Events Programme Coordinator
4 days per week (we will consider between 3.5 and 4.5 days per week for the right candidate) maternity cover, with the possibility of the role becoming a permanent position. Salary is £36k FTE, pro rata (non-negotiable, with internal equity considerations in mind).
Location: working from home anywhere in the United Kingdom
Deadline for applications: 11:59pm Wednesday 22 November
Apply here
About us
The Environmental Funders Network (EFN), based in the UK, aims to increase the overall level of financial support for civil society groups working on environmental causes and to help increase the effectiveness of environmental philanthropy — and, ultimately, of environmental work. We bring together over 300 trusts, foundations and individuals making grants on environmental and conservation issues, and we also act as a resource to strengthen the effectiveness of the broader environment sector. This role is focused on supporting our programming across all different areas of our work.
EFN is committed to achieving greater diversity on its staff team, and actively encourages applications from people from all ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities, disabilities, adults of all ages, and people with a broad variety of views and perspectives. We firmly believe EFN will be a more effective organisation with staff members who bring a variety of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives to bear on our work. We would welcome a conversation with you about what we are doing to make sure EFN is an organisation that better addresses justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (both internally and in terms of our programming); if you would like to talk to our director, Florence Miller, about this before you apply, please let Emma know.
About the role
This maternity cover role will coordinate and support the delivery of programmatic activity across the three pillars of our work, including a range of online and in person events, meetings and trainings for funders, prospective funders and the broader environment sector.
Key responsibilities and relationships
You will work closely with EFN’s Director and other staff, drawing on EFN’s overall strategy and building on the findings of our research and other relevant information.
We envision that the work will require the Programme Coordinator to:
- Develop ideas for a varied and engaging programme of in person and online events for funders, organise the delivery of those events including liaising with speakers to develop appropriate event content, and host or facilitate such events as needed
- Provide support to EFN’s Expanding Environmental Philanthropy Director, Environment Sector Programme Lead and Scotland Coordinator to develop events and resources for new environmental funders, philanthropy advisors and environmental fundraisers
- Support the work of the EFN Board’s Programme Committee by liaising with Committee members on issues requiring their input, organising meetings as needed, taking minutes at those meetings and providing reports to the Board where appropriate
- Support EFN’s communications, in particular by helping to source and develop appropriate content for EFN’s monthly newsletter, social media channels and website
- Support the development and updating of the EFN Member Directory, help members to contribute to and use the Directory, and facilitate other means of information-sharing and collaboration between funders including through events, EFN’s communications channels and connecting funders directly where appropriate
- Contribute as needed to initiatives to support the sector, such as participating in selection panels for fundraising initiatives organised with The Big Give and The Funding Network.
Person specification – essential skills and experience
We are looking for an applicant with significant experience working or volunteering on environmental or related issues, with leadership experience in planning and delivering events.
The following knowledge, skills and experience are also essential for the role:
- A strong knowledge of and interest in environmental issues (and, ideally, their intersection with social issues), and current trends
- Well-developed and confident communications skills, both written and verbal, e.g. able to craft clear and compelling event invitations and write useful speaker briefings, and happy speaking publicly
- Experience of facilitating online and in person events and meetings
- Extremely well organised and able to coordinate preparations for multiple events at any one time, liaising closely with other relevant staff as needed
- Able to plan and prioritise a substantial workload, and work with a high degree of efficiency and self-sufficiency to ensure deadlines are met
- Excellent attention to detail to ensure information is communicated accurately and key details are not overlooked
- Highly motivated team player who is able to work with minimal day-to-day supervision
- A creative and entrepreneurial mindset with a sense of responsibility to a wider membership group
- Trustworthiness, discretion and tact
- An enjoyment of people, and an enthusiasm for working within an organisational culture that emphasises kindness, mutual respect and the importance of relationships
- Solid IT skills, including Zoom or similar online meeting platforms.
The following skills and experience are not essential, but would be an advantage:
- Good broad awareness of the makeup of the environmental movement, in the UK in particular
- Knowledge of philanthropy, and experience in a philanthropy-related role
- Experience using Excel/Google Sheets to manage data accurately and efficiently.
Terms & Conditions
- Contract: Fixed term contract; subject to a 3-month probationary period, expected to last for 12 months from January 2024 to January 2025.
- Salary: £36,000 per year, pro-rated depending on hours worked, plus 7% pension contribution.
- Workplace: Working from home, with occasional travel within the UK, most regularly to London.
- Regular virtual and periodic face-to-face contact with EFN staff, EFN members, and others in the sector.
- Working hours: 4 days per week (we will consider between 3.5 and 4.5 days per week for the right candidate). We are open to different configurations of working across the week, but the candidate does need to be able to provide some flexibility around events.
- Holidays: We offer 25 days per year in addition to bank holidays for full time employees, pro-rated for part-time employees.
- We provide a working from home allowance and cover reasonable work-related travel expenses.
- Please note that we will only be able to consider applicants who have the right to work in the UK.
How to apply
Please apply by answering the questions below using this link and then send emma@greenfunders.org your CV. Please do not submit unedited AI responses; your answers need to be specifically relevant to the organisation and the role. A cover letter is not necessary, please only submit answers to the questions and email your CV.
We will be conducting a blind process to shortlist candidates for interviews, which has worked well for us in the past and helps to reduce bias. Your answers will be anonymised and we will review the answers to each question in turn, changing the order of the answers for each question. Those with the highest scores across their answers will be invited to interview. We will use the CVs to understand more about your background before you are interviewed.
Answer the following questions in the application form:
- Looking at some of the online events we’ve run on our Vimeo channel and thinking about current priorities in the environment movement, suggest an online event we should host for funders on a particular topic. What would be the theme, who would be the speakers and what would be the goal of the event? How would you follow up afterwards?
- What sources of information (e.g. traditional media, newsletters, social media accounts, blogs) would you use in this role to stay abreast of environmental issues and other issues related to philanthropy? Please be specific.
- Imagine you are planning an in-person event for funders and NGOs focused on a particular issue area, e.g. sustainable transport, to develop a shared understanding of funding priorities and gaps. What considerations would you take into account when planning the event to make sure it was successful?
- EFN holds an annual two-day residential retreat for funders to come together, network, and learn from eachother and from external experts. What do you think should be the priority objectives for such an event in 2024, and what outcomes should we aim for?
Timescales
Deadline for applications: 11:59pm GMT, Wednesday 22 November 2023.
We will aim to hold first round interviews (virtually) during the week commencing 4 December, and second round (if needed) week commencing 11 December. If you cannot make either of these weeks, please let us know when you submit your application and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Anticipated start date for the role: 22 January 2024.
