Hello and Thank You for Your Interest in the Post of Education and Community Officer At

21st March 2018

Hello and thank you for your interest in the post of Education and Community Officer at Ingrebourne Valley Visitor CentrewithEssex Wildlife Trust. Please find details of this post within this pack.

The role is permanentand full time for 37.5 hours per week, 9am – 5pm, across Monday – Sunday. This role will require working as part of a rota and a minimum of alternate weekends is expected.

The salary for this post is £21,634 rising to £22,134 after successful completion of probation. It is based atIngrebourne Valley Visitor Centre.

Please find enclosed with this letter the job description for Education and Community Officer at Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre.

Essex Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity.We have more than 37,000 members, manage and protect over 8,400 acres of land on 87 nature reserves and 2 nature parks and run 11 visitor centres. The aim of Essex Wildlife Trust is to Protect Wildlife for the Future and for the People of Essex. It is supported financially by members, local businesses and grant making organisations. It is one of the largest of the 47 county wildlife trusts that work together throughout the British Isles as The Wildlife Trusts.

The Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre located at Hornchurch Country Park overlooks the river Ingrebourne and important marshes. The 97 ha park is managed by London Borough of Havering Council and has a small woodland, open grasses and fields, reed bed, ponds and meadows. The park attracts approx. 144,000 people per annum, who use the extensive network of footpaths to enjoy walking, cycling and running. There is a large events field near-by as well as a play area, trim trail and green gym. Military structures can still be seen within the park

The main aims of this post are:

Delivering an engaging and innovative education experience at our Centre, through delivery ofSchool visits, in particular KS 1 and 2

Forest Schools
School holiday activities
Pre-school clubs
Birthday parties
Youth groups/clubs
Family events
Recruiting and supervising volunteers to support the smooth running of the education events.
Ensuring all activities are run in a safe manner
Assisting the Centre team with the delivery of largescale Centre events
Ensuring the Centre maximizes opportunities to recruit new EWT members and increase levels of donations.

The role is outlined in more detail within the enclosed job description.

I really hope this role interests you. To apply, please complete the application form accessible on this site, giving clear examples as to why you feel you are suited to the role. Please send this to HR Team, Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, Colchester, Essex, CO5 7RZ or e-mail by 5pm Thursday 12th April 2018. If emailing your application, please title this with your full name.

Interviews will be held onThursday 26th April 2018 at Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre.

For further information please contact:

Thank you for your interest in this role. I look forward to receiving your application.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Tahir – Site Manager

Essex Wildlife Trust Job Description & Person Specification

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Education and Community Officer
Location: Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre
Reports to: Site Manager
Professional lead: Community Engagement and Education Advisor
Responsible for:
Staff none
Volunteers Up to approximately 15 Education Volunteers
Financial Responsibilities:Income Expenditure
Direct responsibility £26,500 £2,000
Job Purpose: To develop, promote and deliver a varied formal and informal education programme which will engage and enthuse a diverse audience of ages and abilities with the work of Essex Wildlife Trust.
Responsibility Areas
Service Delivery (70% of time)

To promote, develop and deliver a formal educational programme for EYFS through to key stage 5.

To promote, develop and deliver Forest School sessions for school and community groups or as informal events.
To promote, develop and deliver an informal education programme (including weekends and evenings).
To engage children, young people and adults with wildlife, heritage, living landscapes and living seas through;

School holiday activities

Pre-school clubs
Birthday parties
Youth groups/clubs
Family events

To work with the centre team to ensure Visitor Centre facilities are ready to receive visitors and provide centre cover when required.

To develop links with local schools and community groups to promote the work of Essex Wildlife Trust.
To ensure that budgets and expenditure figures are maintained and managed, and income targets are met.
To ensure all activities are run in a safe manner.
To work at other Visitor Centres, in agreement with Site Manager, to support the delivery of informal and formal events
To assist the Site Manager with the running of large scale events.
To recruit new Essex Wildlife Trust members, minimum of 3 per year.

People (10% of time)

Recruit, develop, reward, schedule and co-ordinate Education Volunteers and casual education staff to assist with the delivery of the education provision.

Effectively line manage, and monitor performance and development of volunteers through evaluations of events, one-to-ones and appraisals. To ensure training needs are met such as first aid and ensure safeguarding of children procedures and policies are followed.
To work with centre staff and peers to ensure that customers receive excellent customer care.

Problem Solving/Innovation (5% of time)

To develop innovative sessions, resources and materials for the delivery of formal and informal education programmes.

Deal with customer enquiries or complaints in an efficient and professional manner.

Planning/organising (10% of time)

Responsible for maintaining and writing lesson plans, risk assessments and collating evaluations.

Responsible for managing bookings, including those of the education room, and updating outlook calendars as necessary.
To attend relevant meetings and to brief and de-brief with volunteers and colleagues.
To ensure gift aid is claimed on donations for events
Responsible for ensuring that equipment is sourced and available and the education room is presentable and tidy.
To ensure that TOIL, annual leave and days off are managed and taken in conjunction with other team members
To develop and maintain the educational opportunities of the whole site and surrounding community to be interesting and relevant to educational establishments.
Responsibility for the development and implementation of the annual events programme and schedule.

Communication (5%of time)

To respond promptly to correspondence with school and community group staff and members of the public regarding events, bookings and enquiries.

To maintain and develop fresh and topical activities and educational resources for a range of ages.
To grow audience participation through bookings by widely promoting the education and events programme.
Promote the work of Essex Wildlife Trust.
Ensure good communication - face to face and online with colleagues.

To undertake any other duties which are commensurate with the role.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Specialist knowledge and experience:

Proven and significant experience of working in an environmental education setting.

Forest School level 3 trained: ability to plan and deliver Forest School sessions for a variety of groups.
Proven experience of working with a wide range of ages and audiences to deliver an engaging programme of informal events.
Proven and significant experience of delivering to school groups in particular KS1 and 2
Proven experience of delivering to pre-school aged children
Sound I.T. skills with good knowledge of Microsoft Office and associated software
Proven experience of using social media in a work environment.
Ability to plan and develop larger scale events
Proven experience of promoting events to a wide audience
Working with minimum supervision and prioritising workloads.
Understanding of Health and safety, risk assessments and safeguarding

Essential Skills and Behaviours

Team Working

Makes a positive contribution to the team, supporting colleagues in their day-to-day work.
Establishes constructive and collaborative relationships with immediate colleagues and volunteers.
Assists in implementing and assisting with large scale annual centre events such as Easter/Halloween, Christmas, music events and Wildlife Fair.

Problem solving and analysis

Identifies potential difficulties and their causes. Generates workable solutions and makes rational judgements.
Ability to be flexible and adaptable to changes in plans, especially in regard to education delivery.
A level of numeracy sufficient to be able to check and report statistics and financial information etc.
Ensures details and facts are correct, complete and consistent, ensuring that conclusions drawn from the information are built on solid foundations.

Professionalism

Able to produce accurate and high-quality results, with excellent attention to detail.
Shows enthusiasm to broaden own experience, knowledge, skills and self- development.
Seeks out feedback from colleagues and managers, taking the learning and development points on board and modifying own practice.
Ensures high standards are achieved and customer needs fulfilled.

Determination

Commits self to work hard towards goals and demonstrates commitment to team and staff at respective visitor centres
Able to remain calm and self-controlled under pressure.
Keeps track of own progress, completing work to deadlines or informing Site Manager when targets can’t be met.

Persuasive communication

Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, adapting style to suit the audience.
Produces written communication which is fluent, clear, concise and tailored to intended recipient(s). Speaks clearly, fluently and in a compelling manner to both individuals and groups.
Tailors communications to appeal to, include and engage different audiences.

Customer Focus

Puts the customer first and is inspiring and approachable.
Treats both internal and external service users with honesty, integrity and discretion.
Works with others to identify customer needs and issues to ensure services are fit for purpose.

People management

Able to recruit, train, supervise and motivate volunteers.
Recognises and rewards good performance and rigorously tackles any poor performance or inappropriate behaviours of individuals.

Planning

Able to organise time effectively, create work schedules, prioritise workload and meet deadlines.
Proven ability to effectively prioritise, organise, plan and schedule activities and resources.
Able to identify the steps to achieve agreed tasks, goals and objectives in the immediate or short term.

Special Conditions:

Posts working within Education will be subject to Enhanced DBS checks.
Willingness to be flexible with working days,
Work weekends on a regular centre rota, normally alternate weekends as a minimum, work evenings, weekends and bank holidays as required in order to fulfil your role
To be a key holder for the building in the event of a security call out
Requirement to be able to drive and a current full UK driving licence with use of your own vehicle
An interest in working for a charity which is determined to protect wildlife for the future, and for the people of Essex.

EWT rewards:

Salary reviewed bi-annually against the market with cost of living consideration annually
Pension of 3% from you and 5% from EWT
Annual leave starting at 25 days, rising by one day a year to a maximum of 28 days + bank holidays
Sick pay increasing with length of service
Maternity, paternity and adoption pay
Staff days and staff social
Merit award scheme (staff nomination of colleagues for awards)
Regular performance development meetings
20% discount in EWT centres
Professional and developmental training
Ability to take 2 days out pa to work in another part of the business
Role related professional membership paid
The satisfaction of making a difference through working for a conservation charity