Do you want to be responsible for coordinating the Yorkshire and Humber regional hub for the national Climate Ambassadors programme? Do you want to recruit and support volunteer Climate Ambassadors as they engage with local nurseries, schools and other education settings to help them develop and deliver Climate Action Plans? 

The Climate Ambassador network was developed in partnership between the University of Reading and STEM Learning to harness the expertise of professionals working in climate research and policy to work with teachers and school leaders to improve climate education after this was recognised as a need by the National Climate Education Action Plan.

Climate Ambassadors are explicitly referenced in the Department for Education (DfE) Sustainability and Climate Change strategy. In December 2023, the University of Reading and EAUC, alongside various partners, were successful in bidding for a DfE contract to facilitate regional networks of support and advice for sustainability and climate action planning in the education system. Delivery of this contract will involve facilitating a ‘regional hub’ in nine regions across England to expand and accelerate the Climate Ambassador programme’s reach, uptake and impact. 

Each hub will engage education settings (nurseries and Early Years settings, schools, FE colleges and universities) in the programme, whilst also recruiting and supporting volunteer Climate Ambassadors to support education settings to develop and implement climate action plans; ensuring that this on-the-ground support is properly targeted to those settings that need the support the most. Climate Action Plans will include action over the following areas: decarbonisation and energy efficiency; climate adaptation and resilience; biodiversity and green infrastructure; climate education and green skills and careers. 

The Regional Hub Managers across the country are critical to the success of the project. 

Their role has a dual function:

You’ll be employed and hosted by University of Leeds, supported by the Yorkshire and Humber hub lead to ensure you have the support you need to access the various expertise, networks, and resources the organisation has. You’ll also be a key part of the national Climate Ambassador programme, as part of a team with the eight other regional hub coordinators. This will provide opportunities for co-developing and designing the programme, knowledge transfer, and shared problem solving. This structure also means you’ll have two primary reporting and support mechanisms – within the organisation and through the national programme team. 

You will also have access to, and will be actively encouraged to engage in both individual and team professional development activities provided by both the University of Leeds and the national Climate Ambassadors project team. Our aim is for you to develop into a leader in climate and sustainability work in education during the time your work on the project.

About a third of your role will be spent recruiting and supporting regional Climate Ambassadors from across industry, academia, and civic society. You’ll be trained on how to use the digital platforms that underpin the programme so you can manage your volunteers. You’ll expand the current ambassador cohort, including recruitment, onboarding, and identifying, signposting, and delivering training opportunities for them. You'll attend regional events, visit significant employers, and hold virtual meetings with potential ambassadors to support the achievement of engagement, quality and impact KPIs. You’ll have support in the form of recruitment materials, training, and delivery materials.

An additional third of your role will be recruiting and supporting regional education settings – from nurseries to universities - to engage them in the project and facilitate peer-to-peer exchange . You’ll particularly focus on settings not yet engaged and ensure the programme is accessible particularly to disadvantaged areas. You’ll use existing networks, and develop new ones across the region, to ensure good engagement across education settings. For both of these activities you’ll use national engagement strategies but adapt them to meet the region’s needs. 

The final third of your role will be spent contributing to the national Climate Ambassador programme. This will be multifaceted: you’ll participate in team meetings to co-design the programme’s strategy and approach; collect and report data (relating to impact, quality and finances) to support the monitoring and evaluation of the project; and, engage in peer-to-peer knowledge transfer and learning with the national project team and other eight Regional Hubs Managers.

Finally, each regional hub will have a unique deliverable that will then be used by all of the regional hubs. In our instance, you’ll be responsible for coordinating the Gap Analysis of data from the STEM Learning infrastructure and Regional Hub Managers to identify regions with weakest engagement and develop targets for additional recruitment of Ambassadors. Your personal development will be part of this final third of your role with part of your weekly working time devoted to this.

What we offer in return

And much more!  

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Amanda Maycock, Professor of Climate Dynamics

Email: [email protected]