The Ecology Centre is looking for a Chair to lead our community and environmental charity in collaboration with the Board of Trustees. We are looking for an individual to join our dedicated and expanding Board of Trustees to ensure effective strategic oversight and governance of the charity in line with our mission, vision and values. If you might be the right fit for our charity, we’d love to hear from you.

About Us:

The Ecology Centre’s vision is to connect people and nature for the sustainable wellbeing of both. We aim to provide a welcoming, safe and green space for communities to connect with each other and celebrate the joy of nature. We foster connections between people and the environment through environmental education for all and provide benefit to community, health and wellbeing.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for an individual who shares our values and who brings suitable commercial acumen and leadership skills to drive strategic growth and effective governance. As Chair of the Board of Trustees, you will play a critical role in designing and overseeing the strategic direction of our charity in collaboration with the Board of Trustees and General Manager. You will act as Chair to a close-knit, committed Board of Trustees, ensuring robust financial oversight, governance and innovation. We are looking for an individual who can help to bring our mission and vision to life and who can oversee the effective commercial management of the charity. Proven leadership experience within the charity sector is preferred but we are open to hearing from any individuals who can bring a proven track-record and understanding of leadership and financial management and who fits our values. Key responsibilities will include:

Providing strategic leadership to the charity in collaboration with the Board of Trustees

Guiding the short and long-term strategic development of the charity

Assuring and strengthening effective governance, including effective controls and monitoring of financial health, risk management and legal compliance

Building strong relationships with key stakeholders (in the community and beyond) to establish best practice sharing and an effective fundraising strategy

Managing a collaborative and inclusive culture at all levels of the charity and working closely with the Board of Trustees, General Manager and management team to ensure a thriving charity in line with our values.

The Citadel has a long history of strong relationships with families in the Leith community.

This includes our Families Project, which provides a range of services to parents/carers of children attending the Citadel, including a weekly Parents Drop In and regular Family Days. In the past six years, the Scottish Government’s Pupil Equity Fund has enabled us to extend our positive relationships with families into local primary schools.

The post holder will be based two days per week in Leith Primary School, where they will provide a range of services for parents/carers, including 1:1 support, themed workshops or groups and family learning. They will be based one and a half days per week at the Citadel, where they will work alongside Families Project colleagues, including co-facilitating the Parents Drop In.

This post has been continuously funded through the Pupil Equity Fund since 2018 and the renewal of funding for the next school year is generally confirmed in April.

Greener Kirkcaldy is a community-led charity working locally to bring people together, take positive action on the climate emergency and support people through fuel poverty and food insecurity. We deliver a range of projects, events and skills training to achieve the needs and goals of local people – building resilience as a community and working towards a future where everyone can live better and tread more lightly on our planet.

Based in the heart of Kirkcaldy – with a community building, training kitchen, bike shop and garden – we carry out activities across Kirkcaldy and work with partners to deliver projects across Fife.

Growing and connection with nature has central to our work since the beginning. Our community training garden at Ravenscraig Walled Garden is a vibrant space. It offers courses, training and volunteer opportunities in gardening and growing. It also includes a community orchard, with over 100 fruit trees and a ‘wild area’ that is set aside for nature.

As lead partner of Climate Action Fife, we work with others to help people to garden in climate-friendly ways. We've helped people to plant fruit trees and we recently created a demonstration climate-friendly garden at our community building garden in Kirkcaldy town centre. We are always looking for new opportunities to help local people connect with nature on their doorstep.

The Role

We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate individual to lead and develop our growing, nature and outdoor projects work.

As part of our Community Engagement Team, you will work with staff, volunteers and partners. You will develop and deliver a diverse range of events, training and volunteer opportunities around growing and nature.

You will play a key role developing new projects and activities, including grant-funded and income generating ideas. You will lead a small team of volunteers to maintain and develop our community gardens and coordinate day-to-day activities. For some volunteers, this is a pathway towards employment. For others, it is an opportunity for social interaction or to give back to the community.

You don't need to be an expert in climate change, growing or biodiversity. We will provide training and you will be supported by a great team.

Working at Greener Kirkcaldy

We want our town to be a good place to live and work. We want a future where everyone has a say in what happens locally, people are working together to protect our environment and those in hardship are supported to live well. That includes our staff and volunteers.

Working at Greener Kirkcaldy involves being part of a positive, collaborative and social team. Our culture is really important to us. We promote equality, diversity and openness. We have a strong focus on staff wellbeing and development. We also encourage our staff to use initiative and come up with ideas.

Benefits of working with us

• Flexible and hybrid working
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and sick pay
• Wellbeing, training and development opportunities
• Social events
• Inclusion and diversity

We want Greener Kirkcaldy to be an inclusive and diverse charity. People should feel supported, valued and able to be themselves. We take part in Fife Centre for Equalities’ Equality Pathfinders programme. We also take part in the Race Equality Environmental Programme facilitated by CEMVO Scotland. Our Equalities Action Plan sets out the steps we are taking to improve diversity and inclusion.

To achieve our vision of Kirkcaldy as a greener and fairer place to live, we need a diverse team. We encourage applications from people of any background. We know our sector particularly lacks staff and volunteers with Minority Ethnic backgrounds and disabled people. If you come from a minority ethnic background or you have a disability, we encourage you to apply.