Air Pollution Coordinator (self-employed) – Edinburgh

Parents For Future Scotland; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 17,000 - 20,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Day rate £150 per day

Flexible working environment

Work from home option

Edinburgh-based role

Job summary

Parents for Future Scotland is recruiting a part-time Coordinator to support Edinburgh schools and families in improving air quality and increasing walking, wheeling and cycling to school. You will work with schools, parents, partners and the Air Pollution Manager to establish walking and bike buses and empower communities to lead their own initiatives.

The role involves hands-on community organising, training and practical support for active travel schemes, plus developing sustainable school

Qualifications

• Must be able to competently ride a bike.
• Qualified Cycle Ride Leader and First Aid trained, or willing to undertake these qualifications.
• Ambassador for Parents for Future Scotland with ability to motivate others.
• Experience delivering and managing community projects.
• Proven ability to tailor messaging to different audiences.
• Experience building relationships with partner organisations, communities facing barriers and local councils.
• Experience developing community skills, confidence and capacity.
• Experience of facilitating workshops, meetings and community discussions.
• Experience of monitoring, evaluation, data collection and report writing.
• Understanding of active travel, public health or environmental issues.
• Understanding of social justice and climate action.

Responsibilities

• Set expectations with schools about commitments for the clean air project.
• Establish relations with school staff and maintain regular contact to support delivery.
• Develop walking and bike buses across participating schools.
• Assist with route planning, risk assessments and volunteer coordination.
• Attend and support morning bike/walking buses until self-sustaining.
• Promote safe cycling and active travel within school communities.
• Identify community leads to galvanise groups and develop opportunities.
• Run training sessions for parents on starting a walking/bike bus and workshops.
• Build a pool of volunteers to deliver air pollution workshops in schools.
• Support delivery of parent-to-parent air pollution workshops in schools.
• Promote Parents for Future Scotland among parents and communities.
• Foster peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing between schemes.
• Work with Air Pollution Manager on project strategy and liaise with cycling organisations and authorities.
• Collect monitoring and evaluation data throughout the project.
• Post on social channels and participate in WhatsApp community.
• Contribute to wider discussions on active travel, climate action and public health.

Skills

Bike riding

Cycle Ride Leader

First Aid

Community project delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Volunteer training

Job description

Are you experienced in building community power and supporting communities to get active through walking and cycling schemes? Are you passionate about tackling air pollution, supporting families to choose active travel, and raising the voices of communities most affected by climate change but least often heard? If so, we would love to hear from you! We are particularly keen to hear from people who experience marginalisation and minoritisation or who are often excluded from decision‑making processes. For example, people of colour; people from working‑class backgrounds; people from LGBTQ+ and migrant communities; care‑experienced young people and people with disabilities.

About us

Parents for Future Scotland began as a grassroots group of parents seeking to make climate action the norm among all parents in Scotland. We became a registered charity in 2024 and are now a small, self‑employed team with a growing network of activists. We seek to make climate action the norm among all parents in Scotland. We are growing our influence and reach across the country, supporting parents and communities to take action on climate change and work towards a climate‑safe future for every child.

About the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic, community‑focused Coordinator to support schools and families across Edinburgh to improve air quality and increase walking, wheeling and cycling to school. Working with schools, parents, community partners and the Air Pollution Manager, you will help establish and develop walking buses, bike buses and other active travel initiatives. You will support parents and community members to develop the skills and confidence to lead their own initiatives, helping create lasting change within school communities. This is a hands‑on role involving relationship‑building, community organising, volunteer development, training and practical support for active travel schemes and air pollution workshops. You will also help schools develop sustainable approaches to active travel, encourage peer‑to‑peer learning and contribute to the wider aims of Parents for Future Scotland.

Key responsibilities

• Set clear expectations with schools about their commitments and what they need to deliver to participate in the clean air project.
• Establish strong relationships with key school staff and maintain regular contact to support project delivery and promotion.
• Support the establishment and development of walking buses and bike buses across participating schools.
• Assist with route planning, risk assessments and volunteer coordination.
• Attend and support bike and walking buses on the mornings they operate until they are fully established and self‑sustaining.
• Promote safe cycling practices and active travel behaviours within school communities.
• Identify potential community “leads” who can galvanise groups and take ownership of walking and bike buses. Build relationships with these individuals and identify development opportunities alongside the Air Pollution Manager.
• Run training sessions for parents on topics such as starting a walking or bike bus, facilitating an air pollution workshop and developing community organising skills.
• Build a pool of volunteers able to deliver air pollution workshops in schools by training volunteers in workshop facilitation and workshop content, and arranging sessions with participating schools.
• Support the delivery of parent‑to‑parent air pollution workshops within schools.
• Promote Parents for Future Scotland among parents and support community members to become involved in the organisation.
• Facilitate peer‑to‑peer support and knowledge‑sharing between schemes across different schools.
• Work closely with the Air Pollution Manager to develop and implement an effective project strategy.
• Liaise with cycling organisations, local authorities and community partners.
• Collect monitoring and evaluation data throughout the project.
• Post regularly on our social media channels and actively participate in our WhatsApp community.
• Contribute to wider discussions on active travel, climate action and public health.

Skills and experience

Essential

• You must be able to competently ride a bike.
• Be a qualified Cycle Ride Leader and First Aid trained, or be willing to undertake these qualifications. Appropriate training will be provided for those who do not currently hold them.
• You will be an ambassador for Parents for Future Scotland on the ground. It is vital that you feel inspired by our vision, mission and aims, and have a proven ability to motivate and inspire others.
• Experience of delivering and managing community projects.
• Proven ability to tailor messaging to different audiences.
• Proven experience of building strong relationships with partner organisations, communities facing additional barriers and local councils.
• Proven experience of building the skills, confidence and capacity of communities.
• Experience of devising and facilitating workshops, meetings and community discussions.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluation, data collection and report writing.
• An understanding of active travel, public health, environmental issues or behaviour change.
• An understanding of social justice perspectives and the systems that cause climate breakdown.

Desirable

• Previous experience of working on sustainability and/or active travel‑related community projects or initiatives.
• Experience of working with schools, parents, volunteers or community groups to develop and sustain local initiatives.

What we offer

• A self‑employed contract for 4 days per week during school term time, running from 1 December 2026 until 30 June 2027.
• A day rate of £150 per day. The total contract value will depend on the number of agreed working days available during the contract period.
• A flexible working environment, with working arrangements planned around the needs of participating schools and the wider project.
• The opportunity to work from home when not delivering activities in schools or meeting partners and community members.
• The opportunity to help shape and develop our work in Edinburgh and support long‑term, community‑led change.
• The opportunity to work collaboratively with the wider Parents for Future Scotland team, with support from the Air Pollution Manager.
• The role requires availability for at least three school commute mornings per week during term time (Monday–Friday). There may be occasions when additional mornings are required, depending on project needs. Specific mornings will be agreed with the successful candidate and planned around the needs of participating schools and the wider project.
• As this is a locally focused, hands‑on role, applicants should live in or near Edinburgh and be able to travel to participating schools and community activities.