Project Officer (therapeutic horticulture)
- Recruiter
- Mary Hollis
- Location
- LN2 5RD, Lincoln
- Salary
- £22,000 pro rata
- Posted
- 08 Nov 2018
- Closes
- 29 Nov 2018
- Ref
- Green Synergy 08/11/18
- Sectors
- Agriculture & Outdoor, Charity & Voluntary
- Contract Type
- Contract
- Hours
- Part Time
Post Better Together Project Officer
Responsible for Project development and delivery
Reporting to Green Synergy Chief Executive
Hours Part-time- 3 days 22.5 hours per week
Location Green Synergy main office, 49, Roman Pavement, Lincoln, Project delivery will be from Hillside Community Garden
Duration 3 year fixed-term contract
Salary £22,000 pro rata
Pension Green Synergy offers a statutory pension scheme with the People’s Pension Trust
Holiday 20 days per annum, plus 8 statutory bank holidays- pro rata
Support Full induction and orientation, in-house training as required, regular supervision meetings and annual appraisals with your line manager
Training Continual professional development training as appropriate for your role
Charity Overview
Founded in 2012, Green Synergy is a registered and incorporated charity based in Lincoln. Our purpose is to use community gardening, city farming and horticultural therapy to help to support and enable people to come together to socialise learn and thrive.
Project Description
Funded by the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund, the “Better Together” Project has been designed in response to a gap in local provision for community based mental health support and personal development that complements clinical services and acts a forerunner to more formal vocational training programmes.
Better Together is a collaborative project between three Lincoln-based charities, Developmentplus, Abbey Access Training and Green Synergy. Each charity has complimentary specialisms in community/personal development, health/wellbeing, vocational/employability training, sustainability and social/ therapeutic horticulture.
The project will work with 80 beneficiaries a year for three years.
Potential beneficiaries can approach either one of our organisations to join and will be able to enter the programme by either self-referral or referral from our wide network of partners.
Once enrolled on the project, each beneficiary will be assigned a Developmentplus coach who will provide 1-1 support throughout their project journey. The coaches will use their 'STEPS' programme to encourage and support beneficiaries. During their first month, project beneficiaries will get the opportunity to have a go at group activities and practical taster sessions in catering and customer service (with AAT) and horticulture and countryside management (with GS). At the end of the taster period project staff and beneficiaries will jointly decide which practical activities the beneficiary would like to continue to take part in. Beneficiaries will then be assigned a group with others who have started at a similar time.
From month two onwards, beneficiaries will continue to receive weekly 1-1’s with their coach and will get to take part in up to six hours a day of their chosen practical activities up to four days a week. We anticipate that beneficiaries will spend an average of six months on the project, but they will be able to stay longer if required. The practical sessions will be led by qualified, experienced staff and will focus on providing therapeutic sessions, supported volunteering, skills training and practical work experience.
As beneficiaries’ progress through their project journey and are ready to move onto further training/education/employment the coaches will act as a bridge and point of liaison to help smooth transition into their next steps. Once beneficiaries have exited the project we will continue to provide coaching and support for a further three months and will encourage the groups to keep meeting up with each other to continue to provide friendship and support.
Overview of Role
The post of Better Together Project Officer with Green Synergy will involve designing, delivering and managing practical, therapeutic horticulture and conservation sessions for beneficiaries with mental health conditions.
Project beneficiaries may still be with or have recently left psychiatric care services or they may be living in the community. In addition to their mental health conditions, beneficiaries may also be experiencing disadvantage through a range of complex and interactive social issues including: poverty and health inequalities, social isolation and exclusion, physical health conditions, learning difficulties, homelessness, addiction or family issues.
The successful applicant will ideally have at least two years’ experience of working with people with mental health conditions, managing groups and running community gardening/environmental projects. They will have a proven ability of using a participatory, person centred approach to empower people, enabling them to make sustained positive changes in their lives.
It is also essential that they are an experienced gardener. Preferably, they will hold a relevant qualification in horticulture/ horticulture therapy. Experience of delivering informal/ community education or training will be helpful. The ability to develop and manage projects is essential.
They will have excellent people skills and will be confident in communicating and working with people of all backgrounds and ability levels. They will have a proven ability of: utilising action planning processes in order to create individual pathways for progression; raising and maintaining individuals’ levels of motivation; providing appropriate support to individuals to address emotional barriers to progression.
The post-holder will work closely with Green Synergy’s existing staff and will be managed by the Chief Executive Officer. As we are a small team it is important that the post-holder is a self-starter, team-player, flexible, able to manage their own programme administration effectively, and happy to take on additional duties, as is reasonable, to support the organisation as a whole.
Responsibilities and key tasks
- Be fully responsible for the successful day to day running of the Better Together therapeutic horticulture project.
- Design and deliver a seasonal programme of therapeutic gardening and conservation sessions tailored to the needs of beneficiaries with a wide range of mental health conditions and possible additional physical health conditions, learning difficulties, addiction issues and behaviours that challenge.
- Ensure that the project meets the target number of beneficiaries and all other milestones and goals.
- Be responsible for project health and safety, including safeguarding. Conduct and review project risk assessments as required
- Keep up-to-date project records, including: a participant register, weekly project journal, participant surveys. Complete quarterly monitoring reports and end of year evaluation
- Assist in writing articles and press-releases about the project for local community magazines, the local press and the Green Synergy website. Post regular project updates on the Green Synergy Facebook page.
- Publicise and promote the project to partners and through local networks. Assist in the creation of promotional leaflets and posters for the project and circulate these via email, social media and local networks
- Assist in the recruitment and induction of project volunteers in accordance with the Green Synergy volunteering policy.
General duties
- Take responsibility for your own safety and ensure that colleagues, volunteers and visitors are not exposed to danger
- Work effectively and considerately with other Green Synergy employees and volunteers to promote the aims and objectives of Green Synergy and present a positive image of Green Synergy to the public
- Abide by Green Synergy’s policies and endeavour to follow good working practice at all times.
- Undertake such other duties as may be reasonably requested by the CEO, including completing appropriate training
- Keep confidential any information gained during work
- Be willing to be part of our team, follow our values and help to make Green Synergy a happy, healthy, enjoyable, supportive, friendly, kind, loving place