Outdoor Learning Officer (Skills for Nature)

The Ernest Cook Trust is an educational charity and one of the UK’s foremost providers and funders of Outdoor Learning. Our vision is for an environmentally engaged society with better connections to nature.

Our mission is to improve life chances of children and young people through a range of Outdoor Learning experiences, enabling them to learn from nature, empowering them to have a positive impact on the environment. We do this through grant support, direct delivery, research and advocacy. This role is a great opportunity to play an important part in expanding our Skills for Nature activities in Cumbria.

The Role

This new role has been created as part of an expansion of The Ernest Cook Trust’s
activities in Cumbria. Following the acquisition of Low Beckside Farm in Mungrisdale, and ongoing
partnerships with Cumbria Connect and local education providers, we are seeking a motivated and
engaging Outdoor Learning Officer to grow the Trust’s Skills for Nature and Opening Outdoors work
with young people and communities, on site and locally. The role will also work closely with the
Outdoor Learning Officer (Schools).

Key Responsibilities:

Planning:

• Collaborate with Learning Operations Lead to enhance learning potential at our site at Low
  Beckside Farm, focusing on higher and further education settings.
• Plan and devise training activities, create learning resources, and ensure compliance with
  safety policies and assessments.
• Identify opportunities for collaborative learning with the Trust’s Outdoor Learning
  Officers and Communities Officers.
• Contribute to the development of the Trust through engagement with grantees/beneficiaries
  in Cumbria, and facilitation of the Outdoor Practitioners’ Education Network (OPEN) meetings
  and explore opportunities for collaborative efforts.

Delivery:

• Lead the Skills for Nature work in Cumbria, mentor apprenticeships and visiting learners.
• Coordinate and facilitate land-based training and workshops.
• Organise Higher/Further Education Outdoor Learning opportunities at Low Beckside Farm.
• Support with the development of the Trust’s volunteering scheme in Cumbria, and assist with
  session duties.
• Attend team meetings, contribute to learning strategy promotion, and provide reports.

Development:

• Contribute to evaluation and impact assessment, ensuring young voices are represented.
• Report progress to Learning Operations Lead (Cumbria/Lancashire).
• Build strong relationships with apprentices, educational settings, community networks, and
  partners.
• Work with the Learning Operations Lead to develop a network of stakeholders, primarily
  amongst alternative education providers and youth and community groups, to identify needs and
  interests and matching these to the Trust’s Outdoor Learning programmes, and in the wider
  landscape. 

Main priorities:

• Communication and relationship building with apprentices, educational settings, community
  networks, and partners.
• Monitoring and evaluation of apprentices/trainees’ development.
• Ensure apprentices are well-connected to partner organisations, local landowners, and
  farmers.
• Risk assessment, monitoring and ensuring health and safety on site.

Person Specification: 
Specific Requirements

• Relevant teaching qualification or equivalent experience.
• Full, clean driving licence.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Monitoring and evaluation expertise in apprentice development.
• Ensuring apprentices’ connections to partner organisations, local landowners, and farmers. 
• Experience in delivering educational, cultural or environmental learning programmes with
  insight in conducting farm visits and facilitating hands-on learning activities on a farm.
• Ability to engage young people from underserved communities/with diverse needs.
• Understanding of GDPR and implications of data collection.

General 

• Inspirational qualities, and a passion for learning from the land. 
• There will be some requirement to transport trainees to locations that are not accessible
  by public transport.

Working at The Ernest Cook Trust

ABOUT US

As a land owning educational charity, the Trust is uniquely placed to share its woodlands, farms and natural habitats to help create a diverse outdoors where people and places flourish. 

We are part of an impressive community of networks and organisations across the UK, working to help
create a more environmentally engaged society. Our work is increasingly done in collaborations and
partnerships, particularly with our funding partners, whose contribution significantly boosts the
scale and reach of our work.

To discover more about The Ernest Cook Trust, visit our website www.ernestcooktrust.org.uk

OUR LEARNING STRATEGY

Our ambitious new Learning
Strategy emerged out of a comprehensive review of all our programmes, to ensure we make the
best use of our considerable landholdings.

As a result, all our programmes sit across three strategic themes: Skills for Nature, Opening Outdoors and Outdoor Educators.

This new role is particularly concerned with two of these strategic themes:

Skills for Nature

Programmes within this theme create green skills pathways and
opportunities for young people to find out about the practical things they can do to contribute to
environmental improvement – building skills, positivity about the future and a sense of agency,
enabling young people to make a real impact.

There are skills shortages in the land-based sectors (e.g. forestry, ecology, agriculture) – the
Trust is passionate about supporting young people gain the qualifications they need to access these
roles, increase employability and wellbeing, and help build the future workforce needed to achieve
environmental goals. 

The Skills for Nature theme sits alongside the wider Opening Outdoors theme

Opening Outdoors

Nature connection and wellbeing for underserved young people and
families is a key strategic focus for The Trust. The Trust strives to build communities of support
around children and young people to empower them to engage with nature and thrive outdoors. 

We work directly with young people, delivering informal and non-formal nature-based learning
opportunities, as well as providing training and funding to other organisations. We believe this
builds capacity and skills for Outdoor Learning in communities. 

BENEFITS

Join our friendly team at the Trust for a friendly and rewarding experience. We offer
competitive salaries, a range of benefits plus a training budget for your personal growth.

Enjoy our generous benefits:

• 10% employer pension contribution (5% from employees)
• 27 days annual leave, plus statutory holidays
• Life Assurance
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme, providing 24/7 support for health, mental wellbeing,
  and more
• Dynamic, creative, and welcoming work environment.

Working for us will involve wellies, because we firmly believe that everything is better
outdoors!

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

1st Interviews

Wednesday 27 March 2024, Online via Microsoft Teams

2nd Interviews

Wednesday 3 April 2024, Low Beckside Farm, Mungrisdale CA11 0XR

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Applications strictly by application form only.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Embracing diversity is an essential part of the work of The Ernest Cook Trust. We are committed
to treating everyone as a unique individual, fairly and with respect, irrespective of race,
disability, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or religion. We are committed to
ensuring equality, respect, and safety for all, and prioritising the wellbeing of the children,
young people and vulnerable adults we support. Our safeguarding policy can be found here.

The appointment will be subject to satisfactory background checks including Disclosure and
Barring Service and relevant online searches to comply with best practices in Safeguarding, and
proof of the right to work in the UK.