About us

Since 1935, we’ve been doing everything we can to make sure everyone everywhere can enjoy nature on foot. We lead the way, and the walks, for a community of over 100,000 walkers. And we help thousands more every year find their feet out in the open to boost their wellbeing naturally.

The Ramblers is a charity dedicated to removing barriers so everyone can enjoy walking in green spaces and to preserving and improving hundreds of thousands of miles of well-loved paths, tracks, and trails across England, Scotland, and Wales. We're committed to campaigning to keep our countryside open to all and to fight for the things that matter most to walkers.

Purpose of Role

The Equalities Outreach Program (Scotland) is an initiative to open the outdoors to groups that feel excluded and marginalised from the sector. Year one will focus on establishing community-based contacts in urban areas and testing a delivery framework with a focus on refugees, asylum seekers and people from minority ethnic communities.

Your work will be exploratory and experimental in nature, and define how we:

• Create experiences for individuals and community groups.
• Provide skills that support people to enjoy walking independently, and with friends and family.
• Enable community support organisations to embed walking activity into their support offer.
• Create bridges between existing Ramblers groups and marginalised communities.

The role

The initial focus will be on engaging with organisations which support refugees and asylum seekers, and with Scotland’s minority ethnic communities.

Action research. By taking a ‘learning by doing’ approach you will map community assets, evaluate the transferability of existing Ramblers approaches and develop new ways of working that help us to get more people walking. You will be resilient and motivated to learn through creative exploration.

Engaging stakeholders. You will identify and engage with a range of community-based organisations in Scotland. By providing support, advice and training they will extend their programmes to include brilliant walking experiences for community members. You’ll appreciate what partners can bring to the table, and work with them to co-design programmes of activity with and for community members.

Engaging with communities. As a walk leader and a trainer, you will share your passion for walking so that marginalised groups can experience the outdoors. By leading inspiring introductory walks, delivering skills courses in the outdoors, and supporting volunteers, you will bring to life the joy of walking for everyone.

Impact and evaluation. You will understand the importance of gathering data to demonstrate reach and impact. Collaborating with the wider Ramblers team, you will ensure appropriate data and reporting processes are in place to monitor and report on the impact of this work.

Working with volunteers. Collaborating with the wider Ramblers team and our volunteers, you will support us to develop effective ways to build bridges into existing Ramblers walking groups, helping to create a warm welcome for everyone.

Undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required of the post holder by the Ramblers.

The person

Qualification

• Lowland leader or Hill and Moorland leader qualification (or the ability to work towards qualification immediately).
• Knowledge and Experience
• Experience of developing strong, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to develop mutually beneficial activities and outcomes.
• Experience of working with local community organisations to support change in the 3rd sector.
• Experience of delivering public health or sport and physical activity programmes.
• Experience of implementing change and working with others to adopt new ways of working.
• Understanding of audience motivations, barriers to inclusion and the links between physical activity and physical and mental health outcomes.
• A good understanding of volunteering and experience of supporting volunteers.
• Experience of assessing and managing risk in relation to physical activities.
• Experience of working within a member-led organisation.

Skills and Leadership

• Co-ordination, planning and organisational skills.
• Interpersonal skills to help build strong relationships with community members, partners and other colleagues.
• Communication skills to gain commitment from partners and lead collaborative problem-solving.
• Skills in leading safe and inspiring group walks in lowland and/or hill & moorland environments
• Facilitation and training skills – in-person and online.
• Ability to diagnose problems, provide solutions and make logical, timely decisions.
• IT skills and competent in the use of Zoom, MS Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to analyse data, pay attention to detail and present verbal and written reports.

Personal Attributes

• Active and demonstrable interest in walking and engaging people with the outdoors.
• Commitment to the principles of inclusion and enabling everyone to feel welcome in the outdoors, with a particular understanding of the needs of people seeking asylum, refugees and people from minority ethnic communities.
• Resilient with the ability to balance competing demands.
• Flexible and able to develop strong, collaborative relationships and work in a team.
• Drive – to do a great job – and to help those around you learn from your experiences.
• Access to own transport and willing to travel and spend some evenings and weekends away from home.
• Willing to undertake training and professional development to ensure skills and knowledge are up to date.

The Ramblers promote diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Values and Behaviours

Our values are the core principles that guide us daily in our work and our membership of the Ramblers. We all share the passion that walking is for everyone and by living our shared values we can ensure the Ramblers is an organisation to be proud of.

Our values will earn trust for the Ramblers brand which will allow us to open up a world of walking opportunities for even more people.

Inclusive – We make everyone feel welcome and part of the Ramblers community. We make sure we all feel respected and accepted and know our contributions make a difference in achieving our mission.

Inspiring– We strive to inspire people through the way we act and the things we say. We channel our passion and ambition, so others are moved to help us achieve our mission.

Empowering – We empower and encourage each other to make a positive contribution to our teams and the Ramblers. We do all we can to make sure everyone has the ability, and feels confident, to take action.

Responsible– We take responsibility for ourselves and those around us seriously, by always acting in a safe and supportive way. We care about the environment and make sure we do what we say we will do.

Please note that we do reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications

Join Britain’s biggest walking charity to help more people enjoy the benefits of walking. This is an exciting time to join the Ramblers team and a great opportunity to make a lasting and tangible impact on the future success of the charity.

We’re looking for a Governance & Events Administrator to join our small but committed Scotland team to play a vital role in ensuring that Ramblers Scotland is well governed and well run by supporting the Ramblers Scotland Strategic Committee (the Ramblers Scotland ‘board’) and Scottish Council (our AGM). Highly organised, you will deliver administrative support to the Director for Scotland as well as handling the organisation of Ramblers Scotland events, managing associated online platforms and data. You will have excellent communication skills to be the first point of contact for all external enquiries as well as working effectively with the teams in Scotland, Wales and England. The role will also involve the general running of the small Edinburgh office, handling all office related tasks and systems.

Essential requirements include:

• Organising yourself and manage your time, including juggling competing priorities, whether working in a busy office environment or at home

• Supporting formal decision-making processes by analysing information and presenting clear recommendations with a strong rationale

• Co-ordinating the organisation of major events including all logistical arrangements, and liaising with suppliers and colleagues

• Experience of co-ordinating formal meetings, including using a variety of digital tools such as video-conferencing platforms

• Development and operation of suitable admin systems, including finance and budgeting

• Communicate effectively in person and in writing with a range of audiences internally and externally, including staff at all levels, volunteers, members, and the general public

• Attention to detail including the ability to take accurate minutes and incorporate feedback from multiple sources into a single document.

• Work collaboratively with different teams across an organisation and with volunteers

Join Britain’s biggest walking charity to help more people enjoy the benefits of walking. This is an exciting time to join the Ramblers team and a great opportunity to make a lasting and tangible impact on the future success of the charity.

Ramblers Scotland is looking for a highly experienced project officer to lead and manage this exciting project which involves working with communities across Scotland who face barriers to participation, to map and promote their local path networks.

This role will form a significant new element of our Mapping Scotland’s Paths (MSP) project, which is creating a digital map of Scotland’s paths. Through the work of volunteers we are now starting to audit the paths and add information, which will help with accessibility for users, such as the surface and gradient of the path and presence of steps.

The successful candidate will reach out to 10 communities across Scotland to recruit and engage volunteers in mapping their local path network on to the database and then to promote the paths within their communities. As well as setting targets, managing volunteers and promoting the project through various media platforms, the role will involve engaging effectively with partner organisations including local authorities and walking groups.

This is an exciting time to join the Ramblers Scotland team and a great opportunity to make a lasting and tangible impact within a range of communities, as part of a wider national initiative.

Essential Requirements include:

• A strong track record of leading community engagement projects and successfully working with communities who face barriers to participation.
• Proven experience of managing projects and successfully achieving their outcomes, including strong decision-making capabilities, ability to manage multiple demands and to meet deadlines.
• Experience in managing volunteers, and also the ability to motivate and inspire volunteers to engage with the project.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and in writing.
• Ability, knowledge and experience to work autonomously within a small team, coordinating the work of self and others to ensure project delivery, including the ability to think creatively to investigate new ways of working as required.
• Full driving Licence essential (for travel across Scotland when required)

We are looking for elected Ramblers Scotland Strategic Committee (RSSC) members from within our membership and also independent co-pted committee members to help deliver the Rambler Scotland’s strategic plan and charitable objectives.

You should be able to:

• Bring a passion for the outdoors and walking
• Help shape the future of the organisation, its strategic direction and charitable objectives on walking, access and health matters in Scotland.
• Contribute to the development of business plan priorities, overseeing achievement of objectives, providing guidance and support to the Convener, Director and staff.
• Support fundraising and advocacy work

We are particularly interested at present in candidates with professional/voluntary or lived experience in at least one of the following areas:

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Law or formal organisational constitutions/procedures
• Access or Conservation

Duties list

You will:

• Work with other RSSC members to provide leadership and strategic direction to the organisation
• Ensure activities in Scotland are in line with our charitable objectives
• Ensure that Ramblers Scotland is effectively run and meets the charity’s legal and regulatory requirements
• Ensure that members, co-opted members, volunteers and staff work effectively together toward the charitable objectives of the organisation
• Be an ambassador for Ramblers Scotland representing the organisation effectively to internal and external audiences
• Make effective use of your networks and connections to help promote Ramblers Scotland’s work and activities
• Take a role on specialist sub-committees or working groups as required

About you

Committee members should have experience in at least one of the following areas:

• Experience of operating at a strategic level in an organisation
• Governance and trustees responsibilities and the operation of committee procedures
• Knowledge and experience in the following areas
  • Financial management
  • Human resource management
  • Fundraising
  • Walking, walk leadership
  • Relevant legal issues and Access rights
  • Public health
  • Equalities issues including diversity and disability awareness
  • Mapping and walking route development
  • Policy Development

The RSSC particularly encourages applications from applicants with a lived experience of black, Asian, minoritised ethnic, and LGBTQ+ communities to help us think through the strategic challenges for Ramblers Scotland, and how we can become more welcoming to everyone. These experiences are currently under-represented on the committee.

About Ramblers

Ramblers Scotland is the representative body for walkers in Scotland. For over 75 years we have been campaigning to protect the natural beauty of our countryside, promote walking and safeguard public access to land.

Time Commitment:

Meetings are held five times throughout the year, usually in February, May, August, and November, with an additional meeting at Scottish Council (our AGM and related events) annually in March. These meetings are usually held in Edinburgh, Perth, or another Central Belt location. Attendance at all meetings is expected, but there is an option to join via video conference if the travel makes the location unreachable. Members who volunteer join any sub-committees set up from time to time, will be required to attend additional meetings dictated by the nature of the sub-committee. This is a voluntary role but travel and related expenses will be paid.

Members are expected to prepare for meetings by reading the papers they are sent, attend meetings regularly (in person or online), and participate in discussions and the decision-making process.

Ramblers Scotland is a registered charity and is the representative body for walkers in Scotland, campaigning to protect the natural beauty of our countryside, promote walking and safeguard public access to land.

The Role

By overseeing our activities in Scotland, you'll be opening up the joys of rambling to the Scottish population. As convener of RSSC you will not only chair this national committee but help shape the future of the organisation and its interests in Scotland and contribute to the wider governance of Ramblers as an ex-officio member of Ramblers GB Board of Trustees.

This is an unpaid role however reasonable expenses are paid for any travel or subsistence required.