Community Development Officer - Job Description

Role and Purpose

The Community Development Officer will work as part of the Erasmus+ Team and collaborate across our network of stakeholders in the Northwest to promote, deepen and strengthen education engagement in the community, adult, and vocational education sectors.

The main purpose of this role is to build lasting working relationships with key stakeholders, deliver high quality capacity building, training and educational programmes that are creative and fun, and finally to have a positive impact on the learners and trainees that we are supporting. Yes of course there are administration elements, but this is not an administrative- or KPI-driven role, therefore our ideal candidate is committed to and passionate about delivering high quality community-led training and empowering people and communities to achieve their personal and collective ambitions respectively.

It is an exciting and varied role requiring excellent multi-tasking and organisational skills, as well as friendly and kind people skills and solid training and facilitation experience.

We are offering a specified purpose contract of two years. The role will be based in Virginia, Co. Cavan and will require face-to-face work in Ireland and potentially abroad in 2022 and 2023 (dependant on Covid-19).

Key Responsibilities

  • Work as an integral member of the Erasmus+ Implementation Team and play an active role in the design, marketing, and delivery of our educational and training programmes
  • Outreach into marginalised communities and build lasting working relationships with community members, community actors, organisations, and stakeholders
  • Plan, promote and facilitate workshops, training sessions and events to target audiences, both on-line and in-person.
  • Test and pilot educational resources and materials within community, adult and youth settings using creative and inclusion methods
  • Deliver a range of well-organised, imaginative, and quality workshops for a range of target groups within the local community
  • Arrange and facilitate small consultation groups at community level to conduct research and identify local training needs
  • Manage relationships with key stakeholders, target group members, adult learners and the wider community.
  • Contribute to the effective communication of our training and education projects through social and digital media.
  • Employ quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation practices and support the development of new tools to effectively evaluate and measure impact of our activities.
  • Participate in continuous professional development training work in Ireland and in Europe throughout the year
  • Document and report on your training activities and outcomes achieved.

The above job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the successful candidate may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to them from time to time.

Skills and Experience Required:

  • A relevant third level qualification in community development, rural development, education/ training or a related field is required.
  • Must have at least 2-years proven experience in delivery training sessions, facilitating workshops, and hosting community events
  • Must have practical community development expertise and experience (minimum of 3 years)
  • Relevant experience in developing and maintaining collaborative partnerships.
  • Working knowledge of adult education and VET sector in Ireland is desirable.
  • Proven ability to meet targets and work to deadlines within a team setting.
The candidate should possess the following skills and attributes:
  • Self-starter, comfortable working independently to an overall workplan
  • A good team player with enthusiasm, drive, friendliness and approachability.
  • Responsive and adaptive to a dynamic work environment.
  • High level of professional responsibility and integrity.
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
  • Organisational skills and ability to multi-task is essential.
  • A committed to the principles of impactful community development – we interested in the quality of the work delivered.

Terms of Employment:

This is a fixed term contract (up 35-hours per week) until 31st December 2024 subject to the satisfactory completion of a probation period. The nature of the work may require working unsocial hours i.e. evenings and weekends plus EU travel. Given the outreach nature of the role, you must have access to own transport.

Salary on offer: €33,800 to €41,600 depending on experience and qualifications.

All staff members are required to obtain Garda clearance as a condition of their initial and continued employment.

Leave: The annual leave entitlement is twenty-five (25) days per annum, pro-rata for shorter periods. Entitlement to leave for Public Holidays is in accordance with the terms of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.  Future in Perspective is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

All documentation received by the company will be processed in accordance with the relevant applicable data protection legislation. The information will only be used in the processing of job applications and for ongoing administrative purposes with job candidates.

This position is funded through European Erasmus+ Programme 2021 - 2026.

To apply: please submit a CV and cover letter outlining reasons for your suitability for your chosen position to jobs.fipl@gmail.com. Applications must be clearly marked for the position applied for. Closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday, 5th January 2022. Late applications will not be considered and shortlisting will apply. Candidates from non- traditional backgrounds are especially welcome.