South East Programme Coordinator

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, 30 January at midnight. To apply, complete the online application form. For further details, see the Recruitment Pack.

Action for Conservation is a
grassroots charity using pioneering approaches to inspire and empower young people from diverse
backgrounds, between the ages of 12 and 24, to become the next generation of environmental
leaders. We are looking to appoint a Programme Coordinator to join our team in
the South East of England and support the delivery of our core programmes for young people and our wider
intergenerational nature restoration initiatives in the region.

If you share our passion for youth-led solutions to the climate and environmental crisis, this
is an exciting opportunity to join our team and be at the centre of what we do. You will be
responsible for delivering our core programmes in your region, working closely with the South
East Programme Manager and other members of the programmes team as relevant. You will also
formally act as our Blue Mentor for the Blue Influencers Scheme, a match-funded programme for
environmental youth social action, funded by The Ernest Cook Trust and the #iwill Fund. Through
your work, you will inspire young people to connect with nature in new and exciting ways,
support them to design and deliver environmental action projects that benefit nature and their
local communities, and empower them to have a voice on environmental issues they care about. To
succeed in this role, you will be a highly proactive, organised and self-motivated planner and
facilitator who is able to engage and build positive relationships with young people in a range
of settings.

About the role – South East Programme Coordinator

Start date: End of March/early April, with some flexibility, if necessary, for the right candidate
Contract type: Full-time, permanent
Starting salary: £27,850.87 – £29,036.01 depending on experience
Location: Brighton or Eastbourne, with regular regional and occasional national
travel
Working hours: 35 hours across five days; evening and weekend work will be
required, including residential visits, for which time off in lieu (TOIL) can be taken

KEY DUTIES

In this role you will:

Engage schools, youth groups and young people in our programmes

• Recruit schools, youth groups and young people to take part in our programmes and act as Blue
  Influencers, with a particular focus on young people experiencing disadvantage and
  marginalisation.
• Plan and deliver workshops, events and activities that develop young
  people’s environmental knowledge and skills and inspire them to take action in their
  communities, with a particular focus on coastal, marine and riverine environmental issues.
• Create exciting content and educational materials for young people.

Support young people to experience, connect with and take action for nature

• Support young people to experience and connect with nature, through inspiring workshops,
  hands-on action days, residential camps and other activities.
• Support and mentor young people to imagine, plan and deliver environmental action projects to
  tackle an array of environmental and social issues that are important to them, with a
  particular focus on projects that benefit blue spaces.
• Support young people to partner with local community organisations to embed their projects
  within the community and maximise learning, connection and impact.
• Lay the groundwork for our first coastal Intergenerational Action Site, bringing together young
  people, conservationists, local stakeholders and community members through our ‘gold standard’
  approach to intergenerational nature restoration and decision-making.

Lead on programme coordination and support with safety, evaluation and communications

• Be responsible for the general coordination and manage the logistics to deliver our programmes.
• Manage risk, health and safety and safeguarding during programme activities.
• Ensure Blue Influencer projects meet the Ernest Cook Trust’s and #iwill Fund’s funding criteria
  and are administered in line with due diligence guidance.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of our programmes and measure the impact of young people’s projects
  and activities.
• Report on project outcomes and evaluation data.
• Grow and manage our network of volunteers in your region.
• Share stories of the young people you work with and support young people to directly share
  their stories through social media, YouTube, blogs, newsletters, articles, talks and other
  channels.
• Helps us to expand our network of local community partners that are actively looking to engage
  more young people.
• Be an active member of the regional and national network of Blue Mentors.

Having trouble picturing yourself in the role? You can read what some of our
current team members say about their experience working at Action for Conservation in
the Recruitment Pack.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The experience, knowledge and skills that are essential for this role are denoted as (E). The
experience, knowledge and skills that are desirable but are not essential to be considered for
the role are denoted as (D). 

Experience

• Working with and facilitating groups of young people, ideally aged 12 to 18. (E)
• Organising events and activities from start to finish, including event logistics, safeguarding,
  health and safety and risk management. (E)
• Supporting young people to design and deliver campaigns or environmental action projects. (D)
• Working with young people with additional needs. (D)
• Working in youth voice, youth leadership or youth empowerment contexts. (D)
• Monitoring and evaluating programmes and activities, ideally using Salesforce to record data.
  (D)

Knowledge

• Environmental knowledge demonstrated through post-secondary education and/or relevant work or
  volunteer experience. (E)
• Knowledge of marine, riparian and coastal issues. (D)
• Good understanding of the barriers to young people, and particularly those from disadvantaged
  and/or ethnic minority backgrounds, in engaging with environmental issues. (E)
• Good knowledge of the region you will be working in and its unique challenges and
  opportunities. (D)

Skills, abilities and attributes

• Ability to engage, inspire and motivate young people, especially those who are different to
  you, and get them excited about nature and carry out action. (E)
• Excellent communication skills – in writing, verbal and through formal facilitation – with the
  ability to adapt your communication style to different environments and audiences. (E)
• A positive, proactive, self-reliant and solutions-oriented approach to work. (E)
• Excellent organisation and time management skills and the ability to prioritise and work to
  deadlines across various programmes as well as adapt to changing circumstances. (E)
• Flexible and adaptable approach to working hours in order to meet the needs of the young people
  we work with. (E)
• Commitment to Action for Conservation’s vision, mission and values and those of The Ernest Cook
  Trust and the #iwill Fund. (E)

WHY WORK WITH US?

You’ll be joining a young, mission-driven team who truly love what they do. Working with young
people is always rewarding, sometimes challenging and never boring, and you’ll get to
experience first-hand the positive impact that your work has. We work hard whilst maintaining a
positive work-life balance and spend lots of time outdoors.

In 2023, we were recognised by Escape the City as one of the top progressive places to work
from over 13,00 nominations, after a rigorous assessment across six criteria, including
Mission, Impact, People, Planet and Innovation.

Some of the benefits of working at Action for Conservation include:

• 33 days of annual leave (including public holidays), plus one additional day for each year
  served up to a maximum of 38 days
• Up to 5 days of paid professional development leave and up to 4 paid volunteer days each
  year
• A workplace pension with 3% employer contributions
• Access to flexible working to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance
• Regular team and organisational away days in the great outdoors
• Joining a growing organisation with the possibility to progress within the team as
  opportunities arise
• A robust training package and a bespoke development plan, co-developed with your line
  manager, to support your progression and career aims
• Opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge such as public speaking, youth
  engagement, group facilitation, practical conservation, and others
• Opportunities to share your voice and shape the direction of our work, ensuring that our
  content is relevant and reflective of your interests and the issues facing your community
• Seeing the impact of what you do, as you transform young people’s lives.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

Diversity is one of our core values as an organisation and we are committed to creating an
inclusive working environment where diversity is valued and there is equality of opportunity. Currently, the environmental sector is the second least diverse in the UK, with just 4.8% of
employees from ethnic minority backgrounds. We also recognise that the climate and ecological crisis disproportionately impacts minority
and/or marginalised communities – yet these voices are largely underrepresented in the sector. If the environmental movement is to succeed in
creating a greener future that supports society as a whole, we need diverse voices at the heart
of our programmes. We, therefore, encourage people from demographics that are currently
underrepresented in the environmental movement to apply.

GUARANTEED INTERVIEW SCHEME

We particularly encourage applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds or living
with a disability or long-term health conditions. We will offer an interview to any candidates
from ethnic minority backgrounds or living with a disability who opt into our Guaranteed
Interview Scheme when applying and who meet the essential criteria for this role.

If you would like further information, support with access requirements, such as an
adjustment to the application or interview process, or an informal chat, please contact us by
email at [email protected].