We are seeking a dynamic coordinator to work with community rail partnerships across Scotland, supporting them to promote and enable sustainable travel by rail through community-based projects. You’ll be playing a vital role, as our organisation’s representative in Scotland, supporting those working and volunteering within our grassroots movement to involve local communities, building confidence and positivity about climate-safe transport.

About us

The Community Rail Network is a not-for-profit organisation supporting a growing ‘community rail’ movement, which brings people together and helps communities have a voice, promotes sustainable and inclusive travel, and supports local development, linked to railways and stations.

Community rail is made up of 73 community-based partnerships, plus more than 1,000 station friends volunteer groups and enterprises, striving to put railways and stations at the heart of communities across Britain. Activities range from station-based arts projects for young people, to advising train operators on local needs, to empowering marginalised groups to access new opportunities by rail, to promoting green tourism.

In Scotland, there are eight community rail partnerships, working in a range of locations, drawing on local knowledge and collaboration, and contributing to the Scottish Government’s aims to develop a fair, accessible and climate-safe transport system.

Our enthusiastic team of 19 is mainly based from home in different locations around the UK, with a small office in Huddersfield. We work together to support and advise our members, provide training, events and resources, and champion community rail and its unique insights. We believe in developing our staff and helping every team member reach their potential.

About this role

Thanks to funding from Paths for All’s Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund, this role provides a critical addition to our team, allowing us to work closely with our Scottish members, to help them promote rail and sustainable mobility in their localities across Scotland.

You will work with, support, and draw on the expertise of, eight community rail partnerships in different locations (see map) around Scotland, working with them to develop effective community engagement to enable and encourage sustainable travel. You will support them to develop their awareness of sustainable travel, build links with local partners such as schools, colleges, community groups and authorities, extend existing and set up new initiatives, reaching wider audiences. Collaborative working with our members, the rail industry, and third and public sector partners will be essential.

The role will include regular rail travel around Scotland, alongside online and phone contact, plus occasional trips to our office in Huddersfield and our events in other locations. We therefore encourage applications from people who live close to good rail links.

Main responsibilities

Reporting to our experienced head of support and development, you will work with our members and partners to develop effective community rail activity in Scotland promoting sustainable travel by rail. This will include:

• working closely with eight community rail partnerships, drawing on their local expertise and ideas and ensuring strong relationships and collaboration;
• supporting effective local partnership working, helping to maximise opportunities for community rail working with schools, colleges, clubs and other local groups, as well as rail and transport operators, local authorities and regional transport partnerships;
• building knowledge and confidence among community rail partnerships and volunteers of sustainable travel, such as by facilitating sessions sharing and discussing community rail projects across the network and bringing in expertise from sustainable travel partners;
• exploring and developing opportunities to extend and enhance existing community rail initiatives promoting rail as a part of sustainable travel and tourism;
• working with the community rail partnerships to establish new local engagement projects, helping them to run targeted and needs-based activities such as travel confidence workshops or interactive sessions with young people or parents, creative projects, participatory mapping, station visits and community events;
• working with our communications team to deliver local PR to raise awareness of community rail and take the sustainable travel message to wider audiences;
• creating reports and case studies showing progress and impact, and liaising with and reporting to funders, rail industry partners and third sector networks to ensure this work is well-coordinated, informed and evaluated;
• keeping informed about sustainable transport and rail development in Scotland, ensuring our work supports wider strategic goals to enable more sustainable and inclusive mobility.

Skills and competencies

1. Demonstrable experience in supporting community engagement projects, ideally related to sustainability and mobility, including working with young people or families to overcome barriers;
2. A good understanding of and confidence using community engagement, local communications, project planning and evaluation techniques;
3. The ability to collaborate and communicate with community groups and other local partners, draw on their views and expertise, and support them to build capacity and confidence;
4. Awareness of sustainable transport and social inclusion issues, and an appreciation of the importance of rail, sustainable travel and mobility to communities across Scotland;
5. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work confidently with stakeholders at all levels and facilitate positive discussion; articulate and assertive, and a great team player;
6. A proven ability to bring partners and groups together, develop and maintain mutually-beneficial partnerships, deliver joint activities, and form professional networks;
7. Good writing and analysis skills, with the ability to draw on quantitative and qualitative evidence, produce case studies and reports, and advise on local communications;
8. A demonstrable ability to manage time effectively and juggle a range of activities in an organised, professional, productive manner, including planning and scheduling, coordinating with colleagues and partners, and bringing projects to fruition;
9. Proactive, positive and self-motivated, able to work on own initiative and inspire and enthuse others, and overcome hurdles to achieve results;
10. IT literate with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, the internet and social media.

To apply, email jobs@communityrail.org.uk by 11pm on 13 May 2022 with two attachments: your CV and a covering letter of up to two sides of A4 summarising why you are the ideal person for this job and your relevant skills and competencies. Please include a daytime phone number.

First interviews take place 20 May 2022 on Zoom or Teams. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by phone. Due to our limited resources, we are unable to provide feedback to candidates who are not shortlisted.

Other information

The post is home-based, but with significant travel across Scotland and occasionally to our office in Huddersfield and events elsewhere. We therefore encourage applications from those with good rail links across Scotland.

This is a part-time position, 26-29 hours per week. We are flexible which days these hours would be and use a flexi-time/TOIL system (with core hours usually 10am-3pm). We are committed to being a flexible, supportive and understanding employer. This is a fixed term position to 31 March 2023, but with the potential for extension or making the role permanent, subject to funding being continued or secured from other sources. There is a probationary period of three months.

Community Rail Network is an equal opportunities employer