Part-Time LIFE Raft Community and Volunteer Development Assistant (Fixed-Term)

This is an exciting time to join a ground-breaking island restoration project on Rathlin Island and support our community and volunteer work. 

Rathlin is home to internationally important groups of seabirds, but they are threatened by invasive non-native rats and ferrets. LIFE Raft aims to remove these species, making the island safe for Guillemots, Puffins, and other seabirds for years to come.

This project is only possible with the support and permission of the 160 people living on Rathlin, as well as the hard work of a team of dedicated residential volunteers. We are looking for a passionate, dedicated and inspiring individual with excellent communication skills to continue building on the project’s success. 

If you are interested in helping to protect this unique group of seabirds and preserve Rathlin Islanders’ natural heritage, and have experience working with volunteers and local communities, then we would love to hear from you!

What’s the role about?

The Community & Volunteer Assistant will be part of the community engagement team within LIFE Raft, working with and learning from the rest of the team and the island community. Their main responsibilities will be to help recruit, induct, and support the 10-12 Residential Volunteers who will be joining the Fieldwork team from September, and to assist with ongoing communications and community engagement work.

The Residential Volunteers will be living and working on Rathlin full-time from September through to March as part of the Fieldwork team. This is physically intense but rewarding work, and an important part of this role will be to help ensure that the volunteers feel engaged, recognised, and appreciated.

Community engagement will only become more important as the project continues, and this role will be critical to communicating with island residents. This will involve a combination of social media and blog-writing as well as supporting community events such as the NI Science Festival.

The post is home-based and therefore flexible in the UK, but within reasonable travel time to Rathlin Island as there will be occasional visits required. The Community & Volunteer Assistant will be managed by the Communications Manager.

Key activities will include:

• Induction of residential volunteers and supporting their recruitment
• Volunteer administration, including processing new applications, inductions, managing shift rotas and expenses
• Engaging with Rathlin residents to help encourage support of the project on island
• Identify, organise, lead and attend community events to promote the project
• Communications – support the team leader on the promotion of the project
• Relationships – work closely with a range of colleagues and partners to generate support for the project and help to resource the work

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Higher level qualification or equivalent experience of community engagement and volunteer development.
• Experience of recruiting, managing and developing volunteers (or staff) including evidence of ability to provide training and mentoring.
• Experience of general public engagement work and working with local communities.
• Ability to manage a work programme and deploy resources efficiently and effectively to achieve objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the tact, diplomacy and negotiating skills to allow you to develop and maintain good relationships with staff, volunteers, partners and stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills (verbal, written and presentational) - including an ability to speak confidently in public and to produce written content suitable for traditional and social media.
• Competent user of Microsoft Office.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Previous experience using Assemble, the RSPB’s volunteering platform
• Knowledge of, and adherence to, legal and practical requirements for maintaining health and safety, sometimes in challenging field conditions, for instance, working with the public and lone working.
• Passion for conservation

This is a Fixed-Term role for 18.75 hours per week, for 10 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 20th May 2024. For further information please contact [email protected]

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

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.

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. 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.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.