Part-Time Senior Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Specialist - England (Fixed-Term)

Job Description

RSPB England is seeking a Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist to support staff and volunteers by providing advice and guidance, and to develop new ways of working to support senior leadership to embed EDI practices across the country.

This is an exciting time to join the organisation; we are one year into our ambitious EDI programme that underpins our new strategy to 2030. Issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) have shaped the RSPB since its inception in 1889. 132 years later these issues are more relevant than ever; the natural world has been pushed to its limits and humanity’s increasing destruction of nature is having devastating consequences not just for wildlife and the climate, but for the wellbeing of people.

We know that, to tackle the nature and climate emergency, we need to enable more, and more diverse, people to act for nature. And as conservation is one of the least diverse sectors in the UK, we are committed to not only improving our workplace and its culture, but also driving forward EDI as it is our responsibility towards a sustainable future for people and nature together.

What's the role about?

This role will be directly line managed by the UK EDI Manager, taking steer from, and feeding into, the central UK programme of EDI work. This role will work to support staff specifically in England and will work closely with the England Head of Engagement.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about driving forward change and who is keen to support staff who are leading their own activities and small projects relating to EDI. You will have experience of successfully influencing change to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in an organisation or in a community setting.

This is a great opportunity for a driven and credible advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion, who has an understanding of equality and diversity legislation, issues and good practice as well as what it takes to foster an inclusive culture and to play a key role in a highly respected national charity.

Specific tasks:

• To provide EDI specialist support, advice and expertise to teams in RSPB England who are developing and delivering EDI activities which relate to their specific work areas. This includes work specifically on anti-racism.
• To coordinate EDI activities across RSPB England, maximising opportunities for scale-up and identifying risks, which feed into the central UK EDI work programme. To convene the England EDI Delivery Group, which is made up of representatives across RSPB England who each lead EDI activities within their teams.
• With project manager support, to develop ways of working, and associated training and guidance to staff in England on working in diverse partnerships, including effective relationship management.

We welcome applications from candidates with the following essential skills, knowledge, and experience. When applying for this role, please state how you meet each of these criteria in the 'about you' section:

• Broad EDI knowledge, with an understanding of current thinking and actions particularly in the areas of anti-racism and accessibility.
• Experience of providing strategic operational advice and guidance on EDI to people at all levels.
• Project Management experience, including data gathering, project evaluation, and report writing.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and demonstrable experience of developing and working in a variety of diverse partnerships.
• Experience of leading behaviour change projects or interventions in a large organisation.
• Strong facilitation and training skills and experience.
• Excellent communication skills, including experience of supporting EDI through remote working platforms such as Teams or Zoom.

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.

This role is an England-wide role, and the role holder can be a homeworker or based in one of our regional offices in Birmingham, London, Brighton, Newcastle, Lancaster, Exeter, Norwich or Sandy, or be a hybrid worker. This role requires occasional travel, but it is not essential to be able to drive.

This is a one-year fixed term contract and is available as part-time 0.6 FTE (3 days per week). The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

Interviews for this position will be held on Microsoft Teams. Additionally, we will be holding an optional online recruitment briefing session prior to the application closing date which is open to all prospective candidates and provides the opportunity to learn more about the role. Should you have any queries about this vacancy, or to register your interest in the briefing session, please contact edi@rspb.org.uk for details!

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

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