This role is part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) supported project to build Gardens Trust resilience in the face of Covid-19. With support to become a more resilient organisation we will be able to improve our own diversity and ability to be inclusive, which will help us not just to survive the financial and organisational impact of the pandemic, but also to emerge as a stronger, more coherent and sustainable organisation which is relevant to a much wider audience.

This role is to support consultants and GT staff and volunteers to:

Gain insight from potential and existing audiences through market research.

Use the audience insight to help design strategies for audience development, new audience engagement (particularly digital), and membership development

Enable the Gardens Trust to become a more inclusive charity, including helping to  deliver diversity training for our staff, volunteers and Trustees.

The NHLF grant includes provision for an audience development consultant who will work closely with this role to develop a three year audience development strategy which will include a costed annual delivery plan for sign off by the Gardens Trust  trustees.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Audience development

1. Work with the audience development consultant to gain insight into potential audiences and to produce a 3-year audience development and engagement strategy.
2. Particularly help with research, volunteer training and activity testing, especially digitally.
3. Devise a programme of test activity to support wider audience participation and engagement.

Liaison with existing and new staff and volunteers

1. Recruit and support relevant volunteer roles.
2. Help deliver diversity training for our staff, volunteers and Trustees.
    

Communications

1. Develop our digital resource so that it is relevant and accessible to more diverse audiences.
2. Advise on, devise and implement digital engagement activity covering social, web, content, advertising and email.
3. Assist in developing content, assets and post engagement across key social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tic Toc.
4. Work with the Communications Team (staff and volunteers) to ensure that communications are inclusive and relevant to diverse audiences.
   
   Skill sharing
5. Represent the project at events where appropriate. Prepare and publish project legacy materials on the GT’s online Resource Hub where appropriate.
    

Project management

1. Represent the project at meetings both within the GT and externally, where necessary. Monitor and evaluate progress against the project’s objectives and targets and regularly report to the steering group and Board. Work with other team members to prepare reports and updates for both monitoring and publicity purposes.

Person Specification

We are seeking a team player who is happy and confident working alone with hands-off management, but also keen to deliver outcomes as part of a bigger picture.

You must be determined to facilitate change, but understand that sometimes this needs to be achieved gently.

You will have enjoyed visiting parks and gardens in the past and be interested in learning more about them, but a knowledge of garden history is not necessary!

We would particularly love to hear from you if you have lived experience of inclusion and diversity and are keen to share this with us to help our organisation become more welcoming.

Required Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Able to connect meaningfully with a wide range of people.
• Able to drive change whilst respecting what has come before and taking others on the journey.
• Respectful and able to work alongside different opinions and approaches.
• Professional or lived experience of inclusion and diversity.
• A proven record in engagement and inclusion activity.
• Experience of audience development
• Ability to build good relationships with stakeholders.
• Able to both work within a team but also be self-starting.
• Digital communications confidence.
• Knowledge of computer-based software
• Knowledge of writing for digital platforms.
• Experience of using analytics data and user statistics to evaluate the success of digital engagement.
• Proficiency with key social media platforms (eg Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tic Toc and YouTube).

Preferable

• Experience of the heritage and/or charities in a paid or voluntary role
• Experience working on a NLHF project.
• Experience of working with volunteers.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
• Creative and innovative approach to work.