Job vacancy – Community Development Officer at Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway

Job title: Community Development Officer
Salary: up to £20,000 p.a subject to qualifications
Term: initially a 6-month contract
Location: Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, Llanfair Caereinion
Closing date: 31 December 2020

Develop and lead a volunteering, education and community engagement strategy for a premier heritage steam railway.

The W&LLR is a charity established to preserve the infrastructure of the historic Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway and to safeguard and operate our collection of heritage steam locomotives, rolling stock and ancillary equipment for public and educational benefit. We restore and maintain our collection in our engineering workshop at Llanfair Caereinion and operate our collection on our 8-mile 2ft 6in gauge railway between Llanfair and Welshpool, carrying 27,000 visitors a year. We operate a small museum / visitor centre, ‘Llanfair Connections’ adjacent to Llanfair Station. We run a regular events programme for visitors and a range of community activities. Our facilities include a tearoom and two shops.

We rely heavily on nearly 300 volunteers to work alongside our small paid staff. A whole range of activities is undertaken to restore, repair, operate, plan, organise, administer, manage and direct activities to ensure that a day out at the W&LLR is an enjoyable, fulfilling and safe experience for all our visitors and staff.

The Community Development Officer will manage all elements of volunteering across the W&LLR, with support from a small team of volunteers, to ensure that the needs of the organisation and those of the volunteers are met.  Particular emphasis will be place on the development and implementation of a new volunteering strategy and growing the volunteer programme, recruiting more people to join us from the local community and to work with colleagues in all departments to deliver our community programmes.

The Candidate:

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who has experience of working in the volunteer sector and in particular of managing volunteers. Computer literacy is essential along with excellent written and spoken communication skills.  The best candidate will have good organisational skills and effective leadership and team working, able to make decisions, set priorities and organise work schedules. An interest in and understanding of heritage railways and/or museums would be an advantage.

The principal location for administrative tasks will be Llanfair Caereinion but the CDO will be expected to carry out off site outreach work.  Some weekend and out of hours working may be required. Initial six month contract, extended subject to funding.

Please send a contact in the first instance Helen Ashby –  Email: [email protected]

A full job description can be supplied by email on request to the above.

Closing date: 31 December 2020