Envirolink Northwest - a not for profit organisation based in the northwest of England - has been awarded the contract for the Irish Sea MCZ Project - one of four regional MCZ projects being established by Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), in collaboration with Defra. We are now looking to recruit a Third Liaison Officer.

BACKGROUND

The Irish Sea Conservation Zones Project (ISCZ) is one of four regional non-statutory, independent MCZ projects being established by Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), in collaboration with Defra. The IS MCZ project covers the Irish Sea inshore and offshore waters on which Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee are working in partnership. It will work closely with other Irish Sea Marine Protected Area projects

The project will seek to design a network of sites that safeguard marine biodiversity in the region, and to ensure the sustainability of marine resources for the long term.

The project must ensure that the final network is supported by a wide cross section of stakeholders, and is successful in providing protection for marine habitats and species. The opinions and guidance of stakeholders need to be gathered and recorded through meetings and discussions around the region. The Project Liaison Officer working with the two other existing Liaison officers will be instrumental in building links, gathering data and ensuring a good awareness of the project goals with stakeholders.

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

The current Liaison Officers cover Cheshire, Merseyside, Southern Lancashire and Northern Wales, with the new liaison officer covering northern Lancashire and Cumbria; with a further role to help coordinate data collection in other areas such as Scotland, if deemed necessary. Currently the ISCZ project has two Liaison Officers who work out of Envirolink offices in Warrington. The ISCZ team now needs an additional Liaison Officer to be based in Cumbria along with the other liaison officers based in Warrington. The main purpose of the job being to:

• Build strong links with marine and other stakeholders, and collect data that will be used to produce digital maps showing maritime activities and knowledge
• Ensure a good awareness of the project goals within the marine stakeholder community, through informal and formal meetings.

LINE MANAGER:

• Irish Sea Conservation Zones Project Manager, but will report daily to one of the other liaison officers

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Network effectively
• Build strong links with stakeholders and ensure a high level of engagement in the project
• Organise & attend formal meetings and surgeries to meet stakeholders and effectively explain the project
• Gather knowledge and activity data
• Liaise effectively with other members of the project team to ensure that they are regularly updated with information and opinion

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The candidate should have a good knowledge and understanding of marine stakeholder activities e.g. sea angling, commercial fishing, off shore renewables or other maritime industries this will be key. You should have good higher level education or professional qualifications, together with a high level of competence in using computers for e-mails, presentations and data entry. Preference will be given to candidates who have relevant expertise and contacts in the northern Lancashire and Cumbria region.

REQUIREMENTS

You must provide evidence of the following in your application:

• Technical knowledge and experience - Strong experience (either directly or indirectly) of one or more marine stakeholder activities such as commercial fishing, off shore renewables and other maritime industries, sea angling and a good knowledge of current marine environmental issues.
• Communication and information - An ability to explain technical issues clearly and confidently and to ensure that the project engages with key stakeholders in order to facilitate their involvement in key decision making stages of the project.
• Personality - A warm, engaging, sincere and pragmatic personality. Well organised and able to co-ordinate people and resources in an efficient manner. Capable of maintaining good working relationships with internal and external partners and stakeholders
• Team working - Highly motivated and with the self confidence and discipline to work remotely. In addition you should have good team skills and a positive attitude to contributing a wide range of work. Ability to build effective partnerships with a wide range of colleagues, partners and stakeholders.
• Planning and delivering work - a methodical approach to planning complex tasks with a high standard of quality and accuracy. Ability to work alone and negotiate effectively in difficult situations
• Sense of direction - An understanding and commitment to the goals of the Irish Sea Marine Conservation Zone project to map activity and knowledge to ensure better management and protection of the marine environment

HOURS OF WORK

For this post, normal minimum hours of attendance are 37 per week over Monday to Friday however occasionally employees will be expected to work additional hours and some evening and weekend working will be expected as part of this post. This is to be expected during stakeholder engagement especially evening and weekend work.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The successful candidate will be employed by Envirolink Northwest and based at their home. Hot desk facilities maybe available at project partners in northern Lancashire and Cumbria. The jobholder will frequently be required to travel from the office base to other locations, primarily within the North West region but also to other countries bordering the Irish Sea when required. A full driving licence will be required.

You will be entitled to 25 days annual leave (not including public holidays) and will be eligible to join the company's Flexible Working Scheme that allows staff to work flexibly, within certain parameters. You will also be entitled to a contribution of 6.5% of Gross Salary to a Personal Pension Plan of their choice. The initial contract will be from the date of appointment to the 31st March 2011 (with the possibility of extension to March 2012)

Applicants should send completed application forms to (Please make emails in Subject line as Applicant for Liaison Officer Ref (07/09)

All applications must be submitted by email, the email header must contain the unique job number, all applications must be sent to r.byrne@irishseaconservation.org.uk

Application form is available from following link please scroll down this page and find application form, it's near the bottom and also www.envirolinknorthwest.co.uk jobs

Rowan Byrne
Irish Sea Conservation Zone Manager
Envirolink NorthWest
Spencer House
91 Dewhurst Road
Birchwood
Warrington
WA3 7PG

Email: r.byrne@irishseaconservation.org.uk
www.irishseaconservation.org.uk