Events Co-ordinator

Background

The Scottish Seabird Centre is a conservation and education charity whose purpose is “Inspiring and educating people about the Scottish marine environment, motivating them to care for it, and supporting conservation projects”. Based in North Berwick, East Lothian we overlook the marine environment in the Firth of Forth and have over 200,000 visits each year.

We have four key pillars to our work:

• Conservation we develop, practically undertake, and promote models of conservation best practice and citizen science.
• Education we deliver education programmes, science resources and events and use innovative ways to provide information on the marine environment.
• Communities we work in partnership with diverse communities including enhancing the experience for visitors to North Berwick.
• Experience we offer 5-star visitor experience, are a valued community resource and engage more people through digital technology and media.

Our charitable work is supported by our not-for-profit Trading Company Scottish Seabird Centre Limited and our 5-star visitor attraction which provides a valuable resource for members and visitors.

We have received funding through the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Adapt and Thrive award to create an Events co-ordinator role. This is initially for an 8-month period and we are working towards securing the role in the medium term. The postholder’s remit is to help us to broaden our events and exhibition offer at the Centre and, in so doing, to increase our visitor footfall and income; especially within the shoulder season (October-March).

Job description

The Events Co-ordinator will be responsible for developing, in line with our 3-year Business Plan, a programme of events and exhibitions which attract more visitors to our Centre. An important aspect of this is increasing what’s on offer at the Centre both for our members and for the local community. The events will be aligned with our conservation and education charitable remit, as well as helping to develop our not-for-profit income through our subsidiary Trading Company.

Principal duties

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and delivering a programme of events and/or temporary exhibits to raise the profile of issues that the Charity is passionate about, in a way that engages, inspires and informs an increasing number and range of people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It would help to have an interest in Scotland’s marine and coastal environment and environmental sustainability, although opportunities to learn more about this will be provided in the role. We are looking for an individual whose values are aligned with those our Charity and experience in the field of event management is key to this post.

The main responsibilities will include:

1. Overall creation and co-ordination of a varied events and exhibition programme which helps deliver against our strategic plan objectives and leads to an increase in our not-for-profit trading income.
2. Develop our successful Marine Fest programme into an annual event and attract new providers / exhibitors to this which builds on the steps taken to reach broader audiences – both at the Centre and online.
3. Support the development of funding bid applications that enable us to bring more events and exhibitions to the Centre that help increase repeat visits and/or to increase visitor footfall; especially in the shoulder seasons.
4. Support the preparation of funding applications, claims and evaluation. This will include assisting with the preparation of realistic budgets, good financial management and recording of outputs and outcomes from events in line with funding commitments.
5. Work with our marketing and communications team to ensure that our events are effectively promoted to members, partners and visitors. Capture the impact of these events (for people and wildlife) through compelling stories and images of events.
6. Support our Project officer, and wider Learning Team, with the development of their programme to grow the reach and impact of their contributions, for example to Scottish-wide community festivals and by attracting secondary and tertiary education levels to the Centre.
7. Design and deliver corporate team building and other engagement days with input from our project officers and Fundraising manager.
8. Support the core group of Scottish Seabird Centre volunteers with the development and implementation of their programme of community-based fundraising events.
9. Contribute to the development of corporate networking events and opportunities that may lead to more support for the Scottish Seabird Centre.
10. When required, act as Duty Manager for evening /weekend events. Duties include opening up/closing down the Centre, safety checks and co-ordination of the allocated staff team.
11. Ensure all Health and Safety policy and procedures for team members, customer and events and exhibitions (and for off-site equipment are met) as required by Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the charity’s own policies.
12. Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as required by the CEO and/or Fundraising Manager.

Essential skills and experience

• Experience (2 years minimum) of developing small to medium sized bespoke events/exhibitions.
• A creative person who can evidence having developed new opportunities to grow visitor footfall, or not-for-profit trading income, or unrestricted income through community fundraising events.
• Evidence of attention to detail on the planning of events, preparation of associated risk assessments.
• Experience of co-ordinating the service provider/ staff /volunteer input required to deliver successful events.
• Effective communicator (oral and written) and confident networker with partners, corporates and service providers.
• A calm approach with evidence of problem-solving abilities.
• Experience in preparing and successfully delivering income and expenditure budgets.

Desirable skills

• Knowledge, experience and passion for marine and coastal wildlife and habitats, as well as a general understanding of nature, conservation and the environment.
• Experience from within the tourism or Science Discovery Centres, or a transferable sector.

For further information and a full job description please click HERE.

Applications: To apply: send a covering letter and a tailored CV that demonstrates how your skills and experience relate to the role profile to info@seabird.org by noon on the 24th August 2021. Interviews will be held the week commencing 30 August.