Walking for Health Communications Officer

Transcription

1 Walking for Health Communications Officer JOB PACK

2 INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS FOR THE POST OF Walking for Health Communications Officer Thank you for your interest in being our Walking for Health Communications Officer. This pack is designed to give you an insight into us and our work, plus details of the job and the people you ll be working with. The Organisation The Ramblers helps everyone, everywhere, enjoy walking and protects the places we all love to walk. We are the only charity dedicated to looking after paths and green spaces, leading walks, opening up new places to explore and encouraging everyone to get outside and discover how walking boosts your health and your happiness. The leading voice on walking matters, nationally and near you; we protect, maintain and keep an expert eye on every single path you walk. Because of us, you can explore the wilds of the Scottish countryside, walk along the pioneering Welsh Coast Path and enjoy England s stunning national parks and trails. Whether you re just taking your first steps or are a seasoned walker, we can provide the expert advice and support you need to get the most out of the great outdoors. From our vast range of group walks to our expertly developed Ramblers Routes, we offer thousands of ways to start and keep you walking. So if you love the great outdoors, enjoy the places you walk now and want to open up more of beautiful Britain, take an extra step and join us today. By becoming one of our members, joining our team of dedicated volunteers and

3 employees or simply supporting our work, together we can get everyone, everywhere walking. Protecting and expanding where we walk Our roots are in groups of walkers who wanted access for the public to the countryside. To this day most of our work is done by members who volunteer their time. We have dramatically increased the ability of the public to access the countryside: Our success comes through our ability to work alongside other recreational users of the countryside. We also work with the broader outdoors community including those companies and communities that rely on walking for their economic well-being. Over the last 65 years the Ramblers has played a pivotal role helping secure the footpath network in England and Wales. We literally helped put your rights of way on the map as well as championing long distance routes like the National Trails. We continue to look after the network. By law, the Ramblers in England and Wales needs to be consulted on changes to paths and our volunteers inspect thousands of miles of paths each year. One hundred and fifty Ramblers volunteer teams work with local authorities doing hands on maintenance and improvement work, for example, putting in new gates and making sure paths don t become overgrown. We also want to expand where we walk since the 2000 Countryside and Rights of Way Act which gave us the right to roam; we ve campaigned for more coastal and woodland walking to give access to the countryside. We also protect the places people go walking. We believe in protecting people's ability to enjoy the intrinsic values of nature and so we will defend the countryside and urban green spaces. To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort with other charities we mainly do this through effective participation in wider coalitions and by work within local communities to avoid particular developments.

4 Promoting walking Our other role as a charity is to give current and potential walkers a helping hand. We enable and organise group walks led by volunteer walk leaders across Britain. Each year 300,000 people take part in Ramblers organised walks alone. Our members can join a walk anywhere in the country and new walkers are always welcome. For those people who walk independently we offer information, support and opportunities including high quality routes. For those people not currently walking, but who are considering improving their health and well-being through physical activity, the Ramblers is an essential helper. Throughout Britain we provide and support a range of projects. In England we partner with Macmillan Cancer Support to manage Walking for Health. In Scotland we run our Medal Routes and Take 30 projects and in Wales we run Let's Walk Cymru. The Ramblers family Ramblers Scotland and Ramblers Cymru are part of the Ramblers GB family and membership covers the whole of Britain, however they have the independence to represent walkers in ways that are unique to the Scottish and Welsh nations. Ramblers Scotland is the representative body for walkers in Scotland. For over 80 years we have been campaigning to protect the natural beauty of our countryside, promote walking and safeguard public access to land. Ramblers Cymru is the representative body for walkers in Wales and its overall aim is to encourage walking and public understanding of the outdoors. See more at:

5 The Ramblers Central Office This role is based in Vauxhall, London at our Central Office. It is staffed by approximately 70 people who share a passion about outdoors. Our staff are employed in various capacities dealing with volunteers, campaigns, communications, advocacy, projects, media, governance, marketing, membership, finance, information systems, human resources, delivery and development. The Role The role is a new role for the Ramblers and Walking for Health, following an operational review of the walking for Health programme. This is an exciting role where you will manage a small team to deliver the intelligence and research function for the Walking for Health programme, which is funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. Your work will be key in delivering our vision: Everyone will have access to a short, free and friendly health walk within easy reach of where they live to help them to become and stay more active. People will enjoy an experience that Macmillan and the Ramblers have enabled, and they will be inspired to give something back. Key principles that underpin our vision: To ensure that walks remain free, short and easy, and open to all To enable walkers to become and to stay active To ensure that a key component of the offer is group led walks To ensure walks are recognisably Walking for Health To ensure that Walking for Health is recognisably Ramblers and Macmillan This position is part of the Delivery and Development Division reporting to the Walking for Health Communications and Marketing Manager. A typical week for you might involve: Drafting the monthly newsletter to Scheme Coordinators.

6 Providing stats on social media visits for the Programme manager s quarterly report to Macmillan cancer Support Monitoring the daily use of twitter and tweet on all Walking for health related activities Producing copy for press releases. Ensuring there is sufficient merchandise at the fulfilment house for schemes to order. Ensuring all use of the brand meets the branding guidelines Developing, interviewing and writing up case studies for the website Attending relevant health conferences as and when required to raise the profile of Walking for Health. You will work as part of a team of fourteen people supporting the implementation of the Walking for Health programme The Challenge It is important that the successful applicant is: An excellent communicator using both verbal and written skills. An excellent relationship-builder in order to successfully work with a range of small voluntary led schemes. Conscientious and thorough in order to increase the standard and quality of the resources provided, and committed to continuous improvement Positive in outlook, willing to find innovative solutions to the challenges of communicating to a range of different and diverse audiences A team player, able to support and cover the work of other team members to maintain excellent service levels Resilient in the context of competing demands that will be placed on the role, but excited by the ambition of the organisation. To do this you ll need to have strong experience of leading a team in a very busy environment. At the same time you will need to be committed to our vision with the confidence and commitment to help make sure plans happen.

7 The Division The mission of the Delivery and Development Division is: To help people to enjoy the benefits that come from walking, whether they are first time walkers or experienced hikers; whether they want to walk independently or in a group; or to walk in our towns and cities or countryside and wild lands. To ensure that users of Ramblers services deepen the engagement they have with the Ramblers, by developing and delivering an infrastructure that serves the emerging supporter journey. Functions of the Division are: To implement a high quality and cost effective infrastructure that empowers volunteers to deliver services for walkers To recruit and retain a body of motivated volunteers that deliver diverse, welcoming and high quality services for walkers To coordinate a consistency of Ramblers service provision across all parts of GB, that serves the supporter journey To deliver a national infrastructure in England for first-time walkers, through Walking for Health To deliver all walking related projects in England To coordinate walking related projects across Britain To manage the implementation of the volunteer approach To ensure the legal compliance of all volunteers.

8 Key Priorities for 2015 Our business plan sets out how we will continue to deliver the charitable objectives of the organisation: 1. Renew and revitalise To continue to revitalise the Ramblers, through a new vision, a sense of being one organisation in which diversity flourishes, and a framework for increased engagement with Ramblers activities. 2. Deliver our mission To continue to create frameworks that will enable us to deliver all aspects of our mission everywhere. 3. Stabilise and grow To maintain Ramblers as a stable and well led organisation, taking all opportunities to expand and grow our activities.

9 Background information to Walking for Health The World Health Organisation ranks sedentary behaviour as the world s fourth biggest killer. In England the Department of Health estimates that at least 27 million adults are not active at recommended levels. There are also significant health inequalities, with activity levels declining with age, in black and minority ethnic groups, lower socioeconomic groups and those with long term conditions. Being active at recommended levels can help both to prevent and manage multiple long term conditions, including CVD, cancer and depression. The accessibility of walking, the low level of health risk from participating in walking as an activity and the ability to vary pace and difficulty depending on a person s needs means that it is a physical activity that lends itself to participation by individuals of any age, including those with long term and chronic conditions such as cancer. The Ramblers helps everyone, everywhere, enjoy walking and protects the places we all love to walk. We are the only charity dedicated to looking after paths and green spaces, leading walks, opening up new places to explore and encouraging everyone to get outside and discover how walking boosts your health and your happiness. Set up in 2000, Walking for Health is an England-wide scheme that delivers free, volunteer led, regular group, short walks. Each quarter around 75,000 different people participate. These walks are open to all but are predominantly aimed at inactive people and those with long term conditions. Volunteer walk leaders are recruited, typically from local communities, to run the walks. Many people who join a local walking group join for health reasons stay because it s social, helping them make friends and feel empowered, then go on to train and become volunteer walk leaders themselves. At a local level, scheme co-ordinators manage all local functions of Walking for Health. These are usually part time paid posts, funded by the local authority or NHS, although in some cases the schemes are entirely volunteer led or managed through other local community organisations. Local schemes are responsible for

10 implementing and managing local governance structures, monitoring and reporting, any required business case development and liaising with commissioners; advocacy work for example to enable referrals and link up with NHS care pathways; walk set up, walk promotion and walker recruitment; recruitment, training and support of volunteer walk leaders. Schemes are supported by the Walking for Health national team, which provides: regional service development support, cascade train the trainer training, an accreditation scheme for walks, a monitoring database of all walkers, national website with resources and a walk finder, public liability insurance for volunteer walk leaders, evaluations, marketing and other printed materials. All of these functions are provided free of charge to schemes. The national centre was previously managed by Natural England, with funding most recently from the Department of Health. From April 2012, following a competitive divestment process, the Ramblers became the new national host of Walking for Health, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, who are providing the majority of the funding. Together our vision is for everyone to have access to a short, free and friendly walk close to where they live to help them become and stay more active. The Ramblers and Macmillan are committed to ensuring health walks remain open to all. Together we are working to extend opportunities for people living with and beyond cancer to join health walks. Being active during and after cancer treatment can help prevent and manage some of the consequences of treatment and may help reduce the relative risk of some cancer s recurring. Macmillan estimates that at least 1.6 of the 2 million people living with and beyond cancer are not active at recommended levels, 1.1 million of whom are aged over 65. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a team that is delivering an established national public health programme, and to take a leading role in expanding its reach and impact in the years to come. For more information about Walking for Health see:

11 TO APPLY Initially please refer to the knowledge, skills and expertise requirements for this role to check that you meet the criteria that are necessary for the job. Then send us your application form by Monday 6 July 2015 Shortlisting w/c 6 July 2015 Interviews w/c 13 July 2015 This can be ed to recruitment@ramblers.org.uk or posted to: Human Resources Ramblers 2 nd Floor Camelford House Albert Embankment London SE1 7TW Please refer to the guidance on how to apply below: You should clearly provide evidence of how your previous experience, skills and abilities mean that you match the needs of the role, i.e. the abilities/skills listed in the role profile. Remember that you may be able to draw from different areas of your life to provide relevant and useful examples, not just paid employment. Give examples of the work you have been involved in and always remember to specify your own responsibilities rather than those of your department. Tailor your application to meet the needs of the person specification. Make it easy for the selection panel to see how well you match the job. RETURNING YOUR APPLICATION Please ensure all sections are fully completed and the form is signed. If additional space is needed please continue on separate A4 sheets, up to a maximum of two additional pages.

12 The completed application/equal opportunities form should be returned to the correct person by the closing deadline. Any forms arriving after this deadline will not be considered for shortlisting unless there are exceptional reasons. We regret that we are unable to acknowledge receipt of applications, but please telephone the HR Department on if you want to check your application has been received. If you do not hear from us within a week of the closing date please assume that you have not been shortlisted. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES The Ramblers is an equal opportunities employer. Applicants should note that our recruitment procedures are carried out in accordance with equal opportunities principles and selection is based on how well applicants meet the objective criteria, which are stated as the requirements for the job. We welcome applications from individuals regardless of disability, age, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation or race. Equal opportunities monitoring form: We ask that all applicants for this post complete the Monitoring Form below, which will enable us to monitor the effectiveness of our Equal Opportunities Policy. The information is detached from the form before short listing and kept confidentially within the HR Department.

13 ASYLUM & IMMIGRATION CHECKS (Guidance Notes for Applicants) Before anyone starts work with Ramblers we have a legal obligation to confirm that they are eligible to work in the United Kingdom. This check must be carried out on every potential new employee, regardless of their nationality. In order for us to determine whether you are eligible to work in the U.K. You will need to produce either of the following documents at the interview: 1 Document from list 1 any original document or; 2 Documents from list 2 (combination 1) A document listed in group A confirming your national insurance number plus any B-H or; 2 Documents from list 2 (combination 2) A document listed in group A from Work Permits UK Plus and either document from list B-C(Please do not bring photocopies as they are not acceptable forms of evidence) List 1 Any one of these documents will confirm eligibility to work in the UK A passport showing that you are a British citizen, or have a right of abode in the United Kingdom. A national passport or national identity card showing that you are a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland A residence permit issued by the Home Office to a national from an EEA country or Switzerland. A passport or other document issued by the Home Office which has an endorsement stating that you have a current right of residence in the United Kingdom as the family member of a national from an EEA country or Switzerland who is resident in the UK. A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that you can stay indefinitely in the UK, or have no time limit on your stay. An Application Registration Card issued by the Home to an asylum seeker stating that you are permitted to take employment. List 2 Documents that confirm eligibility to work in the UK. They must be produced in combination. You must produce document A and one other document from either the first or second box. We cannot accept one document from the first combination and one from the second. First combination A. A document giving your permanent National Insurance Number and name. This could be a P45, P60, National Insurance card, or a letter from a Government agency.

14 Along with producing a document giving your National Insurance Number, you must also produce one of the following documents listed in section B-H: B. a full birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom, which includes the names of your parents C. a birth certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland D. a certificate of registration or naturalization stating that you are a British citizen E. a letter issued by the Home Office to you which indicates that you can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or have no time limit on your stay F. an Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to you with an endorsement indicating that you can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or have no time limit on your stay G. a letter issued by the Home Office to you which indicates that you can stay in the United Kingdom, and this allows you to do the type of work you have applied for H. an Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to you with an endorsement indicating that you can stay in the United Kingdom, and this allows you to do the type of work you have applied for. Second combination A. A work permit or other approval to take employment that has been issued by Work Permits UK Along with a document issued by Work Permits UK, you should also check and copy one of the following documents listed at B-C: B. A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that you are able to stay in the United Kingdom and can take the work permit employment in question C. a letter issued by the Home Office to you confirming that you are able to stay in the UK and take the work permit employment in question.

15 CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (a) PAY The commencing salary of this role is up to 28,785 Cost of living increases are normally applied, subject to approval, in October each year. Salaries are paid on the 28 th of each month via bank credit transfer. (b) WORKING HOURS The working week is currently 35 hours. However, there will be occasions when these hours are exceeded and unsocial hours working may be required. Overtime is not paid. Time off in lieu can be negotiated with your line manager. Times of work can be flexible and are negotiated with your line manager. (c) LEAVE Annual leave is 25 days per year plus paid holiday on statutory and other public holidays. The Ramblers office is closed on statutory holidays and from December 24 th to January 1 st inclusive. The office is also closed on December 23 rd when that day falls on a Monday; and on January 2 nd when that day falls on a Friday. (d) PENSION SCHEME From 1st July 2014 all staff will be automatically be enrolled into a Group Personal Pension Scheme as part of our requirement to meet automatic enrolment legislation. According to the statutory requirements, employees will see 0.8% of your earnings going to their workplace pension. In turn Ramblers will be obliged to add a contribution that is the equivalent of 1% of your earnings. Tax relief adds another 0.2%. These amounts will increase to a minimum of a 4% contribution from the employee, 3% from the employer, and 1% in tax relief from October In addition, Ramblers currently offer a higher level of contributions at 6% of your basic salary, provided employees contribute at least 5%. (e) PROBATIONARY PERIOD All new employees will be required to undertake a period of probation for six months, in which time you will be expected to establish your suitability for the post. At the end of this period and subject to a satisfactory performance you will be transferred to the established staff.

16 (f) RAMBLERS MEMBERSHIP All staff on successfully completing their probation get free Ramblers Membership. This gives you access to hundreds of group led walks every week, Ramblers Routes online library as well as four issues of Walk magazine a year. In addition you will be entitled to a host of membership discounts and offers. (g) TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP The Ramblers recognise the Union Unite. The Union has sole consultation rights within Ramblers for terms and conditions of employment and other matters concerning staff. The Ramblers encourages all employees to join the union. (h) FLEXIBLE WORKING The Ramblers will consider applications for flexible working arrangements. For further information please ask the Human Resources officer for the policy. The Ramblers will enable as many jobs to open to job sharing as is operationally practicable. (i) LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT The Ramblers are committed to the learning and development of all staff members. Training needs are highlighted through the annual appraisal scheme and development needs are continuously reviewed. As part of this we offer a combination of in house and external training opportunities throughout the year. (j) SEASON TICKET LOANS, CYCLE TO WORK AND CHILDCARE VOUCHER SCHEMES The Ramblers operate a childcare voucher scheme (available upon joining), a season ticket loan and cycle to work schemes (available after 3 months service). Details can be given on request. (k) GYM MEMBERSHIP We have a corporate membership to The Gym group! This entitles employees to join for a monthly fee of and no joining fee. The monthly fee includes 24/7 gym access including gym based classes.

17 Role Profile Job Title: Walking for Health Communications Officer Department/Division: Delivery and Development Contract: Permanent Responsible to: Walking for Health Communications and Marketing Manager Responsible for: N/A Full Time (35 hours a week) Location: Vauxhall, London Band: 3 Salary: up to 28,785 Only a third of adults in the UK are active enough, but it doesn t have to be this way. Walking for Health is England s largest network of health walk schemes, helping all kinds of people to lead a more active lifestyle. Our vision is for everyone to have access to a short, free and friendly health walk within easy reach of where they live, to help them become and stay active. The Ramblers is proud to run Walking for Health in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. Purpose of Role: Under the guidance of the Communications and Marketing Manager, this role is responsible for supporting the implementation of the communications and marketing strategy for Walking for Health (WfH). This will involve the production of communications and marketing materials for a variety of stakeholders, including: those involved with the management of local WfH schemes; volunteers who lead walks; walkers; potential walkers; potential volunteers. Key Responsibilities: Content production 1. To source and write content for the Walking for Health website, covering both national and local stories, working closely with the Communications Manager and Regional Development team. 2. To source and write content for the Walking for Health newsletters working closely with the Communications Manager and Regional Development team. 3. To work closely with the Regional Development team and schemes to source, develop and manage case studies. 4. To work closely with the Walking for Health team to deliver an engaging social media presence. Communication 5. To support the Communications Manager in the delivery of marketing and communications advice for schemes for example, developing and keeping updated a press toolkit and marketing templates. 6. To support the day-to-day management of the social media channels. 7. To support press activity for Walking for Health. 8. Responsible for internal communications in the Ramblers.

18 Development 9. To support the production of Walking for Health materials, including sourcing quotes and liaising with suppliers, copywriters and design agencies, working closely with the Communications Manager. 10. To support on the delivery of events for scheme coordinators, including developing messaging, sourcing speakers and producing creative presentations. 11. To support specific development projects from a communications perspective, including website and database development. Other 12. To be a brand guardian for Walking for Health, advising others on the appropriate use of the brand and tone of voice. 13. To identify appropriate conferences and events for the Walking for Health team to attend and to represent Walking for Health at some of these. 14. To undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required of the post holder by the Ramblers. Decision-making The post holder makes decisions or recommendations within policies and guidelines that apply to a specialist area of work and that impact on the team s ability to meet team or project objectives and service standards. Supervision is available for issues that fall outside of existing operating guidelines or knowledge. Analysis and initiative The solutions to issues or problems are not always obvious and investigation is needed before choosing a way forward. This is likely to involve interpreting existing standards, procedures, policies and technical or specialist guidance. Initiative is required to help find ways to improve working practices, procedures and policies in own area of work. Communicating The post holder applies written or verbal communication skills to frame an issue or argument or to engage in dialogue with a range of internal and/or external contacts, with the aim of influencing the views of others, tailoring communications to audience needs and views. The post holder makes new contacts on behalf of Ramblers. May represent Ramblers externally in networking activities, with members, in third party relationships, or in a coordinating role. People The post holder may be responsible for allocating and checking work of less experienced colleagues, explaining to others how things are done or coordinating the work of volunteers. Resources The post holder may provide input to plans that have budgetary or income implications; may have delegated responsibility for allocating physical resources, for income generation, for reconciling budgetary information or for delegated budget.

19 Knowledge, skills and expertise Essentials: 1. Demonstrable experience of writing creative copy and content, both online and off line, whilst adhering to tone of voice and style guidelines 2. Demonstrable experience of sourcing, and managing production of, a variety of promotional materials 3. Demonstrable experience of working with design agencies and copywriters 4. Experience of managing and writing e-communications 5. Experience of supporting an organisation s social media account 6. Experience of working with content management systems 7. Experience of, and confidence in, advising colleagues on communications and brandrelated issues 8. Strong project management and time management skills 9. Excellent interpersonal and spoken communication skills, with the ability to work with a range of stakeholders 10. Good organisational skills with the ability to work under pressure 11. Excellent IT skills, including a good knowledge of Microsoft packages 12. Proactive and confident in developing creative ideas 13. Willing to work flexible hours including some weekend and evening work Personal belief in and support for the aims and core values of Ramblers and Walking for Health Desirables: 1. A relevant training qualification 2. Experience of data entry interfaces and simple content management systems 3. Experience of elearning 4. A strong understanding of the challenges people face when living with a long term health condition, including cancer. Key contacts Internal Director of Delivery and Development Press and PR Officer ICT Support and database officer External Macmillan Physical activity project Officer Schemes Coordinators Web/Database supplier Other essential requirements for the role-holder Every member of staff is expected to show respect to their colleagues and to understand and adhere to the Ramblers dignity at work policy; they are also expected to work collaboratively and to support all the divisions with which they have contact in achieving the Ramblers objectives. All duties and responsibilities must be carried out with due regard to the Ramblers Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities policies. The details contained in the Job Description particularly the key responsibilities, reflect the content of the job at the date the job description was prepared. It should be remembered, however, that it

20 is inevitable that over time the nature of individual jobs will change; existing duties may be lost and other duties may be gained without changing the general character of the duties or the level of responsibility entailed. Consequently, Ramblers will expect to revise this job description from time to time and will consult with the post holder at the appropriate time Role Holder(s) Date: / / Line Manager Date: / / Consistency checked by HR Date: / /

21 GUIDANCE NOTES How to Apply Applicants with disabilities and special needs Please tell us if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to assist you in your application. If you have a disability, which you would like us to take into account, please tell us about this when you apply. Please let us know if we can help and remember that you can request information in large print or in a different format. Notes to all applicants on how to apply It is our intention to appoint the best candidate for every vacancy in accordance with our Equal Opportunities Policy. To do this fairly, within the overall recruitment process at stages throughout the process we will need all applicants to provide relevant information about themselves. This information should be based on the criteria listed in the enclosed person specification and which are regarded as essential to the job. Please complete the Application Form outlining your skills and experience. Remember to tell us how you think you meet the selection criteria listed on the role profile. Draw particular attention to experience, skills, achievements and knowledge gained in past employment or other activities which are relevant to the job. It may be easier to use headings relating to the requirements detailed in the person specification and demonstrate how you meet them. Completing the Monitoring Form helps us to monitor the effectiveness of our Equal Opportunities Policy. The information is detached from the form before shortlisting and kept confidentially within the HR Department. Make sure you send your application and supporting documents to the correct address, marked for the attention of the HR Department and ensure that your form arrives before the closing date.