JOB VACANCY – Trees for Dorset

The charity wishes to recruit a “Schools Project Officer” to help support its aims of ‘Planting, Protecting and Promoting Trees’ in the county.

The Project Officer will work with each of the 5 participating Primary & First Schools in rural Dorset, providing them each with four teaching days per year, per school, involving both practical outdoor activities and related classroom based sessions. Two more days are needed for meetings with schools, the Chair of Trees for Dorset, planning, liaising and organising plantings. There will also be time needed for organisation, administration and record keeping.  The work is in four seasonal blocks of approximately 2 weeks in October, November, February and May with nothing in between.

The person sought should:

• Have an enthusiasm for, and working knowledge of, trees in natural settings, and have some knowledge of natural cycles involving them
• They should be able to inspire that interest in the natural world and its care in young people
• Have experience of, and enjoy working with, children and young people
• Have a knowledge of how schools work and be able to use their communication skills with teaching staff – they are very busy people
• Have a flexible attitude towards schools and the weather
• Be physically fit to organise and engage in tree planting activity
• Have a vehicle suitable for visiting the schools and carrying suitable seedlings, small sapling trees and seed and tree planting equipment
• Applicants will be required to undertake a CRB record check

Being a charity with limited resources, remuneration will be in the form of an honorarium of £3,450 pa paid monthly.  This will be in part to cover the travel and administrative costs borne by the post holder.  This situation might well suit someone who has taken retirement or seeks additional interesting and worthwhile part time activity.

If you think you may be suitable and interested, please contact Rachel Palmer on 01929-462423 of Jane Pearson on 01305-853701.