Community Development Officer (Wales)

Job Title: Community Development Officer (Wales)

Team: Programmes and Delivery

Location: Hybrid (split between home-working and our Cardiff office)

Salary on appointment: £31,760 - £34,936 per annum*

*This role sits within a pay grade with a pay range of £31,760 to £47,640. The salary on appointment will be set at the lower end of the pay range, to a maximum of 10% above the base salary, depending on the candidate's skills and experience. This approach aims to ensure fair compensation for new hires while maintaining alignment with the structured pay scale for the role.

It’s an exciting time to join the Ramblers as we have recently refreshed our strategy to support the delivery of our long-term ambitions.

We need your drive, knowledge, skills, and creativity to help us raise awareness of the Ramblers and what we stand for, enabling the charity to grow its supporter base and open up the joys and wellbeing benefits of walking to many more people.

About us

The Ramblers is Britain’s walking charity. We open the way so everyone can enjoy the benefits of walking.

It’s easy to think everyone has the same opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. But look a little deeper and you’ll find lots of barriers standing in the way. So we’re continuing to fight for change. We campaign for the public’s right to enjoy the outdoors, protect paths, build skills and offer different ways to get out walking in nature.

Our programmes have a big impact in local communities: Ramblers Wellbeing Walks help people take the first step to a healthier happier lifestyle, and the Ramblers Out There Award gives young adults aged 18–26 the opportunity to kickstart their journey into the outdoors.

Through our refreshed strategy, we’ll build on this experience and grow our impact through activities that prioritise the needs of communities who have the least access and face the most barriers walking outside in nature.

Purpose of Role

The Ramblers is committed to supporting more people to enjoy the benefits of walking, particularly those facing additional barriers. As a Community Development Officer, you will play a central role in bringing the new Ramblers strategy to life, by building local partnerships and working with communities and volunteers to support more people go walking.

Key responsibilities

• Use your local knowledge and relationships to enable the Ramblers to have greater impact in more communities, across Wales.
• Build strong and proactive relationships with local volunteer leaders to inspire change, test new ways of working, share good practice and implement change in line with Ramblers’ strategy. 
• Be able to support communities to achieve their own objectives and also advise and guide other Ramblers teams as they work in and with communities.
• Identify and develop new partnerships and opportunities to grow and expand Rambler’s programmes and impact.
• Support relationships with Ramblers programmes officers & partners in Wales.
• Work with the fundraising team through developing and responding to funding opportunities that meet the aims of the Ramblers
• Identify funding opportunities that support our community development work, in line with Ramblers strategy
• Delivering activity in your allocated geographic area for example through events, communications, producing reports or case studies.
• Line manages delivery officers working in Wales (dependant on funding).
• Work with the Director of Wales to raise the profile and grow local networks within Wales.
• Work with the Resolutions Manager to help local resolution of difficult situations -providing a proactive and positive approach to supporter engagement.

Other

• Undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required of the post
• Engage and proactively develop excellent working relationships across the organisation

This job description will be reviewed in conjunction with the postholder to ensure successful delivery of our goals.

The Person

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of developing strong, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience or knowledge of the fundraising landscape of Wales
• Experience of partner engagement and account management.
• Experience in researching and creating partnership opportunities.
• A good understanding of volunteering and experience of supporting volunteers.
• Experience of working with local authorities and community organisations.
• Experience of successfully engaging communities in a programme.

Skills and Leadership  

• Ability to work with a range of internal and external stakeholders, including volunteers, managing requirements and expectations.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability able to convey information clearly with a range of different audiences.
• Experience of engaging and working with communities.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer support skills, able to build strong relationships with partners and other colleagues.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team to achieve common goals.
• Ability to analyse information thoroughly and makes sound decisions and recommendations.
• Aptitude for identifying problems, generating solutions, and implementing them effectively.

Personal Attributes 

• Interest in walking and a commitment to the principles of inclusion and enabling everyone to feel welcome in the outdoors.
• Flexible and able to develop strong, collaborative relationships and work in a team.
• Resilient with the ability to work under pressure and to tight and competing deadlines.
• A solution focused approach to work and managing relationships.
• Drive to do a great job and to keep delivering stronger results.
• Willingness to take on different tasks and responsibilities as needed.
• Willing to travel and to spend evenings and weekends away from home.

The Ramblers promote diversity and welcome applications from all section of the community.

Values and Behaviours

Our values are the core principles that guide us daily in our work and our membership of the Ramblers. We all share the passion that walking is for everyone and by living our shared values we can ensure the Ramblers is an organisation to be proud of. Our values will earn trust for the Ramblers brand which will allow us to open up a world of walking opportunities for even more people. 

Inclusive – We make everyone feel welcome and part of the Ramblers community. We make sure we all feel respected and accepted and know our contributions make a difference in achieving our mission.

Inspiring – We strive to inspire people through the way we act and the things we say. We channel our passion and ambition so others are moved to help us achieve our mission.

Empowering – We empower and encourage each other to make a positive contribution to our teams and the Ramblers. We do all we can to make sure everyone has the ability, and feels confident, to take action.

Responsible – We take responsibility for ourselves and those around us seriously, by always acting in a safe and supportive way. We care about the environment and make sure we do what we say we will do.