Cumbria Connect Community Wildlife Officer (Fixed-Term)

RSPB; England; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a passionate Community Wildlife Officer to connect with local communities and promote wildlife conservation. This role involves engaging diverse audiences, delivering impactful community-based activities, and fostering a love for nature. You will work closely with a dedicated team to reintroduce endangered species and enhance local biodiversity. If you have a background in ecology or community work and a genuine passion for wildlife, this is an exciting opportunity to make a tangible difference in your community. Join us in our mission to restore nature and create a vibrant environment for all.

Qualifications

• Experience in community engagement and working with diverse audiences.
• Knowledge of UK wildlife and biological survey techniques.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver wildlife-centred community activities.
• Engage with local communities to raise awareness of wildlife.

Skills

Community Engagement

Wildlife Identification

Event Delivery

Communication Skills

Organizational Skills

IT Skills (Microsoft Office)

Social Media Communication

Risk Management

Education

Qualification in Conservation or Social/Community Subject

Current First Aid at Work Certificate

Tools

Canva

Website CMS Systems

Mass Email Platforms

Job description

Are you passionate about wildlife? Do you have the skills to share your knowledge with others and help use wildlife to create a nature-based sense of place where they live?

RSPB is lead partner in Cumbria Connect https://www.connectfornature.org.uk/, one of the largest nature recovery programmes in the UK. With £4.1 million funding from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, this initiative began in 2023 and is starting to restore nature across 42,000 hectares of eastern Cumbria - an area larger than Birmingham - stretching from Penrith to Kendal and encompassing the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

Cumbria Connect is bringing wildlife back: we want our landscapes to be alive with the colour and sound of life. We are reintroducing endangered species such as water voles, glow worms and wood ant, recovering species like curlew, marsh fritillary butterfly and red squirrel and looking to expand population of missing species such as pine marten, black grouse and wild beaver. We are also doing work to manage populations of species having a negative impact on nature like deer and mink.

What's the role about?

To help us build trust and support in local communities, we are now recruiting for a new role of Community Wildlife Officer. You will be the face of wildlife across our programme area for our key audiences (farmers, residents, visitors and businesses) using your wildlife skills and love for people to make wildlife welcome in the places where people live and involve them in our work. You may have a background in ecology or have come from a social/community sector and combine a personal interest in wildlife with your passion for people.

Working with the rest of the Cumbria Connect team and our partners you will develop and deliver a programme of wildlife-centred, community-based activities and initiatives to raise awareness of and support for our work.

Essential Skills, Knowledge And Experience

• Qualification in a related conservation or social/community subject, or equivalent work experience
• Knowledge of UK wildlife, wildlife identification and simple biological survey and monitoring techniques suitable for citizen science
• Experience in community engagement and working with diverse audiences
• Experience of delivering events, workshops and training events to different audiences, organising/leading volunteers and dealing with people face to face
• Knowledge of risk management and safeguarding issues related to working the public
• Good organisational, administrative, communication skills (written and verbal), report writing, and IT skills (Microsoft office) design skills (i.e. Canva), familiar with use of social media for communications
• Good interpersonal skills, with a responsible, team-oriented approach to work
• Current full driving licence valid for use in the UK

Desirable Skills, Knowledge And Experience

• Knowledge of farming, forestry, and other land management and pressures affecting farmers and rural communities
• Qualification in wildlife identification
• Creation of communications materials via platforms such as website CMS systems, Mass email platforms and printed formats
• Current First Aid at Work certificate
• Understanding of Social Behavioural Science principles and participatory approaches to community engagement

This is a Fixed-Term role for 37.5 hours per week until 31st March 2028.

The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are provisionally looking to conduct interviews for this position on 15th May 2025. For further information or to chat about the role please contact Martin Varley - [e-mail] or call 07568 116392.

As part of this application you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete a short form. If you wish to provide a cover letter with your application, please include this at the end of your CV document upload.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.