Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer

Networks for Nature spans c60 square miles from the River Dee to the River Mersey, including Chester and Ellesmere Port. This is a collaborative partnership project working with Cheshire West and Chester Council, The Land Trust, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Canal and River Trust, and Sustrans with the aim to drive nature recovery in a mixed-use landscape, creating diverse habitats for species to thrive now and for years to come.

We will empower communities to have an active role in conservation action and stewardship and will focus on making nature more accessible to and inclusive for everyone to enable connection and improve wellbeing. To find out more about Networks for Nature visit Networks For Nature | Conservation at Chester Zoo.

As a Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer, you’ll work closely with the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager and Networks for Nature project staff to engage and empower communities to make a real impact on conservation efforts and to improve access to nature. You will support with maintaining and establishing community relationships, supporting the development and delivery of a programme of wildlife and wellbeing activities and supporting in building the capacity of community groups, community leaders and other stakeholders within the Networks for Nature project area.

You will deliver a broad range of activities, including Family Wildlife Clubs, Wildlife and Wellbeing Clubs, Community Action Days, activities linked to Green Social Prescribing (GSP), GSP workshops for healthcare professionals and activity stands within community settings. You will also actively promote and develop community network links.

Due to the working rota of 10 days in 14 and working every other weekend, there will be some cross-over between the activities delivered within this role and the Community Volunteer Officer role.

We’re looking for someone who can:

Apply below after reading through all the details and supporting information regarding this job opportunity.

• Activity Planning & Delivery:
Help plan and run a broad programme of wildlife and wellbeing activities to community groups, including Family Wildlife Clubs, Wildlife and Wellbeing Clubs, Conservation Action Days, activities linked to Green Social Prescribing (GSP), GSP workshops for healthcare professionals and activity stands at community events. Effectively adapting each activity to meet the needs of each group.

• Community Relationships:
Develop and maintain relationships with community groups to support their continued participation in the project and commitment to creating habitats for UK Wildlife. Including administrative support, dealing with queries via email and telephone and attending meetings, consultations and networking events.

• Content Creation:
Research and contribute to the development of resources and new engagement activities designed to support participation in the Networks for Nature project.

• Measuring Impact:
Work closely with the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager to support in the delivery of an evaluation programme for the Networks for Nature project, including collection and collation of data from project participants, initial analysis of results and presenting findings to key stakeholders.

• Safety & Risk Assessments:
With support from the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager, ensure that all activities are safe and appropriately risk assessed.

• Developing Expertise:
Proactively develop own expertise as a conservation educator, focused on community engagement, UK wildlife and nature and wellbeing.

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…
We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.
As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of nearly 500 permanent and 500 seasonal team members, and we know…