Community Development Worker

In partnership with
TEALING DEVELOPMENT TRUST

Community Development Worker

Annual salary: £33,740 (pro-rata £13,496)

(part-time 14 hours weekly, one-year fixed term contract)

JOB DESCRIPTION & REQUIREMENTS

Background
Tealing is a small, friendly Scottish village just north of Dundee in the county of Angus, nestling at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It's a fine place to live, work and play despite the lack of local amenities and services. Tealing is a rural area of 15 square miles situated halfway between the market town of Forfar and the city of Dundee. Residents are heavily reliant on their cars for transport and there is a slightly higher than average proportion of older and retired people. Tealing has a widely scattered population of just over 700, 9 working farms and a thriving small primary school of 36 pupils and 8 nursery children.

Award winning community development charity, Outside the Box, undertook in-depth community engagement and research in Tealing village last summer, which helped the community regeneration steering group to formulate a draft five-year plan for change and improvement. The consultation expressed the needs and suggestions from hundreds of residents and their thoughts on how best to use the Seagreen Wind Energy Community Benefit Fund set aside for the area. The results and recommendations are fully documented in different formats on the website at www.tealingvillage.org

As a result, Tealing Development Trust Ltd was formed as a community (not for private profit) company limited by guarantee early in 2023 and is now embarking on delivery of the community action plan. Together we are recruiting an experienced and energetic community development worker to actively help the enthusiastic volunteers make quick progress in the first year of operation.

If you would like to be part of a creative and enterprising community development organisation, working alongside communities and people who want to make a difference, this is role could be for you.

Our vision is inclusive and welcoming communities, where people’s contributions are valued, welcomed and supported. We recognise people’s experiences, the barriers and inequalities they face, and work alongside them to identify practical approaches for change that build on people’s skills.

We use a human rights-based approach in all our work to promote respect, dignity and equality. Find out more at www.otbds.org

Location

Outside the Box has an office base in Kinning Park Complex in Glasgow but this post will largely be based on site in the village of Tealing in Angus and working from home.

Key responsibilities

• Provide advice and support to the community to develop new activities or keep existing activities going, including developing and facilitating new groups, activities and events in the village hall and the wider area
• Review and help implement the draft Tealing Community Action Plan
• Develop solid links with local groups and help make connections between them to build community spirit and engagement across the generations – including the community council, the Hall SCIO, Angus Council, hall user groups, NHS Tayside and the third sector
• Develop good working relationships with potential partner organisations, including charities, potential funders or commissioners of new developments and other contacts who can help develop our village community projects
• Identify and help secure funding to enable important development work
• Writing reports, funding applications and promotional materials for projects and for good communication with residents, helping to keep them engaged and well informed via social media, the website and other communication channels
• Establish and maintain high visibility in the local community as a warm, friendly and approachable facilitator who gets things done and makes good things happen. Being at ease and comfortable with all age groups from the very young to the very old is particularly important
• Be a strong ambassador for Tealing in Angus and beyond. Represent the Trust at events and meetings and public speaking and presentations as required
• Support the volunteer directors of Tealing Development Trust, providing consistently sound advice, guidance and community development knowledge
• Work with the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of Tealing Development Trust to monitor progress and ensure good governance

These are the qualities and experience we want people to bring

• You have experience of working with community groups as a consultant or adviser or in a staff role.
• You are able to work in ways that support people and groups to learn and make their own decisions, rather than more conventional ways of working such as delivering training or services or being an expert who gives advice.
• You have experience of generating income for this type of work through contracts as well as grants.
• You have experience of writing reports or other material to promote projects or ideas, and of influencing decision-makers on matters such as setting priorities or funding for services.
• You will have experience of using social media platforms to share key messages and information about projects and events.
• You are able to work in a self-directed way – managing your own workload to provide a good quality of support within the time and resources available.
• You have good professional and personal standards for the work you do. This may be through membership of a professional association or network or working to the standards that such bodies have developed.
• You have contacts in a part of the country and/or with some sectors of community groups, such as regeneration projects or young people’s projects.
• You have, and understand the significance of, skills and knowledge that are transferable to new situations.
• You must have a current valid full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.

How to apply

What you should send

Please provide 3 things:

• A CV, explaining what your experience is. We are interested in people’s life experience when it is relevant to this post, such as hobbies and roles you do on a voluntary basis, as well as paid work.
• A short note on what you bring to the key responsibilities of the role.

• The names of 2 people who will give you a reference. They should know you in roles that are relevant for this type of post. We will not contact anyone for a reference until after the interview stage.

There is no application form.

Where to send your application

The closing date for applications is Friday 2 June at 5 pm please email to louise@otbds.org

For more information or an informal chat contact Louise Willson louise@otbds.org or phone 07706 433938.

Interviews

We expect the interview arrangements to be in 2 parts and held in Tealing Village Hall

• Wednesday 14 June - There will be an informal session in Tealing where short-listed applicants meet people involved with Tealing Development Trust and Outside the Box. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions and find out more about the role.
• Thursday 15 June - Panel interview with members of Tealing Development Trust and Outside the Box.

Notes

This post may be covered by the Protection of Vulnerable Groups or Disclosure arrangements. All staff may be required to have PVG clearance at any time, and failure to secure clearance is grounds for dismissal.

We want to encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds to work with us. We believe that greater diversity of experience, skills and ways of thinking will challenge our thinking and practice and broaden our collective knowledge and networks. We encourage applications from suitably qualified candidates from all parts of the community, regardless of age, disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief or socio-economic background.

We are a Living Wage employer accredited by the Living Wage Foundation

Job Types: Part-time, Temporary contract
Contract length: 12 months
Part-time hours: 14 per week

Salary: Up to £33,740.00 per year

Benefits:

• Flexitime
• Work from home

Schedule:

• Flexitime

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Angus: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Angus

Application deadline: 02/06/2023
Reference ID: Community Development Worker