We are recruiting for an Informal Learning & Interpretation Officer – on a fixed term contract until end December 2021. This important role will establish Diglis Island and Fish Pass, at Worcester, as a new visitor destination for the project and Canal & River Trust, and focus on developing a high quality visitor experience.
This role sits within the Unlocking the Severn project’s Community Engagement Team and is responsible for delivering the Informal Learning & Interpretation Plan, part of the project’s Activity Plan.
Closing Date for applications: extended to 05/04/21
About the Role
Employed by our lead delivery partner, Canal & River Trust, this is a 4 days per week role, including occasional evening & weekend working, for a 9 month fixed term contract.
The Unlocking the Severn for people and wildlife project is two years into a three year programme and we are very proud of what we have achieved so far, having built some of the largest fish passes in the UK, plus refurbished historic buildings on the lock island at Diglis. As ILIO you will develop the island as a base for visits, including tours of the fish pass and continuing the delivery of an ambitious informal learning programme.
There will be volunteers to train, guided tours to facilitate and school visits to support, so you need to have experience and be confident working with volunteers and young people/children in groups and delivering training.
As ILIO you should also expect other informal learning work to be required occasionally across the project area (Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Shropshire).
Key Accountabilities:
- Develop Diglis Island as a safe and welcoming visitor destination ensuring the long-term operational sustainability of the site and high-quality visitor experience.
- Lead on the content and creation of a tour of Diglis island and fish pass.
- Work with the project’s Community Engagement team to plan and deliver the Activity Plan’s programme of events and activities at Diglis.
- Use your skills and work with other specialists to address barriers to access, and work with the project team to develop and deliver a programme of activities that welcome a range of identified audiences.
- Work with the Community Engagement Team and evaluation consultants to gather data to monitor and celebrate success.
- Work with the volunteer officer by supporting the recruitment, training and management of volunteers at Diglis ensuring that all procedures are followed and delivering a high-quality experience for both volunteers and participants.
- Continue the delivery of a programme of informal learning and interpretation as outlined in the Activity Plan to enable people of all ages and abilities to learn about, enjoy and engage with the River Severn and the Unlocking the Severn project.
Knowledge, Experience & Skills:
- Extensive experience of managing, or having a significant supporting role in managing, a visitor destination or heritage site.
- Experience of managing volunteers.
- Experience working with a range of audiences including non-traditional audiences, young people, special interest groups and families, and developing engaging programmes for those audiences.
- Experience collaborating and working in partnerships, balancing the needs of different stakeholders.
- Experience of writing operational plans and risk assessments.
- Creative approach to problem solving.
- Ability to work well under pressure.
- Ability to understand and implement organisational policies.
- Strong visual literacy.
- Excellent communication skills, verbally, visually and in writing, appropriate to location, audience and circumstance, some experience of media interviews is desirable.
For more details of our application process and to apply please visit the Canal & River Trust recruitment page for this role.
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