Scottish Rainforest Centre Community Development Officer

ABOUT US

The Scottish Rainforest Centre (SRC) was established as a Scottish charity (SCIO) in 2022 to develop a Rainforest Centre. The SRC will be an education and accommodation hub providing access and educational and research opportunities for people to visit the rainforest and get involved in its preservation and restoration.

THE ROLE

The SRC’s aim is to become a centre of scientific excellence and research within the rainforest zone, supporting scientists, researchers and volunteers working on rainforest regeneration and providing an affordable base for their field work and research. Embedded in the local community, the SRC will work closely with project partners, providing opportunities for local people, schools and disadvantaged groups to provide skills development and training opportunities.

The SRC Development Officer will work closely with and report to the SRC Managing Trustee to realise the aims and objectives of the Centre and liaise closely with other project staff on the National Lottery Heritage funded Building capacity to save Scotland’s Rainforest project.

As part of the development stage for the Building capacity project you will develop an events and engagement programme which provides opportunities for users to engage with the SRC, particularly schools and disadvantaged groups. You will work with local communities and partner organisations to develop rural skills development and learning opportunities, and build the confidence of practitioners and group leaders to use the site for education purposes.

The position will be home based with a willingness to travel.

This is a part-time (22.5 hours per week), 15-month, fixed-term position. Should our funding bid for the subsequent five-year ‘delivery’ phase be successful, we hope the CDO will remain in post to support the delivery of these plans.

THE CANDIDATE
You will have experience building relationships with a range of stakeholders including community organisations and are comfortable collaborating and engaging effectively for different outcomes e.g. learning, consultation or facilitation.

You will have the confidence to liaise with environmental organisations, academic institutions and other stakeholders to help develop monitoring and research opportunities at the SRC.

You will be able to confidently organise and deliver a range of events from online webinars to community gatherings; have working knowledge of using social media for marketing, capturing interesting content and writing engaging stories, and you’ll be happy self-managing a diverse and varied workload.

Plus you’ll have experience working as part of a project team, supporting funding bids, budgeting for, and reporting on the impact of your activity. Oh and have a genuine interest in Scotland’s rainforest of course!

A full UK driving licence is required so you can travel across the west coast when required. Access to your own vehicle would be ideal.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. If you are interested, we'd encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.