Community Empowerment Manager

Community Empowerment Manager

Salary: £18,471 - £19,294 pro rata (£30,785 - £32,158 FTE)

Location: Shrewsbury, Shropshire - some flexible working offered

21 hours per week (usually worked over 3 days)

Maternity Cover - 6 Months FTC

Closing Date: 21st April 2024

1st Interviews: 26th April 2024

Do you have a passion and enthusiasm for work with communities?

Are you experienced in managing staff and volunteers delivering community engagement activities?

We’re looking for a Community Empowerment Manager to join our team in Shrewsbury. They will manage a small team that brings people together to take action on shared goals. These facilitated and sustainable activities will lead to a ripple effect of people acting for nature and the climate.

You’ll successfully close the Trust’s Nextdoor Nature Project in Telford, providing all required achievement, impact and financial reports as well as fully contributing to national evaluation. Managing staff and volunteers delivering community engagement activities will also be a key part of the role, ensuring they fit with the Trust’s three-year strategic goals (and associated budget) for community development. Another, exciting part of the role will be supporting staff to review and modernise our volunteer management systems and implement changes to the wider organisation.

Further Activities:

• Oversee the dissemination of key learnings and impact stories to SWT trustees, staff and other organisations.

• Manage the community listeners’ network.

• Support SWT monitoring, reporting, evaluation and communications activity.

• Scope, develop and facilitate work within identified communities.

• Support the empowerment of under-represented and disconnected groups within their local communities, working with them to enhance community cohesion and collaborative working.

• Champion the community organising approach, sharing skills, experience, knowledge and learning.

• Promote both local and national campaigns through community networks, liaising with communications contacts to maximise their reach and impact.

• Build positive relationships between the Trust and community-based organisations and Local Authorities to support objectives.

• Support the Nextdoor Nature resource hub by working with your team and relevant partners to collect and collate any successful resources.

What we’re looking for:

• Strong people and project management skills.

• Outstanding organisational skills to prioritise and manage a varied workload.

• A passion and enthusiasm for working with communities and an understanding of the principles of community organising.

• A proven track record in developing strong relationships with key individuals/stakeholders from diverse audiences.

• High level of IT competence & excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications is essential.

• Excellent written communication skills for producing reports / sharing impact.

• Experience of voluntary sector organisations is desirable

Why work for us - benefits we offer:

• Flexible working

• Home working

• Salary sacrifice scheme

• Generous pension

• Employee Assistance Programme

• Support with training and development to assist career progression

• Inclusive & supportive work atmosphere

We value passion, respect, trust, integrity, strength in diversity, and pragmatic activism. Whilst we are passionate in promoting our aims, we are not judgemental and are inclusive. We want our people to be as diverse as nature, so we particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.

No enquiries from agencies or for further advertising will be taken.

About us:

Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) has a vision of a thriving natural world, where Shropshire's wildlife and natural habitats play a valued role in addressing the climate and ecological emergencies, and people are inspired and empowered to take action for nature. We combine projects across Shropshire (including Telford & Wrekin) with advocacy and campaigning to restore nature and to engage people. We manage over 40 nature reserves and have almost 50 staff, 300 volunteers, and over 9000 members. SWT is an autonomous charity, but we are increasingly working collectively, as part of The Wildlife Trusts (TWT), to ensure that our local actions have a national impact and help to address global issues.