RSPB Team Member (Climate FORTH Young Leaders)

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Available from 13 June 2022 to 25 August 2022

Please note, we are recruiting using a standardised RSPB system so the 'RSPB Team Member' role profile attached is a general guide only and not specific to the Climate FORTH Young Leader role. Specifics on the Young Leader role can be found below. You do not need to be an RSPB member to volunteer as a Young Leader.

Become a Young Leader for Climate FORTH!

Are you aged 18-25 and living, working or studying in the Inner Forth area? Do you have opinions about what is important to your community and a curiosity to learn from and lead other young people? Would you like to contribute towards the development of a £1.7 million project by attending 4 workshops this summer? If the answer to all these questions is ‘yes!’, then Climate FORTH would like to work with you!

Climate FORTH (Furthering Our Resilience Through Heritage) is a new project aiming to understand, protect and enhance what people value (their ‘heritage’) in the face of climate change. This heritage can be anything of special interest and value in a community, including unique natural, cultural and built assets such as sites, species, structures, and stories. The project is centred around the Inner Forth area and includes communities in Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, and Fife which border the Forth river.

Learning from and co-designing with young people will be key to the success of Climate FORTH. We are looking for people aged 18-25 within the Inner Forth area to help the Climate FORTH team co-design the project’s activities, understand young peoples’ views, and develop a meaningful approach to working with young people. No previous experience is needed!

What you will be doing

Climate FORTH is looking to recruit and work with Young Leaders in July and August this summer. Young Leaders must commit to attend four 2-hour meetings during this period. The meetings will be a mix of online and in-person, and where and when the meetings will be held will be decided by the Young Leaders. During the meetings, you can expect to learn more about the Climate FORTH project, advise on elements of the project from a young person’s perspective, team up with another Young Leader to lead on a topic, and design, lead and deliver a short workshop about your topic to young people aged 14-17. Young Leaders will be supported throughout by the Climate FORTH Community and Youth Development Project Officer.

The Young Leaders meetings will follow the below outline:

  • Welcome meeting and choosing topics (July)
  • Planning for leadership workshops about your topic (July)
  • Deliver leadership workshop for people aged 14-17 (July/August)
  • Designing the future of Climate FORTH (August)

The skills you need

No previous experience in or knowledge of heritage and climate change is needed to become a Young Leader for Climate FORTH. However, it is important you have the following:

  • An interest in the Inner Forth area and some local knowledge
  • Enthusiasm for leading young people aged 14-17
  • Confidence to give your opinion and ideas
  • Patience to listen to and work with others
  • Ability to work within a team and alone on your own initiative
  • Willingness to learn more about climate change and Climate FORTH
  • Appreciation of the importance of local heritage
  • Commitment to attend all four meetings or catch up in your own time

What’s in it for you?

  • Help shape your local community for the future!
  • Contribute your perspective to how the Climate FORTH project should be run and gain confidence in your abilities
  • Enhance your leadership and teamworking skills
  • Gain experience of volunteering with the RSPB and working in the charity sector
  • Earn volunteer hours to put towards Duke of Edinburgh, UCAS, etc.
  • Meet and network with other young people in the Inner Forth area

Climate FORTH want to make this experience as beneficial as possible for our Young Leaders. If there is a specific skill you would like to improve or some additional experience you would like to gain (e.g. work shadowing or interview practice) we will discuss this with you!

We welcome people of all backgrounds, experience and knowledge levels as Young Leaders and are committed to equality of opportunity for all applicants. If you have any questions about Climate FORTH young leaders or require alternative accommodations to apply, please get in touch with Connie Dawson, Climate FORTH Project Officer - Community & Youth Development: connie.dawson@rspb.org.uk / 07516588142

Climate FORTH is made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.