Job Advertisement:
Croft Carbon College
Outdoor Education Officer
Job Description
Job Title
Croft Carbon College Outdoor Education Officer
Salary
£ 23,000 per year FTE, pro rata for an average of 24 hours per week (full-time being counted as 36 hours). Working hours may be irregular to meet the hours of the post. Funded by the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) up to 31 March 2021. The CCF is administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Note that the Outdoor Education Officer may be able to earn additional income as a sessional worker by delivering courses in addition to the contracted hours of employment.
Closing
Noon, 8 May 2020.
Location
Leith, Edinburgh.
Background
Leith Community Crops in Pots
The purposes of LCCiP, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC044220), can be summarised as to encourage and support the people and organisations of Leith to grow food vegetables, and flowers for pollinating insects, in urban spaces, in order to improve health and wellbeing, community cohesion and the environment.
The charity runs Leith Community Croft (LCC, also known simply as ‘the Croft’), a community growing project with over 100 members, on a corner of Leith Links public park, which it has been appointed to manage with and for the local community by the City of Edinburgh Council. LCCiP has worked with local schools, from nursery to secondary level, establishing growing projects and engaging pupils and parents with issues concerning food and its production. We strongly believe in nature play, and some staff have received Forest Schools training.
LCC is also the site of our tree nursery, our biodiversity area, our Hingabootery café, our start-up farmers’ market and an old tennis pavilion building. Thanks to recent assurance that we can have a 25-year-lease on the building, we aim to be refurbishing it compregensively when funding can be secured, and this (and LCC) will be the main location of CCC activities in the long run.
LCCiP work has been funded in the past by a number of organisations. The Climate Challenge Fund has funded CCC during the period of 2018-2019 and is funding this post as part of the Croft Carbon College project for the period of 2019-2021.
Vision for the Croft Carbon College
The Croft Carbon College is a Climate Challenge Fund-supported community education project led by Leith Community Crops in Pots. It is a centre that raises environmental awareness within the community, providing accessible and engaging courses and community events that encourage Leithers to take both personal and collective action to create a happy, healthy and leafy Leith.
The delivery of the course programme is a collaboration between the expertise of LCCiP staff and local organisations and educators focused on other areas of environmental sustainability. We believe this method helps foster a more resilient and collaborative approach between local organisations and individuals working to enhance the environmental skills and confidence of the Leith community.
Year 1 of the CCC was a pilot run, with courses delivered on a low-cost, trial basis. In order to ensure the CCC meets the needs and interest of the Leith community, we have and will continue to undertake regular engagement and consultation to get feedback from both course participants and the wider community.
From 1 April 2019 we expanded our plans and provided a food-growing trainee programme, after-school clubs, a summer camp and green skills workshops for children, adults and employees of local businesses over four terms/year. Due to Coronavirus, part of the role will be to adapt certain of these activities to the new ways of living following government guidelines.
For more information on the current activities of the Croft Carbon College you can visit our website.
Summary of the job
The Outdoor Education Officer will be jointly or principally responsible for the content, delivery and assessment of food growing, wood recycling and other outdoor workshops delivered on Leith Community Croft, and for achieving the overall carbon-saving outcome from the adults and children engaged through these workshops. It will be the responsibility of the Outdoor Education Officer to find creative ways of delivering these activities during the Covid-19 lockdown, following government guidelines.
This is to be done primarily in collaboration with the CCC Development Officer and the Engagement and Education Officer, as well as with the agreement of Chair/CEO and board of LCCiP, as appropriate. Full support, training and assistance will be provided by the parties mentioned. However, it should be noted that the tasks directly related to designing and running specific outdoor/online courses for both adults and children will be the responsibility of the Outdoor Education Officer.
You will hold primary responsibility for ensuring that the Croft area designated for this project is well planned, organised and attractive for both participants and the wider public. During workshops you will be monitoring and reporting on the achievement of carbon-saving targets, and in modifying the CCC’s courses and approaches in order to achieve the overall carbon-saving target for the funded period. Training and support will be provided for this process.
The job will also include the support of the Development Officer when liaising with CCF/Keep Scotland Beautiful, in terms of supporting in the creation of interim and final reports.
The Development Officer will consult with you regarding resources required and division of labour etc., and regarding the recruitment of additional staff/sessional workers where necessary.
Application notes
A detailed job description and person specification is available online: https://tinyurl.com/OutdrEdOffJob.
Please write a covering letter setting out how you meet the requirements of the position, and submit electronically, together with a CV and the details of two referees (preferably former/current employers, whom we shall approach with discretion), to evie@cropsinpots.org by noon on 8th May 2020. Applicants selected for interview will be notified of the time of their interview w/c 11th May 2020.
Exciting news! Leith Community Crops in Pots is offering freelance financial administration and children’s/young people’s outdoor/environmental education work. See the descriptions below or click on these links to download PDF versions:
Freelance Children’s/Young People’s Outdoor/Environmental Education Work
Background
Leith Community Crops in Pots is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, whose purposes can be summarised as ‘to encourage and support the people and organisations of Leith to grow food vegetables, and flowers for pollinating insects, in urban spaces, in order to improve health and wellbeing, community cohesion and the environment’. In short, we aim to create a happy, healthy, leafy Leith.
We manage an ‘urban croft’ – Leith Community Croft – at the northern tip of Leith Links Park: former waste ground which is now a thriving multipurpose community growing space. We believe that sustainable food can be a powerful locus around which to tackle social and environmental ills, and we are developing the Croft as a sustainable model, promoting healthy, inclusive and ‘green’ food production while building community and addressing the needs of those most disadvantaged in this mixed urban neighbourhood. We recently launched a social enterprise café/farm shop as an element of this.
We work with local schools and community groups, and encourage gardening, nature play and skill-sharing. We won the Youth & Education category in the Nature of Scotland Awards 2016, and we are especially proud of our ‘Nurture Children’ work upon which the freelancers chosen for the children’s environmental education work will build. Our Scottish Government-supported (Climate Challenge Fund) Croft Carbon College runs courses aimed at tackling climate change on the individual and community level, and improving resilience and wellbeing in the face of the climate crisis. Reflecting our belief in responsible global citizenship, we also promote the principles of food sovereignty through our engagement in a 21-school project in Malawi.
We look for people who share our ethos, will bring positive energy, observe our Code of Conduct and take pride in their work.
See our website for further information on us.
Work description
Summary
We are looking for experienced and reliable freelance educators to expand our environmental/outdoor education work with children and young people for the equivalent of one to two days a week (exact hours to be negotiated). Some of these children/young people may have experienced significant deprivation or disadvantage, and suffer from issues such as anxiety, low self-esteem and ADHD, and supporting their emotional wellbeing will go hand-in-(gardening-)glove with enhancing their environmental/outdoor skills and knowledge.
Successful candidates will run stimulating workshops and outdoor activities in which food-growing, simple horticulture and age- and ability-appropriate general environmental education (e.g. composting, soil, species identification, biodiversity, climate change…) will be elements, as well as exercise and simple fun. While there is some scope for the freelancers to develop their own work, they will be able to draw on the ideas and syllabuses Leith Community Crops in Pots has created over the years, as well as our physical resources and administrative support.
While we cannot offer salaried positions or more hours at this stage, either or both might become possible in the future.
Main duties
These will include:
- designing and running workshops and activities as outlined above, drawing on the charity’s knowledge and resources as required
- advertising and promoting the workshops and activities, and other aspects of the charity and its work, as required
- assessing and reporting on the progress of the children and young people, probably in collaboration with their teachers, parents and/or carers
- submitting regular invoices, detailing all work performed and the time it took
- submitting reports on projects as requested by the CEO
- working co-operatively, as part of a team, and being willing to help with various odd occasional tasks not directly connected with routine work
Location
The candidate will work from LCCiP’s office (Annexe 2, Davidson House, 57 Queen Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EY), on Leith Community Croft and potentially in other locations around Leith, such as in schools and in the gardens around Cables Wynd House. Occasional travel beyond Leith might be required for training, networking or to promote the charity’s work. This will be by negotiation and expenses will be covered.
Hours of work (depending on demand)
Up to 16 hours a week for first three months (to be negotiated). Additional hours on occasion and by negotiation to meet the requirements of the post.
Rate of pay
£13 per hour – to be invoiced by the freelancers, who will be paid promptly.
Holiday entitlement
No holiday entitlement as this is freelance work – candidates are technically self-employed.
Reporting to
CEO of Leith Community Crops in Pots
Skills/knowledge/experience
Essential
- childcare experience and PVG clearance (latter can be organised if not currently up to date)
- ability to deal with special needs and challenging behaviour
- educational qualification and experience in Community Education or play-based therapies
- experience of organising outdoor games and activities to suit a range of ages, interests and abilities
- excellent communication (verbal and written English) and interpersonal skills, including teamwork
- ability to deal with sensitive and confidential issues using discretion and diplomacy
- ability to prioritise and manage workload, work on own initiative and meet deadlines without supervision
- strong attention to detail
- environmental knowledge, esp. horticultural/botanical and with regard to the growing of food
Desirable
- interest in/knowledge of climate change and social justice issues
- knowledge of behaviour-change theory/methodologies, e.g. social norms, values and frames, Shifting Normal
- counselling and/or NVC skills (non-violent communication)
- first aid certificate (can be arranged if necessary)
- knowledge of a language other than English
Apply
Email our CEO, Evie Murray, (evie@cropsinpots.org), sending a short statement (a paragraph or two is fine) about your relevant experience and skills and why you’d like to be involved. We’ll get back in touch with you to arrange a time to meet in person and show you around the Croft. We shall also request two references, which we shall check before offering you work.
Freelance Financial Administration Work
Background
Leith Community Crops in Pots is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, whose purposes can be summarised as ‘to encourage and support the people and organisations of Leith to grow food vegetables, and flowers for pollinating insects, in urban spaces, in order to improve health and wellbeing, community cohesion and the environment’. In short, we aim to create a happy, healthy, leafy Leith.
We manage an ‘urban croft’ – Leith Community Croft – at the northern tip of Leith Links Park: former waste ground which is now a thriving multipurpose community growing space. We believe that sustainable food can be a powerful locus around which to tackle social and environmental ills, and we are developing the Croft as a sustainable model, promoting healthy, inclusive and ‘green’ food production while building community and addressing the needs of those most disadvantaged in this mixed urban neighbourhood. We recently launched a social enterprise café/farm shop as an element of this.
We work with local schools and community groups, and encourage gardening, nature play and skill-sharing. Our Scottish Government-supported (Climate Challenge Fund) Croft Carbon College runs courses aimed at tackling climate change on the individual and community level, and improving resilience and wellbeing in the face of the climate crisis. Reflecting our belief in responsible global citizenship, we also promote the principles of food sovereignty through our engagement in a 21-school project in Malawi.
We look for people who share our ethos, will bring positive energy, observe our Code of Conduct and take pride in their work.
See our website for further information on us.
As a small, but ambitious and rapidly growing charity, we juggle multiple funding streams and projects, and are constantly exploring new ones. We use the VT Transaction+ software package to keep track of our finances, and work with a professional chartered accountancy firm to manage our payroll and help with our annual report.
Work description
Summary
We are looking for a reliable freelancer to support our daily office procedures for the equivalent of one to two days a week (flexible hours, to be negotiated), with the emphasis on our finances. The successful candidate will act as the point of contact for all employees, providing administrative support and managing their queries regarding finances (claims, purchases, invoices, etc.), as well as paying salaries, suppliers, partners, etc. Most importantly, this person will keep our VT software up to date, and keep project managers, the CEO and trustees informed of the organisation’s financial status. While we cannot offer a salaried position at this stage, this might become possible in the future.
Main duties
These will include:
- providing data for the quarterly board meetings
- reporting budget variance to CEO
- processing claims for our climate challenge fund project
- recording, registering and processing invoices for payment through our system
- setting up and processing payments on a weekly basis
- recording overheads and monitoring costs against budget
- handling inbound and outbound queries
- handling membership applications, payments and records
- working co-operatively, as part of a team to provide efficient and effective secretarial and administrative support to staff, the candidate will also be willing to help with various odd occasional tasks not directly connected with his/her routine work
Location
The candidate will work in LCCiP’s office (Annexe 2, Davidson House, 57 Queen Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EY).
Hours of work (depending on demand)
Up to 16 hours per week (to be negotiated). Flexible start/finish times. Additional hours on occasion and by negotiation to meet the requirements of the role.
Rate of pay
£13 per hour – to be invoiced by the freelancer, who will be paid promptly.
Holiday entitlement
No holiday entitlement as this is freelance work – the candidate is technically self-employed.
Reporting to
CEO of Leith Community Crops in Pots.
Skills/experience required
- experience of financial administration systems (experience with VT Transaction+ would be a great asset), word processing, databases and other administration-related software
- understanding of charity sector organisations and their often multiple projects and funding streams
- ability to prioritise and manage workload
- ability to work on own initiative and to meet deadlines without supervision, and with strong attention to detail
- excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- ability to deal with sensitive and confidential issues using discretion and diplomacy
- interest in climate change and social justice issues
Apply
Email our CEO, Evie Murray, (evie@cropsinpots.org), sending a short statement (a paragraph or two is fine) about your relevant experience and skills and why you’d like to be involved. We’ll get back in touch with you to arrange a time to meet in person and show you around the Croft. We shall also request two references, which we shall check before offering you work.