Do you enjoy inspiring people, being part of a community, and building relationships? Do you have passion for nature and South Devon’s incredible landscape? If you have a genuine desire for a career in community engagement and/or the environment sector but haven’t yet got the qualifications or experience you need, then one of our Life on the Edge trainee posts might just be for you!
We are excited to offer two new trainee posts as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported, Life on the Edge Project (LotE), one focused on community engagement and one on ecology and conservation.
Our trainee scheme enables people with no previous experience or qualifications to work alongside our staff and volunteer teams, to develop hands-on practical experience and vital professional skills to help take that first step to a career in community engagement and conservation.
Life on the Edge aims to restore species-rich grasslands to secure a positive future for some of the UK’s rarest invertebrates and plants living along the South Devon coast, while improving people’s nature-connectedness. We are looking for someone who shares our passion and enthusiasm for impactful landscape scale nature recovery for the benefit of people and wildlife. This entry level position is aimed at progressing important skills and gaining invaluable experience in the environmental sector and suitable for someone who has not had paid work in this field before.
Day-to-day work of the Communities Trainee will be varied. Working alongside the engagement team, you will assist with a broad range of activities with target groups, schools, communities and the public. You will be directly involved in tasks ranging from craft workshops, planning a community celebration, staffing an information stand at a community event, backmarking a group walk, networking with partner organisations and working on practical conservation tasks. You will additionally be part of wider Life on the Edge project delivery.
Trainees will be employed on a 6-month contract at 0.5FTE by South Hams District Council, the host of South Devon National Landscape. Given the nature of the role, weekend and evening work is sometimes required, and flexible working will be necessary. If you have a keenness to learn about effective community engagement, supporting people to overcome barriers to involvement, and connecting people to their landscape in a way that inspires them to take action, and you meet the scheme requirements, then we’d urge you to apply and we look forward to hearing from you.
All interested candidates are encouraged to join an online webinar session on Monday 10th February to learn more about the Life on the Edge project, the posts, and to ask any questions in a short Q&A session. The webinar will be held on Zoom at 1830 on Monday 10th February – please get in contact lote@southdevon-nl.org.uk for the link.
We are only able to accept applications from individuals over the age of 18yrs old.
For an informal discussion please contact Nicky Bailey, Life on the Edge Volunteering and Learning Officer on 01803 229334 or email nicky.bailey@southdevon-nl.org.uk
Closing date: Sunday 16 February 2025
Interviews are expected to be held on Tuesday 25 February 2025
For further information on the project see