Job Profile

What does your job involve and what might a typical day involve?

My responsibilities are quite wide ranging. They cover personnel issues- making sure staff are allocated to collections, to site work; that office staff have prioritised their work to meet deadlines; that duties of staff on leave are covered etc; I have overall responsibility for Health and Safety issues, and other regulatory requirements, such as EA, and State Veterinary Service rules. I need to ensure we have a coherent organisational strategy and that our activities are likely to achieve the goals we set ourselves.

A typical day tends, increasingly, to revolve around the computer. A press release needs writing; an article promoting a project for the parish magazine; the agenda for next week’s staff meeting; costing up a grant application; asking for letters of support from partner organisations; chasing up the engineer fixing our shredder; carrying out a staff appraisal. I may need to visit staff at one of our four sites- make sure targets are being met; ensure sufficient compost is bagged up for deliveries next week; check on the carpenter’s progress with our new office or that the polytunnel is erected.

What qualifications and experience did you have before starting the job?

I had a degree in Environmental Biology and many years of experience in voluntary posts in the community sector. I taught myself gardening in my 20’s and had developed a keen interest in food, cookery and nutrition. I had set up and run my own wholefood shops. But I had no managerial experience prior to Otter Rotters.

What are the best and worst bits of your job?

The best bits are seeing the fruits of one’s labours: the first batch of methane coming off the AD plant; the quality of compost created from kitchen waste; laying the carpet in the new office. The worst bits are dealing with statutory authorities and their bureaucratic obsessions.

What satisfaction do you get from your work and how does it make a difference?

I feel good when customers compliment us on our work and appreciate our efforts; when I see the benefit that a member of staff with learning problems derives from working with us. I get satisfaction from finishing a complicated grant application or better still receiving the approval letter! ; or from increasing customer take-up of a new service or product. The difference we make can be seen in new, constructive jobs created; in giving an individual more meaning to his life and a life worth living; in reducing waste and pollution and getting that message understood.

Do you have any tips for someone looking for a career in this area?

If you don’t have the experience to apply for a paid position in this sector then start as a volunteer. This provides you with experience and enables you to see for yourself what the work entails. Be bold- set up your own organisation- perhaps with a few friends; create your own job by applying for grant funding; look for local opportunities. Don’t wait for that ideal job to land on your plate.

More about Otter Rotters