The IES is a professional body with its membership representing the full spectrum of environmental sciences, spanning fields as diverse as air quality, land condition and water science – wherever you find environmental work underpinned by science.

Our purpose is to unite science and people to resolve environmental challenges and to create and sustain a knowledgeable, skilled, diverse, and trusted environmental profession engaged in the transformation to a sustainable society.

About the role

The Education & Professional Development Lead/Officer is responsible for managing the Institution’s growing education work through our Community for Environmental Disciplines in Higher Education (CEDHE) and supporting members in their professional development.

We are seeking an individual passionate about environmental education, who understands the vital role professional bodies play in supporting quality education. This role would be particularly suitable for a part-time academic or professional member of staff within a university or a part-time postgraduate student.

You will seek to deepen our existing affiliations with our academic partners and forge new relationships. You will manage our relationship with our committee of educators and provide value with our student membership. In this quickly growing organisation, you’ll have responsibility from ‘day one’, so you must be self sufficient, entrepreneurial, and able to learn quickly. Relishing a varied workday and the chance to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, you will need to be highly organised and motivated.

Job flexibility

The role is currently set at 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE). Normally we would expect the 22.5 hours each week to be split over 3 working days, however there is flexibility in this both in terms of the hours per day and the days of the week worked. The job can be carried out remotely, or from our office in Shoreditch, London. We are flexible about the days spent in office.

Job role
Education

• Manage our Higher Education (HE) & Further Education (FE) institutional membership scheme, promoting membership to new universities and FE colleges and developing our membership services
• Manage, engage and build relationships with key stakeholders in the sector
• Promote, oversee and develop our degree programme accreditation scheme
• Manage and develop the Institution’s career services for students, graduates and members seeking work
• Interact regularly with our current and potential student membership, devising new methods for engaging them in our work and supporting them through their academic journey and transition into professional work
• Proactively seek out and engage with potential membership and accreditation leads, projects and policy in the education sector
• Engage with critical agendas for the environmental education sector, such as employability, student recruitment, equity, diversity and inclusion, and provide guidance and support to our institutional members in navigating these challenges

Professional Development

• Oversee the IES’s Continious Professional Development (CPD) audit and training of auditors
• Oversee the IES's mentoring scheme
• Work with the Events & Training Lead to expand short course endorsement scheme

Person specification
This is a multi-skilled position and we recognise that no candidate is likely to have all the desirable skills. The decision on where a candidate falls in our salary bands will be dependent on experience and alignment with our essential and desirable skills.

Essential

• Undergraduate degree, level 5 or above technical qualification, or equivalent experience
• Understanding of the educational sector
• At least one year’s office-based experience
• Excellent time management with ability to prioritise and juggle projects, and meet deadlines
• Clear communicator, both written and orally
• Strong empathy and interpersonal skills
• Comfortable working autonomously and within a small team
• Ability to use own initiative, problem solve and respond rapidly to varying stakeholder needs
• Demonstrable ability to quickly pick up new tasks and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement

Desirable

• Knowledge of CRM systems
• Experience in managing complex projects with competing priorities in a professional environment
• Experience of working in a professional body or learned society, education institute, research institute or charity
• Experience of volunteer management
• Familiarity with educational policy and issues for the sector
• Track record of growing a project remit and/or growing income generation

How to Apply
The deadline for submitting applications is 12 noon (BST) on Wednseday 30th August.

To apply, please send the following documents to Jo Maniscalco (communities@the-ies.org):

• CV
• Cover letter (stating "why us and why you?")
• Completed Equality Opportunities Monitoring form (docx). We collect this data to monitor the effectiveness of our advertising and recruitment strategies, ensuring they are open to all sections of the community. It is anonymous and only used for this purpose.

If you need our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Monitoring form in a different format that is more accessible to you, or you need any other adjustments in the application process, please let us know.

We will get back to you on or after the application deadline. Interviews will take place remotely via Zoom on the week commencing the 11th September, with a view to the successful candidate starting as soon as possible.

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact the Hiring Manager for this role, Ethny Childs on ethny@the-ies.org. Alternatively, you can call the IES office on +44 (0)20 3862 7484.

Selection process
All applications will be anonymised pre-shortlisting to remove any unconscious bias from the process.

We will get back to applicants on or after the application deadline of 30th August and will aim to get back to all applicants by the 1st September. 

Interviews will take place remotely via Zoom on the week commencing the 11th September, with a view to the successful candidate starting as soon as possible.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for this role.

Why work for us?
At the IES, we know that the secret of a successful professional body is the quality of the people behind the membership services. Our small, inclusive team work collaboratively with one another, as well as our fantastic trustees, members and partner organisations, to fulfil our mission of advocating for science and the environment.

Benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working arrangements
• Part-time members of staff are entitled to 33 days per annum (pro rata), including bank holidays
• Free IES membership
• Career development support with individualised professional development plans
• Inclusive and intellectually stimulating workplace

The Institution of Environmental Sciences is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture for our staff and volunteers which reflects the diversity that exists within society, enabling us to deliver outputs that reflect the diverse needs of our members.
In recruiting for this role, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, educational background, national origin, religion and beliefs.