Climate FORTH Project Officer - Visitor and Business Engagement

We are looking for an enthusiastic and organised individual with a passion for partnership working to help deliver Climate FORTH: Furthering Our Resilience Through Heritage.

This is an ambitious project by Inner Forth Futures - a collaboration of 9 organisations, who have committed to work together with advisory organisations, stakeholders and community groups to achieve a shared vision. The Inner Forth Futures vision is that the sense of connection, purpose and place that put the Inner Forth at the forefront of the industrial development of Scotland will be revitalised. We aim to achieve this using a landscape scale approach with heritage at its core to engage people in new ways in the Inner Forth’s management.

The Climate FORTH project began delivery in August 2023 and will run until November 2026 to contribute significantly to delivering our vision. Climate FORTH is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a range of co-funders. 

The project will support a move to a greener future and post-pandemic recovery and generate opportunities to share learning, influence adaption and inspire the change needed to transition to a climate-resilient landscape in the Inner Forth and beyond.

See www.innerforthlandscape.co.uk/climate-forth for more information.

In this Project Officer role you will support project delivery by leading business and tourism sector engagement activity that supports the delivery of our sustainable tourism activities.  This will include the following activities;

• Facilitating the use of a Visitor Giving Scheme across the landscape - an opportunity for those benefitting and enjoying the local heritage of the Inner Forth to invest and enhance.
• Develop and deliver the ‘Round the Forth passport scheme’ to encourage locals and visitors alike to engage with heritage sites in the landscape.
• Facilitating the creation of car free itineraries and signage for heritage attractions in the Inner Forth.
• Setup and delivery of a series of events at lesser-known heritage sites and ‘visiteering’ opportunities (volunteer sessions for visitors) to promote local tourism and support the economic resilience of local businesses.
• Engaging local businesses with a created ‘Tourism Toolkit’ - designed to provide information on the local area, its heritage assets and offering resources to promote walking/cycling tourism.
• Setup and delivery of Tourism and Hospitality Business Upskilling sessions promoting the Tourism Toolkit, including familiarisation trips, talks from industry specialists and networking.

The successful candidate will have proven experience of working in the business engagement and/or tourism sector. You will be supported by the Climate FORTH Project Manager, Steering Group and Board but you will need to be able to demonstrate a strong ability to work independently and to demonstrate your own initiative.

The post will be based at the RSPB Skinflats Reserve near Falkirk, with flexibility to work part of the week from home and occasional weekend and evening work. The role will include regular travel around the Inner Forth to businesses and sites.   

Additional responsibilities include supporting the Project Manager with elements of grant reporting and contributing to internal and external communications.

Essentials:

• Experience of business engagement and / or working with the tourism sector.
• Knowledge of a range of techniques for promoting heritage or sustainable tourism. 
• Ability to persuade and influence a wide range of people - including the ability to involve businesses in project activities and schemes.
• Experience of working with project teams, partners and stakeholders.
• Some knowledge of the theory and practice of project management.
• Ability to produce clear written communications including report writing.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, ability to find creative solutions and to work on own initiative.
• Proven time management and organisational skills and ability to work under pressure.
• Experience in contractor management.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (especially Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and Teams).

Additional Information

This is a Fixed-Term role for 37.5 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 from Wednesday 18th June. For further information please contact [email protected].

As part of this application process you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes.