We are seeking a visionary Chief Executive Officer with exceptional leadership qualities to spearhead our charity, Concrete Garden, though a new and exciting period of growth and transformational change. The ideal candidate will be bold and brave and embody a passion for community empowerment and sustainability, driving forward our community’s ambition and charity mission with dedicated commitment and innovative thinking.

This role presents a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact, leading our community and team towards a brighter future for all those we serve.

Overview of the Position:

The Chief Executive Officer will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of Concrete Garden, working closely with the Board of Trustees to ensure the organisation's long-term success and impact.

And leading on the recruitment for a number of new posts to build capacity in leadership and drive forward community growth and regeneration. This position demands a dynamic individual with a proven track record in fundraising, asset management, financial management, strategic planning, and team leadership.

Start Date: Immediate or must be able to start by 27th May for a one-month handover with the incumbent CEO.

Reporting to: The Board of Trustees

Job Description

You will provide a key role in our front of house service, ensuring that our retail space offers a friendly customer experience. As part of your role, you will support the team with general administrative and financial tasks to ensure the smooth running of the office and retail area, all within a very busy retail and manufacturing environment.

Company Profile

Glasgow Wood Recycling is a social enterprise and charity established in 2006. We are committed to achieving a sustainable population and planet. We aim to reduce the amount of wood going to landfill by finding creative, and socially inclusive ways to reuse this valuable natural resource. We create this image to our customers, and try to encourage them to limit the amount of wood going to landfill.

The wood waste that we collect from all over Glasgow and further afield is gathered, and sorted at our South Street workshop. This helps achieve our enviornmental goals. We then reuse the wood waste to make quality furniture and design bespoke pieces for home, businesses and social sector organisations, anything from tables in bars to eco-gardens in schools.

Through these activities, and at the heart of what we do, we provide volunteer and training opportunities to local people, as a practical way of tackling unemployment and social exclusion. Our volunteers either participate in our workshop, help our drivers for delivery/ collection services, and offer support in our retail area, to ensure this is tidy and stock is in the correct piles.

Key Responsibilties

• To provide high quality front of house service to customers in store, as well as processing sales and payments.
• To maintain accurate filing systems & keep up to date record of finances, sales and customer order information.
• To process customer orders accurately for the workshop to manufacture, and answer telephone calls, electronic communications and correspondence.
• To contribute to the day-to-day facilities management e.g. recycling, storage waste and housekeeping.
• Helping ensure the office and retail environment is attractive to both customers and staff.
• Be willing to support volunteers and trainees, and undertake appropriate career training.
• To laise with workshop assistants to ensure the retail space is continusly maintained.
• Be committed to helping Glasgow Wood uphold its values in relation to people and the environment.

Key Skills

• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Be flexible and able to complete tasks when asked at short notice.
• Confident with I.T. including using excel/ office and Xero - full training will be provided.
• Excellent time management skills, and able to prioritse tasks approately.
• Appropriate literacy and numeracy skills.
• Competent problem solving skills.
• Able to give attention to detail and being accurate.

Experience & Knowledge

• Essential that candidates have some experience of office work.
• Retail/sales experience is desirable.
• A passion for working with customers and offer a high quality service.
• An understanding of the importance of enviornmental sustainability.
• An understanding of the challanges involved working for a social enterprise.
• Experience of working with wood is deserable, but not essential.
• Experience of working in a volunteering environment is deserable, but not essential.

Training

• Health and Safety including manual handling and work on site safely.
• Waste minimisation training.
• Ongoing proffessional development opportunities.

Are you passionate about the importance of green spaces within our communities? Do you have an interest in gardening? Do you have the knowledge, skills and experience to lead an organisation that is playing an important role within the community? This year Amisfield Preservation Trust (Amisfield Walled Garden) celebrates its 25th year anniversary. We are looking to recruit a new Chair who can lead the organisation forward to the next stage in its development.

About Amisfield Preservation Trust

Amisfield Preservation Trust provides a regenerative community space (Amisfield Walled Garden) just outside of Haddington for a wide range of groups. The project is volunteer led. Since project inception, volunteers have recreated a beautiful, historic and peaceful 8 acre walled garden which had fallen into disrepair. The project helps improve the life chances of those most vulnerable in our community, through support for individuals with barriers to employment; drives inclusion through involving volunteers with a range of additional support needs; promotes learning through educational activities for school groups with their teachers, and for the general public through a variety of training events; helps the community to flourish through increased social connection and regenerative activities that improve mental and physical wellbeing and resilience and help increase pride in the local community and place. Amisfield Walled Garden is a beautiful, tranquil garden. We are a 3 star Visit Scotland attraction which is open to the public (free of charge) for 6 days in the week.

We are looking for a volunteer Chair to lead the Amisfield Preservation Trust, the small charity that looks after the garden. The role involves working with our volunteer Board of Directors, Volunteer Coordinator, Wellbeing and Outreach worker and garden volunteers to ensure that the garden continues to play an important and much-loved role at the heart of the local community.

The qualities and experience we’re looking for in our new Chair are:

• An enthusiasm for gardening (whether amateur or professional)
• Great leadership skills
• A real sense of community, with great networks across the county or a willingness to create them
• Knowledge or experience of the voluntary/charitable sector
• Somebody comfortable with being the public face of the garden
• Ideally somebody based locally in East Lothian or willing to travel to Haddington.

Chair Role Description

Specific duties:

• Organising and Chairing monthly Amisfield Preservation Trust Board meetings
• Promoting good governance amongst fellow Board members and ensuring activity is in line with the garden’s charitable purposes
• Leading the Board in planning and coordinating a programme of garden developments and improvements
• Leading the Board in planning and coordinating a range of community events
• Working with fellow Board members to support and manage the garden’s two employees.
• Contributing to regular communications to the garden’s volunteers, supporters and stakeholders across email, the website and social media
• Being a key contact for the garden for stakeholders, funders and donors, including East Lothian Council
• Working with fellow Board members to compile applications for funding and collate impact reports to funders
• Representing the garden in the local media and with stakeholders across East Lothian

There are currently 8 members of the Board. The Chair role will be for a term of three years, with an initial probationary period of six months.

It’s a very exciting time to join the Ramblers. We have been instrumental in helping Britain experience the great outdoors for almost 90 years. But we are looking to the future, not the past.

We know not everyone has the same access to the outdoors, so we’re continue to fight for change. We campaign, protect paths and lead walks so no matter who you are, you can enjoy the benefits of getting out into the fresh air and wide-open spaces.

We need your drive, knowledge, skills, and creativity to help us raise awareness of the Ramblers and what we stand for, helping the charity grow its supporter base and meet our brand goals. Ultimately, you will help open up the joys and wellbeing benefits of walking to many more people.

About us

You might know us for our group walks, thousands of which take place every week across England, Scotland and Wales.

But there’s a lot more to the Ramblers. Since 1935, we’ve been fighting for the public’s right to enjoy Britain’s landscapes. We do it through campaigning for changes in legislation, opening up green routes in cities, maintaining paths and signposts, saving lost paths … and so much more.

Purpose of Role

We are looking for someone to help us shape public policy in Scotland in a way that ensures everyone can enjoy access to the outdoors. We want your help to make sure that those who currently have the least access are enabled to overcome the barriers they face, because they have the most to gain. You will help us engage with formal policy making processes, but also with the broader networks through which public policy is informed and shaped. You will become a key member of the small team that drives our public campaigning in Scotland.

The role

Key Responsibilities:

• Become the leading expert on access to the outdoors in Scotland and use your expertise to help make access more equitable.
• Create Ramblers Scotland policy and engage with formal opportunities to shape public policy.
• Develop and maintain high level professional relationships on behalf of the organisation to influence key stakeholders.
• Help Ramblers position itself in the Scottish public policy space and shape our campaign priorities.
• Develop and support a network of campaign volunteers and build their capacity.

The person

Knowledge and Experience

Essential:

• Good knowledge of policy issues relating to walking and the walking environment in Scotland or related policy areas.
• Proven ability to use your knowledge of Scottish political systems and structures to conduct effective advocacy.
• Line management of staff and/or volunteers or leading project teams.
• Ability to develop strong, collaborative relationships with stakeholder

Desirable:

• Ability to travel throughout Scotland and occasionally across Britain, full driver’s license and access to a car
• An active and demonstrable interest in walking and engaging people with the outdoors

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.