Our communities and volunteers are central to the success of our campaigns to protect and restore the ocean. We engage millions of students and hundreds of thousands of volunteers annually, with a shared vision for our seas. Our award-winning community projects and highly experienced team now need the guidance, support and experience of a talented and driven professional to take our community impact to the next level in this Decade of the Ocean.
Our belief is that long-term systematic change comes from tackling four interlinked areas: community actions, business practices, laws & policies, and this holistic approach to change is reflected in our campaigns and projects. Effective project execution is critical, not only for our day to day delivery at SAS, but also for our longer-term success in achieving our vision of Thriving Ocean, Thriving People.
We need someone with great project management experience, a professional who can see the bigger picture but also can drill down and help deliver the detail when needed. You will have experience of innovating and delivering significant community-based projects. You will understand the importance of good measurement and analysis, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
You will be highly results orientated, but also agile and adaptive to change. You will understand the importance of prioritisation and instinctively guide the team to focus on what matters.
We are a small, agile team with the ability to deliver big and you will need to be collaborative, inspirational and decisive. You will be skilled at empowering teams to create and deliver consistently utilising project management techniques and approaches. We are a practical charity, and you will be able to roll up your sleeves, and work on tight timeframes, capacity and budgets.
Ideally, you will have a strong grasp of environmental issues, spot opportunities, and understand how to engage and mobilise our supporters at this crucial time for our environment.
This new role with the charity will be both strategic and hands on, delivering trackable and meaningful uplift on a backdrop of extremely strong project impact and delivery. The main responsibilities are outlined below but this is not a definitive list and it will change and evolve over time.
Responsibilities
General
- Oversee and develop the ongoing community & events portfolio, supporting an experienced management team delivering education, beach cleans and community programmes.
- Support and empower the team to grow volunteer engagement, school enrolment and community participation across key projects including Plastic Free Schools, Plastic Free Communities and the beach clean programme.
- Ensure that our deliverables are consistent with our authentic ocean-focused mission, strategy and campaigns
- Work closely with the Head of Campaigns to embed campaign actions in community projects.
- Co-chair the Campaigns & Projects Committee.
- Project management – accurate and timely scoping and planning, managing capacity and resources to deliver high levels of impact and engagement.
- Line management: Motivate, support and monitor performance within the projects team.
- Deliver complex projects accurately, on time, and to budget
- Spot potential risks and challenges and mitigate/adjust plans accordingly
- Monitor and communicate progress and produce relevant reports and necessary documentation
- Understand and utilise appropriate project management tools, training staff where needed (We currently use Asana, Teams within SAS)
- Team leadership – direct line management of Community & Events Manager, Plastic Free Communities Manager and Education Manager
- Understand CRM systems, their relationship with strong project delivery and supporter engagement.
- Scope and implement a major CRM project in collaboration with Head of Individual Giving and Head of Campaigns.
- Develop project pitches and budgets to secure funding for our education and communities programmes in 2023.
- Co-ordinate implementation of mitigating actions to address relevant risks identified by the Leadership Team and Board of Trustees on the organisational risk register.
- Implement the strategic goals set out by the CEO and Board of Trustees and shape these collaboratively
Other duties & responsibilities
- To adopt a positive approach to personal and professional development
- To play an active role as part of the SAS Management Team
- To be aware of, and act on, relevant governance responsibilities and requirements as an employee of SAS and adhere to these wherever you are working
- To maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at SAS
- To work with the broader SAS team and to perform any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the post
- To demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse workplace.
Personal Specification
- Thrives in a fast-paced campaigning environment and has flexibility and agility in approach where necessary
- An energetic, committed and strategic individual, with the ability to turn ideas into real impact
- Has experience of managing complex, time-bound projects, ideally within a campaigning charity
- An agile, flexible leader able to inspire others to act
- Develops open and collaborative relationships, able to delegate and empower
- Deals with conflict and pressure maturely and rationally
- Works positively to address challenging personal and organisational goals, taking responsibility for resolving problems
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Adept at engaging a variety of cross-sector stakeholders and managing diverse relationships
Knowledge & Passion for the Cause
- Is passionate about marine conservation and the wider environment
- Fully supports the aims & objectives of the charity
- Understands the critical role the ocean plays in current environmental challenges
- Committed to supporting investigative work, empowering ocean activists in action and movement building
Surfers Against Sewage values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Closing Date: Saturday 3rd July / Interviews: Thursday 8th July
Applications & Enquiries to recruitment@sas.org.uk
