About People’s Trust for Endangered Species

Whether bats or beetles, hedgehogs or hyenas, we stand up for animals and their habitats.  The delicately balanced ecosystem that we all depend on is under threat. Alarmingly, in the UK almost two-thirds of species have declined in the last 50 years. Globally, around a quarter of mammals face extinction in the next three decades. This rate of loss can be stopped and that’s why People’s Trust for Endangered Species exists. For nearly 40 years we’ve improved the outlook of endangered species in Britain and throughout the world.

Passion drives our work but it’s grounded in science. Our approach is to invest in research and test the best ways to protect endangered species in their natural habitats. Then we put what works into action, creating vibrant wildlife havens.

Our work is varied and extensive, ranging from direct support for conservation professionals to involving the public and volunteers in practical action to help specific species and their habitats. Current priority species are hedgehogs, dormice, water voles and invertebrates and our priority habitats are orchards, woodlands, hedgerows, wood pasture and parkland.  As well as carrying out our own work, which focuses particularly on British mammals, we support conservation work throughout the world. Recent projects funded range from monitoring Saiga antelope populations on the Russian Steppes to protecting slow loris habitat in Indonesia.

We have 17 staff, five trustees and thousands of volunteers helping us.

Job Purpose

The Website Outreach Officer leads our public engagement predominantly through the website, social media and occasional face-to-face encounters at public events. The role supports both our desire to educate the public about our cause and our need to fundraise. Oversight of the Trust’s WordPress-based website and leading on social media brings the Website Outreach Officer into direct contact with all of the Trust’s staff, liaising over editorial content, timings and website development.

Job share

This role is shared between two members of staff, one of whom works 2.5 days a week and is in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We are seeking a second member of staff to cover the other days and to have some overlap. The precise working pattern is flexible between a minimum of three and a maximum of four days across the working week.

Duties and responsibilities

Managing job share

·         Developing and maintaining an effective relationship with the other member of staff job sharing.

·         Adopting a flexible approach and agreeing specific tasks for each person according to skills and logistics.

Website

·         Overseeing the PTES website working in line with, and developing, the website strategy.

·         Coordinating website development and being the point of contact with external suppliers for web development ensuring developments are on time and on budget.

·         Fixing problems internally where possible and liaising with the web support supplier when necessary.

·         Managing colleagues in keeping site pages up-to-date and making updates regularly.

·         Advising on additional features that could enhance certain areas and implementing

·         Ensuring that website content and development is in line with the style, design and tone of PTES brand guidelines.

·         Monitoring website use, SEO and Google Analytics, feeding back to staff, advising and implementing modifications.

·         Providing digital support for fundraising appeals and  assisting with the smooth running of online retail through the website.

·         Maintaining an up-to-date listing of Wildlife Encounter events, ensuring registration and payment processes work, creating attendee lists, dealing with booking enquiries.

·         Providing online support for training courses and occasional conferences ensuring registration and payment processes work, creating attendee lists and dealing with booking enquiries.

Social media

·         Coordinating the social media and digital marketing strategy.

·         Actively posting on Twitter and Facebook and liaising with a colleague posting on Instagram (channels may change over time).

·         Maintaining a social media planner through which staff suggest content and agreeing priorities.

·         Using Sprout Social (or similar content planner) to pre-schedule posts.

·         Maintaining consistent messaging through social media honed for the particular channel.

·         Monitoring and responding on social media platforms in line with the social media strategy sufficiently to maximise attention, engagement and conversion.

Digital marketing

·         Providing technical support for PTES digital marketing campaigns including identifying suitable audiences, copy, appropriate tests to refine campaigns, and posting adverts.

·         Clarifying measurable objectives for paid digital marketing, monitoring campaign outcomes and reporting back to staff.

·         Advising and implementing advertising copy enhanced for SEO.

·         Coordinating PTES digital marketing planning and coordinating with Hedgehog St digital marketing.

·         Managing Google Adwords

Public education events

·         Identifying, organising, attending and maximising our presence at occasional external public events primarily with an educational focus, such as family days and other relevant events. (Usually single-day events, occasionally at a weekend).

·         Devising interactive and innovative ways to engage the public at such events to educate and raise awareness and secure potential volunteers.

·         Maximising contacts made at public events, capturing GDPR-compliant details and ensuring appropriate follow up.

·         Organising, administrating and promoting PTES Wildlife Encounters events programme, including taking bookings and answering queries, and collecting feedback (typically 10 events a year run by the post holder, other staff or external people).

Other tasks

·         Dealing with general public enquires relating to requests for visits or talks or other educational content, directing them to sources of information as appropriate.

·         Liaising both internally and externally with numerous stakeholders, supporters and others.

·         Helping with other tasks as advised by the Chief Executive.

Relationships

Internally you will report to the Chief Executive and work closely with the staff leading conservation campaigns and the fundraising team and with colleagues also involved with social media and digital marketing.

Externally you will work closely with our website support, other web service providers, supporters on social media and at public events, and our PR/communications agency.

Person Specification

Essential knowledge and experience

·         University degree or equivalent in biological or environmental sciences, ecology or other relevant discipline.

·         Experience of using WordPress content management and the confidence where necessary to learn to upload web content quickly and effectively.

·         Experience of writing content for webpages and editing page layouts.

·         Experience of using a range of social media including Facebook and Twitter, on behalf of an organisation.

·         Experience of implementing digital marketing, particularly through Facebook.

Essential skills

·         Commitment to our goals and values and an interest in biodiversity and conservation.

·         Strong communication skills and ability to relate and converse confidently with a wide range of people with diverse backgrounds face to face and remotely.

·         Ability to write clearly and appropriately for differing audiences, particularly online and on social media, communicating effectively over different channels with a consistent tone of voice.

·         Proven ability to manage projects and events, meeting objectives on time and on budget.

·         Self-motivation, a general ‘can do’ cooperative manner, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a close-knit team with a passion for conservation.

·         Ability to work with consistent accuracy and attention to detail.

·         Full UK driving licence.

·         Flexibility to be able to work out of hours on occasion.

Desirable selection criteria

·         Working with website designers on structuring websites for specific audiences.

·         Online payment systems (we currently use WooCommerce), social media planners (Sprout Social), Google Analytics, Google AdWords.

·         Working with teachers and/or the education sector.

·         Working in the charity sector.