Nature and Wellbeing Officer

Job Description

We are looking for an enthusiastic Nature and Wellbeing Officer to work with the England Nature and Wellbeing Manager to expand our exciting programme of RSPB Nature Prescriptions in the West Midlands. A growing body of evidence indicates that individuals with a greater connection to nature experience improved mental wellbeing, greater vitality and happiness, and are more satisfied with life. Research also shows that increasing your connection with nature can positively impact a range of conditions, including stress, anxiety and depression. RSPB Nature Prescriptions are designed to encourage and prompt people to connect to nature.

We believe that everyone, no matter where they live or the challenges they face, has the right to feel this strong connection to the natural world. Inspiring healthcare professionals and others in the NHS and social care, is a key route for the RSPB to enable more people from more diverse communities to access nature. In so doing we hope to inspire people to love nature and work with us to save it. This is a great opportunity to join a friendly and supportive team dedicated to saving nature by strengthening people’s connection to nature and improving wellbeing through RSPB Nature Prescriptions. Through this project we intend to support more diverse audiences to connect to nature, including through the co-design of materials in different formats.

We're looking for someone who is:

• Passionate: About connecting people to nature to improve wellbeing
• Confident: In sharing this passion to enthuse healthcare and other professionals including through presentations
• Inquisitive: A natural curiosity to explore and understand
• Bold: Willing to contribute innovative ideas, particularly when addressing health inequalities
• Positive and Personable: Fosters a collaborative and enjoyable way of working with our partners.
• Comfortable Challenging the Status Quo: Nature Prescriptions offer a way of improving wellbeing outside of the typical medical model of healthcare

Key tasks:

• Develop and deliver a new RSPB Nature Prescriptions project to people living in diverse communities within the West Midlands
• Deliver presentations to a wide range of potential stakeholders with the aim of obtaining engagement with the project
• Engage with local healthcare professionals and community groups to identify ways of ensuring Nature Prescriptions reach a large diversity of people
• Co-design Nature Prescriptions materials with local people, community groups and healthcare professionals
• Facilitate nature connection workshops to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of people who will be delivering Nature Prescriptions
• Develop a project plan for the delivery of Nature Prescriptions and follow project management principles to ensure a successful delivery of agreed outcomes
• Tap into local environmental networks to build a picture of nature based activities available and identify opportunities for partnership working
• Explore and contribute to the evaluation of the project, including data gathering and collecting case studies from project partners
• Represent the RSPB on relevant local health and wellbeing networks
• Build internal relationships with RSPB employees and volunteers working within the West Midlands and beyond
• Further develop our Nature and Wellbeing Sharepoint site to provide people across the RSPB access to our latest materials

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Skilled in delivering nature connection workshops or training
• Experience of working within the health and wellbeing sector
• Experience of developing and delivering projects with diverse communities
• Experience of developing external partnerships and balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders
• An excellent verbal and written communicator able to communicate RSPB messages in a way that is understood by a range of audiences and that engenders their support
• Experience of successfully developing and delivering projects
• Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage and deliver a varied workload
• Skilled in using Microsoft 365 suite including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Teams

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of SharePoint management
• Experience of recruiting and managing volunteers

This is a fixed-term, full-time role ending 31/03/2026.

The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position on 29 and 30 May 2024. For further information please contact sarah.walker1@rspb.org.uk .

As part of this application process you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.