NEW VACANCY: Health and Wellbeing Officer

We are looking for a nature-based health and wellbeing practitioner to help deliver and expand our Health and Wellbeing work in the Forest of Avon area.

You will be working in close collaboration with one other Health and Wellbeing Officer as well as freelance practitioners, volunteers and partner organisations to deliver woodland wellbeing, forest school and life skills sessions working with a diverse range of people and communities.

Our Health and Wellbeing Team have developed woodland activities over the last 10 years. Our projects aim to build nature-connection and to support individuals health and wellbeing in a flexible way that meets their needs. We currently work primarily with people with dementia and those who support them, people with mental health needs, and people with learning disabilities. We also run one-off team days to promote staff wellbeing and student enrichments days. We mainly work in publicly accessible sites close to where people live and can visit independently.

This role will require some commitment to deliver existing group sessions but it will also enable a degree of creativity and flexibility to develop opportunities you or others identify, aligning with but also helping to develop the overall strategic planning and values of the charity and this work.

The Forest of Avon Trust is the West of England’s Community Forest, an independent charity and one of a national network of England’s Community Forests. We are growing our health and wellbeing projects to reach new communities. We also deliver a large-scale tree planting programme, access improvements, training, education and woodland management.

Two-year fixed term contract to start as soon as possible:

• Salary of £29,200-33,000 gross per annum pro rata, with annual appraisal and review

• 4 days per week (30 hours)

• Flexible working hours across the week subject to session commitments

• Outdoor working at various sites across the region to run sessions, with main office base at Lockleaze, Bristol and the option of homeworking

• You will need to travel to a range of sites in the area to deliver sessions. This may involve transporting kit either in a van provided or your own vehicle

• Employee Pension Scheme with 3% employer contribution

• A friendly team with training opportunities and a flexible approach to working

Please see Job Description and Person Specification via the link below.

An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check will be required for this role.

We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, in particular candidates from communities and catchments in which The Forest of Avon Trust is engaged. We are pleased to be an equal opportunity employer and applications will be considered without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, veteran status or age. The Forest of Avon Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable people and expects all members of staff to share this commitment.

Please send a CV and a written statement of your experience addressing the essential and desirable criteria above to emily.dymond@forestofavontrust.org by 5 pm on Wednesday 4^th January 2023. Interviews are planned to take place on Wednesday 11^th January (subject to change). Applications will be anonymised prior to shortlisting.

For more information on the Forest of Avon Trust, please go to: www.forestofavontrust.org

For more information about the role, please call Alex Stone, Forest of Avon Trust Director, on 07375 842732.