Walking For All Officer

Purpose and Function of Post
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To 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 supplementary background note).

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

Duration: Temporary for 36 months (January 2026 – December 2028) (may be extended subject to funding and performance)


The post will be subject to an Enhanced with Barred ACCESS (NI) check for successful candidates in accordance with Access NI Code of Practice.

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. 

Walking For All is a project supported by PEACEPLUS (€7,536,957), a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) 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 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-to[1]day 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).