Communities Coordinator

Role: Communities Coordinator
Hours: 37.5 per week Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £25,000-£33,000
Holiday: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays 
Based: Home Based with travel to London and across the UK
Probationary Period: 3 months
Reports to: Head of Campaigns
Benefits: An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year / Flexitime policy / 5% pension contribution

We are River Action

We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britain’s
rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution. We support
community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, and call
out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end pollution. 

We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and community mobilisers to
deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of community
and wildlife.

Britain’s rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action
to bring them back to life.

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for highly engaged people who share our passion for rivers, wildlife and
people who bring a creative, collaborative and investigative approach to campaigning. For this
role we are looking for a confident and resilient community organiser who can build strong
relationships to support communities to create change locally.

What you’ll be doing:

The Communities Coordinator will support community groups to campaign for clean rivers
at a local level. By facilitating grass roots action you’ll be galvanising a strong and
powerful network of community activists that have the power to create change both locally and
nationally. You’ll be responsible for taking River Action’s national campaign strategy to a
local level. You’ll work closely with the Campaigns Manager and the wider team to develop a
Community Toolkit (including advice for activists, and guidance and services for
communications, fundraising, legal support and citizen science projects) to support communities
as well as provide strategic support to empower community activists to campaign for clean
rivers. You’ll work closely with the Campaigns Manager and wider team to amplify the stories of
those taking action at a local level and connect campaign groups to the wider national agenda.
You’ll be working collaboratively with the River Action team to devise, develop and deliver our
strategy ensuring our programme of community engagement is equitable, diverse and inclusive.
You’ll be working closely with other organisations to ensure our community support compliments
the work of others and meets the needs of community groups we work with. 

Main Duties 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of River Action’s campaign
  strategy.
• Develop River Action’s Community Toolkit as a package of support for local campaign
  groups. 
• Identify community groups within river catchments areas River Action is working and
  build positive and impactful relationships..
• Organise site visits to develop good relationships and in-depth understanding of
  local issues impacting river health.
• Convene and align local stakeholders around river catchment and regional
  campaigns.
• Facilitate local community groups’ campaigns and provide support in line with our
  toolkit’s support package.
• Facilitate the creation of community group citizen science projects, integrated
  within a national system for gathering and sharing evidence of pollution.
• Organise community crowdfunding for citizen science and communications.
• Plan and host webinars, training sessions and online and in person events.
• Develop good working relationships with regulators including Environment Agency,
  Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Environment and Protection Agency. 
• Support the CEO and Campaigns Manager to identify and deliver legal challenges at a
  local level.
• Maintain and develop partnerships and working relationships with other key groups
  and stakeholders working in similar areas of work to River Action.
• Identify opportunities to engage, empower and expand River Action’s network of
  supporters. 
• Support the Communications Coordinator to create inspiring and engaging digital
  media content and news stories, including taking photographs and videos and conducting
  interviews.
• Support the Campaigns Manager and Communication Coordinator in responding to the
  reactive news agenda.
• Contribute to the Monitoring and Evaluation system for demonstrating impact of
  River Action’s community engagement work, reporting against KPIs. 
• Contribute to fundraising efforts particularly crowdfunding and drafting of funding
  proposals to support Campaigns and Fundraising Teams and the charity’s mission.
• Work as a motivated and collaborative team player within a fast-paced
  team.
• Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the post
  as requested by your line manager or any other member of the River Action team.

Other Duties & Responsibilities 

• Adopt a positive approach to personal and professional development; engaging in one
  to one meetings and relevant training.
• Be aware of, and act on, relevant health and safety responsibilities as an employee
  of River Action and adhere to these wherever you are working.
• To maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at River Action.
• UK travel will be required. Training & operational activities may require
  overnight stays away from home, in which case standard River Action procedures
  apply.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse
  workplace.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across River Action to collectively deliver
  our ethos and mission.

What you’ll bring

The position will suit an energetic, collaborative, resilient community organiser with
a passion for aligning and mobilising communities to drive environmental change. The ideal
person will be an excellent communicator, a natural convener, well-organised, and thrive within
a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The person will have a passion to protect and renew our
waterways and hold those responsible for environmental destruction to account.

• Experience in working with and supporting community groups.
• Experience in developing guidance documents and toolkits.
• Expertise in convening and galvanising people around a common cause, using a
  diplomatic and sympathetic approach combined with urgency.
• A head for organisation and excellent time management working in a calm and logical
  way.
• An understanding of the issues that are impacting our rivers.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective contacts and relationships with
  senior and influential external individuals and bodies.
• The ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with a wide range of
  people both verbally and in writing including the media, community groups, other NGO
  representatives, supporters and followers on social media.
• Great IT literacy.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative to solve problems.
• Ability to work flexible hours as necessary.
• Ability to travel to remote locations not necessarily well-served by public
  transport.
• A good team player with a willingness to muck in as and where required.
• Ability to think clearly even when working under pressure.
• A passion for River Action’s mission and vision.

Diversity and Inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and people of colour are
less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria. We are committed to
building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. So if you like the look of this role but
your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we would
still like to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this or other
roles. 

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter explaining how your skills and
experience meet the requirements of the role and a written submission as described below to
[email protected]. Only applications including all three documents will be
accepted.

Written Submission:

This year, River Action will be developing its Communities Toolkit aimed at local campaign
groups and activists seeking to develop their own local campaigns to rescue their rivers
locally. As part of your application, we would like you to put together a one page document
outlining a plan for the toolkit, mapping out the main structure and content of the toolkit and
how you would deliver it to communities. We will particularly be looking at your style of
communication and creative skills. Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you
may be asked to present this idea.

Closing Date: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 23:00 Friday 24
May. Screening calls and first-round interviews may be conducted with short-listed candidates
before the application deadline. The deadline may be closed early if the right candidate is
found. 

Interview Date: Interviews expected to be held from 24 May via video
conference.