Skills & Learning Coordinator

Job Purpose

Internal job title: Skills and Learning Coordinator

Hours: 15 hours over 2 days (flexible)

Contract: Fixed term contract until 01/04/2026

Advertised Salary: £33,000 - £35,000 (FTE to be pro-rated for part time hours) + benefits

We are the charity who look after and bring to life 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales, because we believe that life is better by water. Every role across the Trust plays its part in transforming our canals and rivers into spaces where local people want to spend time and feel better, bringing wellbeing benefits to millions.

We our looking for a part time (2 days per week) Skills & Learning Coordinator to join our Project Delivery team.

This role is focused on the historic Ellesmere Boat Yard, Ellesmere, Shropshire. This structure is our cathedral of the waterways, a unique structure built over 150 years ago. It’s a one-of-a-kind boat lift in need of a full refurbishment. The Trust has secured Stage 1 Development Phase funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to develop a detailed plan to restore and re-purpose unused spaces and develop the managed visitor offer at the site. There is huge potential for this project to have a positive impact in areas including heritage, the environment, learning, and community engagement. We want to showcase the Yard to encourage more visitors, for them to stay longer and have a great time.

The purpose of the role is to provide strategic direction for the development of the learning offer for the Forging Ahead project at Ellesmere Yard, including a focus on STEM. The role also involves collaborating with external consultants and internal colleagues on the designs for a interpretation scheme telling the fascinating story of the Boat Yard for a diverse audience.This will include:

• Helping us grow our STEM learning programme, specifically key stages 3 to 5. See more information here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/learning-and-youth-development/stem-learning-programme
• See work we have done with key stages 1 to 2 here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers/learning-bundles/stem-hydraulics
• Developing the learning plan and materials for Forging Ahead; including site visits for schools at Ellesmere, online learning, and in-school sessions.
• Supporting and mentoring colleagues/volunteers on how to most effectively deliver learning sessions.

You do not need to be an industry expert (factual support will be provided), however, you will be passionate about education and ideally STEM subjects, and driven to inspire future generations through the effective sharing of key concepts.

Our-values(https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/35240-our-values.pdf) and below.

Location & coverage

Offered on a remote working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces as and when required for team working and collaborative meetings. With Ellesmere Yard being in Ellesmere, you will ideally be located within the surrounding counties. Other travel throughout the regional waterway network will also be expected to enable site visits and gain experience.

Relevant hubs: Ellesmere Port or Birmingham.

See our network map here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network

Knowledge, Skills/Qualifications & Experience

Key accountabilities:

• Contribute to the Activity Plan for Forging Ahead which will be submitted as part of the 2nd round bid to NLHF and provide a detailed framework for education activities during the Delivery phase of the project.
• Lead school and group visits to Ellesmere Yard to take part in pilot STEM activities, ensuring a high quality visit with strong learning outcomes.
• Work with external consultants contracted by the project and develop education resources in line with new Interpretation being designed for Ellesmere Yard.
• Conduct detailed consultation with our target audience (children, young people, teachers, group leaders and families) to ensure our learning programme meets their needs.
• Design and source interpretative materials for our learning activities.
• Organise pilots of learning resources and activities designed to attract hard to reach audiences.
• Contribute to the Canal & Rivers Explorers website as an accessible medium to deliver learning and communicate with our target audience.
• Manage CRM and administration tasks for Forging Ahead project.
• Develop creative, innovative, and inspiring informal learning opportunities for family visitors to our waterways, museums, and attractions, which engage people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Ensure all our learning activity conforms to Trust and other relevant policies including health & safety, safeguarding children, environmental and heritage policies.
• Work with waterways, museums, and attractions to ensure safe and quality learning which is responsive to place at locations suitable for our target audience (children, young people, schools, FE colleges and universities) and the STEM agenda.
• Develop and promote quality learning resources aimed at children, young people, their teachers, families, carers, and group leaders to be delivered by education volunteers, by monitoring current thinking to ensure the latest best practice is recognised and adopted.
• Work with colleagues to develop a long-term plan to ensure the future sustainability of an expanded learning offer at Ellesmere Yard.
• Displaying the Trust values and behaviours at all times.

About you

Technical:

• Degree or equivalent experience (PGCE) in relevant discipline - Education, History, Engineering, etc.
• Teaching, community engagement or interpretive experience.
• A postgraduate qualification in education, interpretation, or heritage management is desirable.
• Experience in developing/managing volunteer and learning programs for heritage attractions, countryside sites, museums, or galleries.
• Direct experience of volunteer management, including training and mentoring would be beneficial.

General:

• Ability to communicate effectively with children, their teachers, families, carers and group leaders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with teachers, colleagues and partners at all levels within the Trust, external consultancies and contractors.
• Good understanding of Health and Safety and Safeguarding issues in a public setting.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills.
• Ability to drive to access the Ellesmere site and attend project meetings/activities.

DBS

As this role is on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Exception Order applicants must state the details of any cautions or convictions whether spent or unspent on the self-disclosure section of the application form.

This job involves regulated activity with children and adults at risk as defined by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Therefore, an Enhanced Criminal Record check will be undertaken by the successful candidate prior to employment.

A criminal record is not necessarily a bar to employment with us. HR will advise and decisions made on a case by case basis.

To apply: click on the "Apply for this job" button and follow the process - complete the application form & upload current CV.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

What We Offer

In addition to your annual base salary of £33,000 - £35,000 (FTE to be pro-rated for part time hours), we also offer a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits we are also open to flexible working arrangements. These include:

• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Home working status with ‘hub’ facilities available should you need the flexibility to work outside of home.
• Annual £200 personal learning & growth award to spend on any learning related activity.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.
• Free fishing facilities across our canal network.

At the Trust we care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

When you join the Canal & River Trust you become a member of an engaged team working to preserve our heritage for future generations. Come and share your passion and knowledge with a team that makes a difference to millions of people every day.

Find out more about us on our website:https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us