About Rathlin Island

Rathlin is 4km off the County Antrim coast and is Northern Ireland’s only inhabited offshore island, with a permanent community of approx. 160 people. Rathlin’s seabird populations are important but invasive non-native ferrets and rats threaten their status.
The LIFE Raft project aims to safeguard the island’s wildlife by eradicating both ferret and rat populations from the island, whilst embedding biosecurity to prevent their return. The project will strengthen existing local pride and stewardship of the island’s natural heritage, and create significant opportunities for a sustainable future. Success will require a multi-disciplinary approach covering technical operations, community engagement and collaborative working across the project partnership and with key external stakeholders
The project has been made possible with funding from EU LIFE; the National Lottery Heritage Fund; and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, (with contributions from RSPB NI, Rathlin Development and Community Association and support from the Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust and Causeway Coast and Glen Borough Council).

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced, and motivated, specialist to support the LIFE Raft Team in the development, delivery and reporting of the project’s community engagement plan. The candidate will have experience of developing similar plans and establishing clear and deliverable objectives within organisational procedures. The candidate will also be expected to support the development and growth of the community engagement team and ensure the best outcomes for the project.
Integrity, honesty, and mutual respect will guide your approach to engaging with the Rathlin Island community. 

Key Result:

•    Assist the wider team in the development and delivery of a Community Engagement Plan
•    Support the team in delivery
•    Support the team in adherence to standards
•    Follow legal, regulatory, organisational policy and frameworks
•    Assist effective stakeholder management that facilitate collaborative relationships
•    Work to deadlines and frameworks to enable reporting to funders
•    Apply principles of continuous improvement
•    Follow and deliver on defined priorities

What we need this role to do:

1. Support the development of a community engagement plan by:
•    Identification of stakeholders
•    Development of communication approaches and plans
•    Communication of projects overall plan objectives
•    Communication of plans regarding each phase of the project
•    Getting community "ready" for each phase of the project
2.  Support delivery by providing;
•    Leadership on community engagement to the LIFE Raft team
•    Guidance and support on approaches to deliver the engagement plan
•    Guidance and support on outcomes and reporting
•    Provide feedback to allow modification of project or approach
•    Help communicate the project, the importance of islands for birds, eradication projects, etc to the wider world
3. Support Reporting by;
•    Using their experience of reporting on engagement plans to support the programme and project managers in reporting to project funders.

The appointed person will work with The LIFE Raft project team, The Rathlin community, and the Project stakeholders including members of the public that visit Rathlin.

What we need from you

You’ll be a passionate advocate for Rathlin Island and the recovery and conservation of breeding seabirds in this fragile island ecosystem. You will have empathy for people and a commitment to affording a small community the opportunity to contribute to species recovery. You will have substantial experience engaging with island or rural communities to tackle environmental challenges. You will have substantial experience in planning and reporting on engagement activities and have substantial experience of working as part of a team by providing support to others.

Essentials

• Excellent written and spoken English
• Excellent communication skills
• Experience of developing engagement plan and activities
• Experience of supporting a team in delivery of plans
• Ability to produce high clear plans and reports
• Ability to maintain positive working relationships
• Ability to respond positively to feedback
• Competent IT user
• Understanding of procedures relevant to the development of a community engagement plan including standards etc
• Advanced knowledge of approaches relevant to community engagement within the conservation sector
• Ability to communicate conservation and community engagement issues with peers and wider community
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Initiative and judgement to resolve basic problems independently
• Plan development, implementation and reporting
• Experience of working with limited supervision and resolving unforeseen issues and challenges
• Ability to plan, organise and prioritise work
• Ability to undertake assigned routine tasks in a timely manner and to a high standard

Desirables:

• Experience in similar or related roles
• Developing innovative solutions and contributing to strategic planning

Additional Information

For an informal discussion about this post, please email David Tosh at david.tosh@rspb.org.uk

This is a Fixed-Term (1 year with the possibility of an extension) Part-Time role for 20 hours per week. 

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 looking to conduct interviews for this position on or after the 26th of October.

As part of this application, you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form where you will have the opportunity to tell us how you meet the criteria set above.