Job Title:Project Officer, Active Travel Champions

Job Description

Further & Higher Education establishments

Reference:SUS1915

Salary:Grade F: £21,534 - £24,103 per annum

(dependent on relevant skills and experience)

Hours:37.5 hours per week

Fixed term:contract to 30 June 2017

Location:Rosebery House, Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5EZ

Purpose of Job:

To promote active travel (walking and cycling) for everyday journeys, through the delivery of the Active Travel Champion project within a further and higher education setting. To manage volunteers through the delivery of training and engagement opportunities designed to up skill and empower volunteer Champions. To lead on the delivery of activities and training opportunities designed to promote active travel to building users (staff, students andvisitors).

The postholder will work in partnership with Champion organisations and other stakeholders in order to complement existing active travel initiatives and meet with the active travel aims and objectives of Champion organisations.

Dimensions of Job:

The Active Travel Champions (ATC) projecthas been developed and delivered over the last four yearsto empower local people to champion walking and cycling in workplaces and educational settings in order to increase levels of physical activity and reduce single occupancy car journeys.The post-holder will worktoward a legacy of motivated and skilled Active Travel Champions with anincreased capacity to promote active travel at their workplace/place of study.

The post-holder willrecruit, train and support volunteers, providing them with the skills, tools and information to enable them to plan, deliver and support a programmeof walking and cycling initiatives and interventionsacross the City of Edinburgh and to identify opportunities for expanding the project geographically.

The postholder will engage with a wide range of stakeholders and interested partners to ensure that all initiatives complement and strengthen other organisations’ agendas and existing projects taking place in Edinburgh, and other areas as the project develops.

The success of the project will be judged on the number of;

-Active Travel Champion organisations recruited

-working groups established and supported

-Active Travel Champions recruited andsupported

-events and activitiesdelivered across each Champion organisation

-individualsengaged with the project

-individuals choosing to walk and cycle as part of their everyday journeys.

Place in organisational structure:

The postholder will report to the Smarter Choices Coordinator (Workplaces), in the Sustrans Scotland Behaviour Change team.

Key Relationships:

Internal: Smarter Choices Coordinator (Workplaces), Project Officer, Active Travel Champions (Workplaces),

Project Officer (Communications), Smarter Choices,

Smarter Choices Manager,

EdinburghSmarter Choices Coordinators (Community and Education & Young People), Volunteer Programme Coordinator (Communities),

Senior Business Development Officer (Edinburgh),

Research & Monitoring Senior Officer (Edinburgh),

Deputy Director, Behaviour Change(Edinburgh),

National Director(Scotland)

Community Links Team and other regional staff,

Communities & Volunteers team (Bristol),

Smarter Choices Team(Bristol).

External:Active Travel Action Plan team, City of Edinburgh Council

Culture and Sport team,City of Edinburgh Council

Further & Higher educational establishments,

Regional Transport Partnerships (SEStran and

others)

Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges

Healthy Working Lives, NHS Lothian area

Cycling Scotland

Paths for All Partnership

The Bike Station, Edinburgh

Cycle Touring Club

SPOKES and other campaign groups

Key responsibilities:

To deliver, develop and promote the Active Travel Champions (ATC)project in workplaces/places of study in Edinburgh including developing and producing resources.
To work with the Smarter Choices Coordinators (workplaces / education & young people) to identify new areas for rolling out ATC in the higher & further education settings across Scotland; developing partnerships and sharing the learning experience from the project,
To identify and recruit Active Travel Champions (ATCs) withinthe above existing and new HFE settings and ensure organisational ‘buy in’ by senior management to the project.
To provide support to engaged organisations to produce Group Plans to help overcome barriers to active travel and to encourage participation in the project.
To provide support to engaged organisations to establish working groups of motivated ATCs who will be key in implementing the organisational ATCs development plan.
To encourage engaged organisations to have an internal support network so that ATCs integrates fully with other organisational health and well-being objectives.
To support the ATCs to develop and manage a suite of active travel interventions that support places of study with a main focus in Edinburgh.
To deliver a programme of training and support to ATC volunteers in a range of areas including a basic induction. To also provide organisation-wide training, as appropriate.
Toengage and work in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders and interested partners to ensure that all initiatives complement and strengthen each other in promoting active travel for the duration of the project
To ‘signpost’ ATCs to other relevant opportunities and support mechanisms, such as sources of funding, additional training and wider active travel initiatives (e.g. Workplace Challenge and Workplace Network).
To support the ATCsin organising the delivery of a range of walking and cycling initiatives to encourage and enable members of their setting to benefit from increased levels of physical activity.
To enable ATCs to develop the skills required to continue delivery of walking and cycling initiatives beyond the end of the project – to leave a legacy.
To manage the programme budget as agreed with the programme funders and report accordingly (including managing and administering the small grants scheme).
To work with the Smarter Choices Manager and Smarter Choices Coordinator (workplaces/education & young people) to review the project plan for the Active Travel Champions (ATCs) programme using the Sustrans PMF system and ongoing monitor of the programme using the system’s tools.
To work with the Project Officer (Active Travel Champions –workplaces) who is managing ATC across workplaces in Edinburgh.
Toensure that projectmonitoringdata is gathered and processed to evidence progress in encouraging participants to travel more actively.
To ensure that project reportingdocumentation (e.g. to funders)is completed and processed on time, as required.
To support and comply with the organisation's Policy for the management of Health and Safety.
To work in accordance with the arrangements described in the organisation's health and safety management system including any project or departmentspecific requirements.
To carry out other duties as required.

Working conditions:

The post-holder will be based primarily at the Sustrans office in Edinburgh and will be expected to attend meetings in other Sustrans offices across the UK, as appropriate.

The postmay also be expected to occasionally work on a flexible basis including some weekends and overnight stays and will be expected to travel as sustainably as possible.Occasional overnight travel, for training and internal meetingsmaybe required.

Special Note:

This job description does not form part of the contract of employment, but indicates how that contract should be performed. The job description may be subject to amendment in the light of experience and in consultation with the jobholders.

Compiled/Updated by:Smarter Choices Coordinator (Workplaces)

Date:July 2016

Project Officer,Active Travel Champions– (F/HE establishments) (SUS1915)

Person Specification:

Criteria / Essential
Qualifications, education and training / Educated to degree level or equivalent
Experience / Experience of delivering physical activity or behaviour change programmes
Experience of partnership working with local authorities, NGOs and other organisations
Experience of working with and managing volunteers
Experience of organising groups and group activities
Experience of project management and delivery
Skills and abilities / Ability to motivate and inspire others
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Excellent presentation skills
Excellent interpersonal skills
Goodteam player
Ability to build relationships and engage with project partners, employers and employees
Ability to work independently and demonstrate initiative
Ability to plan and prioritise own workload
Knowledge / IT literate: competent user of email, internet, and office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Knowledge of effective behaviour change activities and initiatives
Other / Commitment to cycling, walking and the promotion of sustainable transport
Undertaken (or willing to attend) relevantcycle and walk leader training courses
A dynamic, creative and inspiring approach
Criteria / Desirable
Experience / Working with the workplace / business / FHE sector
Experience in the delivery of walking and/or cycling initiatives
Cycle and walk leader experience
Marketing and communications experience
Experience working with budgets
Experience of developing and delivering training to volunteers
Experience of community engagement and/or active travel event organising
Skills and abilities / Awareness of national active travel initiatives
Community engagement skills
Cycle Maintenance skills
First Aid trained
Tutoring Experience
Knowledge / Awareness of issues affecting physical activity, health and active travel at a national and local level
Knowledge of Health and Safety requirements
Knowledge of the Edinburgh and Lothiansarea