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Project Officer, Literacy Champions, Suffolk

Key information

Closing date: 10am, Tuesday 7 May 2024

Salary: £26,000 per year

Contract: Fixed term for 12 months

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location: Based in Lowestoft as a home working role

Interviews: Online, Wednesday 15 May 2024

We empower people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. Together we're helping people change their stories. You could join us to support our work with volunteers across Suffolk.

What you’ll be doing

Our Literacy Champions project identifies, trains and supports volunteers who work with us to design new and exciting ways to promote literacy in their community. We currently have over 400 Literacy Champions across the country.

We are recruiting a Project Officer to deliver this work across Suffolk, with a particular focus on the community in and around Lowestoft. Working alongside a local project manager, and our national communities’ team, you will develop new strategies for recruiting volunteers and mobilising key community partnerships to increase our reach and build sustainability. You will also organise and deliver training events and maintain regular contact with volunteers, gather data, share learning and develop case studies to build an evidence base of impact.

You will be based in Lowestoft, working from home with regular travel locally and across Suffolk, as well as occasional national travel when necessary.

What we’re looking for

You will be experienced in recruiting, training and supporting volunteers, and providing project support in a charity or educational context. You will have excellent knowledge of literacy issues, working with schools and community-based organisations, coupled with experience of developing resources and training materials.

Due to the nature of delivery, you will need a full clean driving license and access to your own vehicle.

Why our work is so vital

Literacy changes everything.

It gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. It’s the key to knowledge, confidence and inspiration. It’s better results at school, and better jobs. If children grow up without the tools to communicate, without books to read or opportunities to write, it’s harder to get where you want to go.

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity helping people overcome these challenges and change their life chances through the power of words – reading, writing, speaking and listening. From first words, through school days to training, jobs and beyond.

  • We work collaboratively in local communities, focusing our work in 20 areas of the UK that are facing the biggest challenges.
  • We support schools, developing the most effective tools and techniques and providing resources and programmes to engage and inspire children.
  • We campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and decision-makers.
  • We support vulnerable adults, people in the criminal justice system and young offenders’ institutions to build their literacy skills.

What we offer you

Our team are passionate about our mission and we have a strong and positive working culture, based on shared values and respect. We offer a range of flexible working options and promote a workplace where you can be yourself and contribute to our success, whoever you are.

As well as a competitive salary, we offer benefits including a generous leave allowance totalling 39 days (including bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year), pension contributions of 8% of annual salary, a cycle to work scheme, employee assistance programme and other health and wellbeing benefits.

We support flexible working and promote a workplace where you can be yourself and contribute to our success, whoever you are.

Application details

Our people are our most important asset and we value and respect diversity in all its forms (seen and unseen). We particularly welcome applications from those from Black and Asian backgrounds, as well as candidates with disabilities and from the communities in which we work. We would like to increase representation of these groups among our staff as we know greater diversity will lead to an even greater impact for our work.

For more information and to apply, download the files below.

Please also complete our online equal opportunities monitoring formwhen you submit your application.

Unfortunately, we are unable to respond individually to applications so if you have not heard from us by the advertised interview date, this means we have not been able to shortlist your application this time.

Please note we do not accept CVs. No agencies or recruitment sites.

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