Project Manager

Kilsture Forest Community Group is hiring! 

We are looking for a freelance Project Manager to support an exciting new programme of citizen science projects – Mapping the Ecosystem in Kilsture Forest.  The post will run from mid-February – August 2025 and is funded by Inspiring Scotland, Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund. 

As part of our work to record the wildlife in Kilsture and to understand how best support biodiversity in the forest, we are carrying out the following surveys: 

• A Woodland Condition Survey – led by Dr Petra Guy (Rhizocore/formerly Forestry UK) who will train a group of up to 20 volunteers to carry out the survey of the whole forest.

• A Riparian Habitat Survey – a group of volunteers will work with the ecologies at Galloway Fisheries to assess the condition of the waterways running through Kilsture

• A Reptile and Amphibian Survey – working with South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre (SWSEIC) ecologists, a group of volunteers will learn how to identify habitat of reptiles and amphibians in the forest 

SWSEIC will then create a unique Ecosytem Map of Kilsture featuring all new and existing information held on the wildlife in Kilsture into an interactive map.  The map will inform our approach to woodland management with our partners Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). 

Community engagement: Communicating with the local communities, and other communities of interest will be central to this programme of activities. We want local people to participate in the surveying, to be familiar with the current management plan drawn up by Forestry and Land Scotland, share their knowledge and interests, and contribute to thinking about the future of the forest. 

Recruiting volunteers: We are looking to recruit new volunteers to work on the surveys with us. 

Job Description 

A part/time post, working flexible hours in support of the programme of events laid out above. The post-holder will lead on:

• Creating content and communicating the programme through various channels, including local press;

• Organising the forest activities and providing support to the ecologists on the day; 

• Recruiting volunteers;

• Organising the public meetings and supporting speakers on the day; 

• Gathering monitoring information about attendees and feedback from the activities

• Attending trustee quarterly meetings 

Duration and fee 

Start date: February 20th 2025 

End date: August 31st 2025 

Fee: £5000 - 25 days at £200 per day 

Person Spec (Essential) 

The post holder will have experience of: 

• community engagement 

• contributing to and delivering an effective and creative communications strategy across different platforms 

• organising and running events in a community setting, 

• keeping records on attendance and feedback from volunteers and audiences to contribute to reporting back to participants, local communities, funders and wider networks of interest 

They will be very organised and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 

They must be able to work flexible hours and some weekends in order to support the 5 events which will run from April to July. 

Person Spec (Desirable) 

The post holder will have experience of working in environmental projects, supporting biodiversity and ecosystem health. 

How to apply: 

1. Please fill in and submit this form https://tinyurl.com/43v8syw6   

2. Please send your CV with a covering email, stating why you are best placed to take on this role, to: juliafarrington@hotmail.com

Deadline for application: Midnight Sunday January 12th 2025 

Interviews will be held: w/c 20th January 2025 

Job Start: Thursday 20th February 2025 

Kilsture Forest Community Group 

Kilsture Forest Community Group (KFCG) is co-custodian of Kilsture Forest, the largest area of mixed woodland in the Machars Peninsula, in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). This year we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FLS giving us a greater involvement in and responsibility for the future management of the Forest.  KFCG provides a hub to represent community interests and support local people to engage fully in the forest for education, health and well-being and cultural activities. In 2023 we launched our Citizen Science Programme to record the wildlife in the forest on the basis that the more we know about the forest, the better able we are to protect it.