Forth’s management.

The Climate FORTH project has been in delivery phase since July 2023 and is a three year project receiving funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a range of co-funders.

Please download the role profile on our website for more on the Climate FORTH project or see www.innerforthlandscape.co.uk for more information.

In this Project Officer (maternity cover) role you will support project delivery by continuing to lead on activities relating to communities and young people, with a focus on continuing delivery of heritage asset actions identified via four Local Resilience Plans and delivery of micro-grant heritage actions decided upon by the project’s Young Leaders. You will oversee an external contract to facilitate the delivery of a Community Heritage Group Training and Mentoring programme, plan and delivery a series of ‘taster’ sessions for Young People to learn climate resilience skills and support the design and delivery of an outreach programmes at heritage assets. You will help manage and mentor a Project Assistant, who will be responsible for delivery of the outreach programme at heritage assets. 

The successful candidate will have proven experience of community development work, working with young people and partnership working. You will be supported by the Climate Forth Project Manager, Steering Group and Board but you will need to be able to demonstrate the ability to work independently and to implement creative solutions. 

The post will be based at the RSPB Skinflats Reserve near Falkirk, with flexibility to work part of the week from home and occasional weekend and evening work. The role will include travel around the Inner Forth to communities and sites on a regular basis.  This is one of 3 Project Officer roles.

You will be responsible for:

• Leading on community engagement across the project.
• Continuing work with four local communities, delivering heritage asset actions defined through project created Local Resilience Plans.
• Delivering a series of heritage asset actions, utilising a micro-grant and actions defined by Young Leaders.
• Overseeing a contract-led Training and Mentoring programme for Community Heritage Groups.
• Plan and deliver a series of in-person sessions for young people to learn heritage-related job skills.
• Assist planning and delivery of a series of Family Focused Outreach sessions at Heritage Sites – with mentorship of a developmental Project Assistant role.
• Supporting the Project Manager with elements of grant reporting and claims.
• Contributing to internal and external communications.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of successful community development work.
• Experience of working with project teams, partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to produce clear written communications including report writing.
• Ability to persuade and influence a wide range of people.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, ability to find creative solutions and to work on own initiative.
• Proven time management and organisational skills and ability to work under pressure.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (especially Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and Teams).

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Some knowledge of the theory and practice of project management.
• Experience of contractor management.

A full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK is strongly recommended or a suitable alternative. 

This is a Fixed-Term Maternity Cover role, full time for 37.5 hours per week for up to 12 months. The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 7th May 2025. For further information please contact [email protected] 

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

This role will require completion of a PVG in addition to the standard pre-employment checks.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. 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.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship – the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.