Youth Programmes Officer

Are you motivated to support young people, helping them thrive? Could you help us grow a network of Climate Action Leaders of the future for Morecambe Bay helping young people act and care for one of the most biodiverse places in the country?

If you are passionate about connecting younger people with nature and their local places and can engage and inspire those aged 3-16 years to discover Morecambe Bay and develop green skills and knowledge we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for a self-motivated, energetic and friendly person who can work alongside the Youth Programmes Lead to shape and deliver a new youth programme at our charity called Our Bay Our Future. Over the next 4 years you will engage thousands of local young people from our coastal communities and support them on a path to becoming climate action leaders for Morecambe Bay.

You will need to take an inclusive approach to working with younger people creating multiple opportunities for them to connect with nature, investigate environmental issues and deliver community-based climate action projects whilst ensuring young people grow in confidence and have new outdoor experiences.

The role requires excellent communication skills, empathy & understanding of the challenges faced by younger people as well as confidence in delivering face to face sessions and session planning.

Morecambe Bay Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

About You

For this role, you will have a genuine love of working with people of all ages, especially those as young as 3 to aged 16. You’ll have at least 1 years’ experience of communicating and leading sessions directly with young people and thrive on sharing the natural world and different places with participants. You’ll be confident in helping create interactive activities and have experience of delivering projects to high standards, according to best practice, safely and in partnership with others. You’ll also be well organised, and able to work flexibly.

You'll have creativity, and a willingness to adapt to the needs of the people you are working with. You must have an interest in Morecambe Bay, climate change/environmental issues and be willing to travel around the Bay area. Good organisational skills, the ability to liaise with early years and school communities (including young people, parents/carers, families, teachers or group leaders) and wider community groups and youth settings.

We want to appoint someone with knowledge of & a love & enthusiasm for the natural world, particularly coastal places, with which they can inspire and support youth learning in this field but also someone with knowledge of the challenges we face through climate change.

You will be delivering around all of Morecambe Bay, which extends from Barrow in Furness in South Cumbria, to Fleetwood in North Lancashire. Whilst we strongly encourage & incentivise the use of public transport for our staff team, it isn’t always possible due to the work we do, so the ability to drive & have access to your own car for work is important. We reimburse agreed transport costs, of course.

As the role supports younger people to act where they live, & to feel pride & passion for their area, we feel it’s important that you live here too. This also helps to minimise travelling within our large operating area and build empathy with local young people.

This is a hybrid role with a combination of home-based working (within the Morecambe Bay Area) and regular shared co-working spaces (exact locations to be confirmed to suit successful candidates). As a team, we meet regularly on-line and in person at different locations around the Bay, and at our small base at Grange over Sands. We (currently) have a lock-up where our kit is stored, in Kendal.

In return for your hard work & dedication to the role, you can enjoy a range of benefits including:

• Flexible working with friendly & supportive charity colleagues where you are trusted to get on with work with minimal supervision.
• Feeling like you are doing something positive & which matters to the place where you live.
• A monthly home-working payment contribution to your internet, heating etc.
• A range of family friendly & progressive policies including a sustainable travel policy which gives up to 4 additional days holiday if you travel abroad without flying.
• 26 days annual leave, with 8 bank holidays added (pro-rata).
• Winter shut down of up to 5 days in addition to annual leave.
• Contributory pension scheme of 5%

For a full list of all the key responsibilities, the full job description, and interview dates, please download our recruitment pack.

Our Bay Our Future is a partnership with Lancaster University (Morecambe Bay Curriculum Team), Lancaster & Morecambe College and the University of Cumbria. You must be able to work in partnership with external colleagues to achieve the best outcomes both for our charity and for the wider partnership.

These roles are funded by the National Lottery Community Fund Climate Action Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, Lancaster University, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Morecambe Bay Partnership and University of Cumbria have received £1.5million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, to support more than 5000 local young people to gain access to new climate action projects designed to grow the skills needed to care for Morecambe Bay and secure local ‘green jobs’.