Community Nature Project Officer

Cambridge County Council; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity to lead a community-driven nature recovery initiative. This role involves developing Community Nature Recovery Plans to enhance local biodiversity and engage communities across Cambridgeshire. You will collaborate with various stakeholders to identify restoration opportunities and promote sustainable practices. The position is part of a four-year project funded by the County Council's Just Transition Fund, offering a chance to make a significant impact on local ecosystems and community involvement. If you are passionate about nature conservation and community engagement, this role is perfect for you.

Benefits

Wellbeing Package

Additional Annual Leave

Flexible Bank Holidays

Development Opportunities

Paid Volunteering Hours

Peer Support Groups

Employee Recognition Awards

Discounts through Cambs Rewards

Qualifications

• Understanding of nature conservation and community action for nature.
• Experience in project management and contract procurement.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate project delivery ensuring objectives are met within timelines.
• Promote effective partnerships with stakeholders for project coordination.

Skills

Nature Conservation

Project Management

Communication Skills

GIS Systems

Community Engagement

Decision Making

Workload Management

Tools

Databases

Job description

The Community Nature Project Officer will be responsible for the delivery of a county-wide, community-led nature recovery approach. Its aim is to create Community Nature Recovery Plans (CNRP) that are both replicable and scalable for achieving multiple benefits for local communities, whilst contributing to the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Cambridgeshire as a whole. By developing Community Nature Recovery Plans, at a parish level, for open spaces, supporting the local populations which surround them, we can identify restoration opportunities that deliver the greatest impact.

The post holder for this role will be based in the County Council's Biodiversity and Greenspaces Team and will lead on the delivery of this four year fixed term project. You will be working closely with the Community Nature Engagement Officer and other members of the Biodiversity Team and other council departments, as well as working with Officers at Natural Cambridgeshire and District Councils across the County.

This is a four year fixed-term post and is funded through the County Council's Just Transition Fund.

This is a 18 month fixed-term post with an extension subject to funding being confirmed.

For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact: Philip Clark, Biodiversity Manager, 07826858286/Deborah Ahamad, Principal Ecologist on 07391730740 or email: [e-mail]

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage.

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

What will you be doing?

Our new Community Nature Project Officer is an exciting opportunity to develop our strong commitments to nature's recovery through work with local communities to engage them in the development of Community Nature Recovery Plans (CNR), provide better green space, support the local people that surround them, and identify restoration opportunities that deliver local improvements for nature.

This project will build on the Parish Nature Recovery Plan toolkit, developed by Natural Cambridgeshire Local Nature Partnership (LNP), and the Community Project work undertaken by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Parks Partnership (CP3), to create a toolkit for local communities, whilst contributing to the Nature Recovery Strategy for Cambridgeshire as a whole. Filling the gap in a more focused and local, urban nature recovery plan.

Through consultation, surveys, engagement and support of individuals and groups across Cambridgeshire, the Community Nature Project Officer will identify key barriers and opportunities for involving communities in decision making, influencing, and developing a Nature Recovery Community Toolkit to enable communities to act for nature.

The post is funded by the County Council's Just Transition Fund in partnership with Natural Cambridgeshire LNP. The post-holder will work closely with the Local Nature Recovery Strategy Officer on the implementation of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Cambridgeshire and support the Biodiversity Manager to enable a County-wide, community-led nature recovery approach.

Key aspects of this role will include:

• Coordinate the overall delivery of the project ensuring the objectives are met and delivered to a high quality, within timelines and to budget.
• Work with the Community Nature Engagement Officer to develop those Parish Council clusters identified for the pilot projects.
• Procure and manage consultants/specialists to support the development of the project.
• Promote, develop and maintain effective partnerships and collaborative working with a range of stakeholders including other authorities, public bodies, voluntary and private sector organisations to ensure the appropriate level of coordination that will achieve the objectives of the project.
• Support delivery of the council's biodiversity strategy actions through collaborative/partnership working.
• Ensure the project meets the needs of users and the local community, working with the Community Nature Engagement Officer to seek input from communities, businesses, Councillors, stakeholders and potential users.

To achieve this, you will be working closely with the Community Nature Engagement Officer, Natural Cambridgeshire and other partner organisations to develop community nature recovery plans across the County.

About you

To be successful in this role we are looking for someone who has:

• A good understanding of nature conservation and how people can take positive action for nature.
• A good understanding of project management and contract procurement within a local authority setting.
• Confidence in working with local communities and having excellent communication skills, engaging with various audiences.
• The ability to make informed and independent decisions with minimal supervision.
• Proactivity and initiative to develop new ideas.
• Effective workload management to meet strict deadlines while being part of a dynamic and busy team.
• Computer literacy with experience in GIS systems and using databases.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers