Walking For All Officer

Working Hours:

37 hours per week, Monday to Friday

By its nature the post will require some flexible working, for example, work outside normal office hours, including evenings and weekends as required.

Salary:

S01 SCP 25-27 - £36,363- £38,220

Post Status:

Fixed Term - 36-month contract (January 2026 – end of December 2028).

The post may be extended depending on performance and funding.

Job purpose:

Develop, co-ordinate and sustain regular volunteer-led walks in towns, villages and rural communities throughout the Council area, through the recruitment, training and support of Volunteer Walk Leaders to in turn increase the number of people walking and meet the objectives of the Walking for All programme (see background note).

Walking for All is a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, (SEUPB).

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Volunteer Recruitment

·       Proactively engage with communities to identify potential Volunteer Walk Leaders in towns, villages and rural communities across the Council Area. Engagement will include travelling to and meeting with a wide range of groups in the local community such as community groups, rugby and GAA clubs, groups for people with a disability, mother and toddlers’ groups, Age Friendly clubs, Men’s Shed, church groups, asylum seekers’ groups.

·       Engage with potential Volunteers to explain the responsibilities, expectations and benefits of the role of Volunteer Walk Leader and recruit.

Volunteer Training

·       Plan and coordinate a series of one-day Walking For All training courses for Volunteer Walk Leaders including venue, materials, walking route.

·       Deliver one-day training courses to new Volunteer Walk Leaders.

·       Organise and deliver additional training to the Volunteer Walk Leaders as appropriate

Volunteer Support & Retention

·       Implement a strong support system for all new Volunteer Walk Leaders, including accompanying them on initial led-walks to build their confidence and ensure quality control.

·       Put in place measures to support, motivate and retain Volunteer Walk Leaders (so that they maintain a weekly regular walk as a minimum) including regular and high levels of contact

·       Encourage Volunteer Walk Leaders in your area to attend the annual Volunteer Walk Leader Celebration Event to recognise and reward Volunteer Walk Leaders for their contribution to Walking For All

·       Plan, coordinate and host an annual Walking Celebration Event specific to the Council area for the Volunteers and walkers to celebrate their achievements and walking

·       Roll out the incentive programme to all qualifying Volunteer Walk Leaders

Twinning

·       For established walking groups, pair up (twin) groups based on a cross-border and/or cross-community basis

·       Plan, organise and host a series of events for the twinned walking groups such as a shared walking trip to an inspirational location, hosting a walk in each other’s local community, a walking activity day.

Promotion

·       Use appropriate social media platforms and other promotion such as poster and leaflet distribution to promote Walking For All across the Council area

·       Attend events or organise presentations on Walking For All to promote the opportunities for Volunteers and walkers to relevant stakeholders and organisations

·       Support the development of promotional content in your area such as the creation of videos

·       Supply photos and good news stories to the communication officer

Partnership Working

·       Attend monthly Regional Meetings and liaise ongoing with other Walking For All Officers in your region in order to share best practice and improve effectiveness

·       Work in partnership with the Health Trust Physical Activity Co-ordinator to ensure that there is no overlap and walk programme activities align. It is anticipated that regular meetings will be required.

·       Where appropriate, work in partnership with other participation officers in the organisation or other organisations to share learnings and leverage activities

Administration

·       Keep accurate records of the people and activities for Walking For All at all times.

·       Manage the programme budget associated with the project.

·       Prepare monitoring and evaluation reports for the Regional Managers and SEUPB on a quarterly basis.

·       Assist with the preparation of the quarterly finance reports to SEUPB.

·       Meet and report to the Regional Manager on targets and outputs on a monthly basis

·       Report to the Project Working Group and Managers’ Group when required.

·       Any other additional tasks as may be reasonably assigned according to the changing priorities of the Walking For All programme.

·       Participate in and ensure compliance with all Council policies and procedures and operate within the highest standards of personal behaviour which reflect the core values of the organisation.

·       Ensure full compliance with Health and Safety requirements and legislation in accordance with Council’s Policies and Procedures.

·       Comply with and actively promote the Council’s policies and procedures on all aspects of equality.

·       Undertake any other duties appropriate to scale, which may be required from time to time.

The postholder should be aware that the responsibilities of the post may be subject to change as a result of organisational change.  The Council therefore reserves the right to change the duties of the post by adding to or amending the range of responsibilities.  The postholder will be required to be flexible and adaptable to meet the changing needs and requirements of the organisation

Walking For All – Background Note

Walking For All (WFA) is a new programme taking place across Northern Ireland and the six border counties of Ireland.

It is funded by PEACEPLUS (€7,536,957) under the Rural Regeneration and Social Inclusion Investment Area, through the PEACEPLUS Healthy and Inclusive Communities theme.  PEACEPLUS is a cross-border funding Programme designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. The total value of PEACEPLUS is €1.14 billion. PEACEPLUS is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and represents a funding partnership between the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Executive. 

The programme aims to create healthier rural communities by encouraging participation in walking through organised, volunteer-led walks. These short walks, guided by trained volunteers, will be held in local community spaces and will also aim to bring diverse communities together, fostering acceptance and respect for differences.  

The programme is being led by Outscape, based in Belfast. Outscape is a small, dynamic not-for-profit organisation with a staff team of 22 who work on a wide range of outdoor recreation projects.  For more information on Outscape visit www.out-scape.com.

The programme involves 19 partners. Delivery on the ground will be undertaken by 16 Walking for All Officers. These Officers will be employed by Councils and eNGOs across Northern Ireland, whilst delivery in the 6 border counties will be undertaken by the Local Sports Partnerships. Support throughout the programme will be given by Sport Ireland, Mountaineering Ireland and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.

Staffing

As lead partner, Outscape will have overall responsibility for developing and implementing Walking For All both in terms of administration and finance. Day-today management of the programme will be led by the WFA Project Manager. The Project Manager will be supported by a Communication and Training Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Finance Manager, Business Support Officer and 3 Regional Managers.

The Regional Managers will performance manage the 16 Walking For All Officers providing ongoing support, agreeing their work programmes and reviewing programme targets. The Officers will be line-managed by the delivery organisation (Councils and eNGOs in Northern Ireland and Local Sports Partnerships in the 6 border counties).

Qualifications

Experience

·       Five GCSE’s (Grades A – C) or equivalent including Mathematics and English Language

And

·       Level 3 qualification (such as A’Level, Level 3 NVQ, Advanced Apprenticeship) or equivalent in a related discipline such as health, sport, community development

Demonstrate, by providing personal and specific examples, that you have a minimum of two years’ experience in each of the following:

·       Successfully delivering projects/programmes;

·       Engaging and working closely with a wide range of stakeholders including community groups, clubs, voluntary organisations, etc;

·       organising meetings, events or training;

·       Administrative duties to include completion of written reports to funders;

·       Managing a project budget.

Technical Competencies/Knowledge

·       Experience in the use of Microsoft Office applications to include: Word, Excel and Outlook

·       Demonstrate knowledge of the benefits of sustained physical activity