Month: October 2019

Could you be our new marketing & communications officer?

If you are an experienced and enthusiastic marketer, a fantastic job awaits you here at CAfS!

We are recruiting a new marketing and communications officer to spread the word about an exciting new project that will see 200 charge points for electric cars installed around Cumbria and the wider north of England.

You’ll also work alongside our project managers across all our initiatives to tackle climate change, supporting our marketing manager. You’ll engage with the public and organisations around Cumbria on topics ranging from renewable energy and food to housing and transport.

We’re looking for someone who has communications experience and who can get up and running quickly in this busy role. You’ll be a dab hand at producing all sort of marketing materials and content – from press releases and web content to leaflets and banners. You’ll be well versed in using social media, and you’ll have an advantage if you know how to set up advertising campaigns online. You really will need excellent written communication skills – you’ll have to be your own proofreader in this small, busy team!

Speaking of busy, you’ll need to be able to juggle different tasks and demands on your time – often to meet tight deadlines.

You’ll also need to be great at talking to people and motivating them to get involved in our projects. Engaging with organisations and partners is important, too. Your sound advice will ensure our communications are effective.

You’ll be part of a friendly, supportive and skilled team, here in our Penrith office. You’ll be with us for four days a week for a year initially, which might potentially be extended if new funding becomes available.

So, do you want to join us and use your brilliant skills to tackle climate change in Cumbria?

See full details of the job and apply now

The deadline for applications is 9am on Thursday 21st November 2019.

31 October 2019
Job: Marketing & communications officer
Posted: Thu 24 October 2019
Closing date: Thu 21 Nov 2019

HOURS: 4 days a week (30 hours a week – 0.8 full-time equivalent), with potential to extend to 5 days (subject to additional funding)
START DATE: By agreement
SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£24,000
DURATION: Fixed-term contract for 1 year following appointment (with potential to extend subject to additional funding)
LOCATION: Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET

We are looking for an experienced, creative and enthusiastic marketing professional with superb written and verbal communication skills. You’ll be the dedicated marketing officer for an exciting new project to install 200 electric vehicle charging points in the north of England, and you’ll also support our marketing manager with the wider communications work of CAfS.

The job description is below. You can also download it as a pdf:

Job Description and Person Specification Marketing and Communications Officer Nov 2019

Application & Interview Process

To apply, please download and fill in the application form below. Instructions for submitting your application are included in the form.

Application Form – CAfS Marketing & Communications Officer Nov 2019

Closing date: The closing date for return of applications is 9am on Thursday 21 November 2019.

Candidates to be invited for interview will be informed by 6pm on Thursday 21 November 2019.

Interviews: Interviews will be held on Friday 29 November 2019.

If you are selected for interview, you will also be asked to carry out a short marketing exercise in addition to a formal interview. Within the interview itself, you will be asked to deliver a 10-minute presentation on a marketing / environmental theme. (We’ll give you more details about this if you are selected for interview.)

If you have any examples of previous press releases or marketing materials, we will ask you to bring these with you to the interview.

Job Description

THE EMPLOYER Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)
REPORTS TO: Marketing & Communications Manager

HOURS: 4 days a week (30 hours a week – 0.8 full-time equivalent), with potential to extend to 5 days (subject to additional funding)
START DATE: By agreement
SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£24,000
DURATION: Fixed-term contract for 1 year following appointment (with potential to extend subject to additional funding)
LOCATION: Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET

CAfS ROLE AND PURPOSE

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria and we strive to bring about a better way of life, in balance with our environment. Our mission is to empower and enable people, communities and businesses to live and work more sustainably by sharing our knowledge, practice, skills, networks and practical experience.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE

There will be two aspects to this role:

1) The postholder will be the dedicated marketing and communications officer for an exciting new partnership project that will see two hundred new electric vehicle (EV) charging points deployed across Cumbria and the wider north of England.

2) The marketing officer will work with the CAfS marketing manager and project leads to develop and implement effective communications that are crucial to the success of CAfS many projects and activities.

BACKGROUND TO THE ‘SOSCI’ ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROJECT

CAfS has secured funding through the Government’s Innovate UK programme to accelerate the take up of electric vehicles. Currently the lack of charging infrastructure in rural areas and the prohibition of trailing charging cables across pavements and streets in urban areas is seen as a disincentive for homeowners to invest in electric vehicles.

This 18-month project aims to deploy 200+ electric vehicle charge points across the north of England (and possibly further afield). In so doing, it will test the viability and impact of hosting these charge points in a number of different settings – for example outside community buildings, public car parks, schools, housing associations and even businesses.

The ‘SOSCI’ programme (Scaling On Street Charging Infrastructure) is being led by the social enterprise ‘Cybermoor Ltd’ and is a partnership of 13 organisations (ranging from the Swedish state-owned energy company ‘Vatttenfall’ to the community-owned ‘Charge My Street’).

CAfS’ part in the programme focuses on engagement and communication, including attracting and liaising with charge point hosts, raising the profile of the SOSCI programme at events and with stakeholders, co-ordinating press and publicity and gathering data in support of partners.

Within CAfS, the programme will be staffed by a project manager, a project officer and a marketing and communications officer, together with administration support and input from CAfS’ marketing manager.

MAIN TASKS OF THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Develop the marketing and communication strategy, action plans and materials for the SOSCI EV programme, including collaborating with partner organisations to ensure compatibility and consistency of marketing materials

Collaborate with the marketing manager of CAfS, the EV programme manager and EV project officer to develop these strategies, action plans and materials

Write, produce and distribute press releases, case studies, fact sheets, leaflets, posters and other promotional literature and publicity materials

Collate, write and edit copy and images for the EV project and CAfS email updates, including our monthly newsletter and targeted emails to specific audience groups

Source, edit and write content for the CAfS and ‘Charge My Street’ EV websites, and carry out other ongoing updates

Attend internal (and occasionally external) EV and other project meetings to provide advice, updates and guidance

Update information about CAfS on external websites and event directories

Support with updating the CAfS online supplier directory

Contribute to CAfS’ social media accounts and to the accounts of EV partners, including compiling and scheduling posts

Support the marketing manager in booking, designing and tracking advertising

Assist in the organisation, administration, promotion and delivery of events

Collate data and feed in ideas to support the evaluation of marketing and communications work, and ongoing improvement

Work with the whole staff team to carry out any other task or project required from time to time, as directed by the manager or trustees

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

Experience of producing a wide range of communications materials for diverse uses and audiences (for example, press releases, web content and leaflets), and working with external partners such as designers

High standard of written communication, grammar, spelling and proofreading abilities, along with excellent verbal communication skills and attention to detail

Basic knowledge of sustainability issues and an interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver

Ability to optimise and edit images for a wide range of uses

Experience of adding content to websites

Good working knowledge of a range of social media channels

Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office products, including Outlook, Word and Excel

Proactive and creative, with the ability to manage own workload, take responsibility for tasks, prioritising and scheduling work to meet deadlines, with minimal supervision

Ability to work cooperatively as part of a small team

The following are desirable but not essential:

Experience of using WordPress

Experience of using social media management platforms, such as HootSuite and Buffer

Experience of online advertising (such as on Facebook, Twitter and Google)

Knowledge of Cumbrian / North of England geography

Basic knowledge of electric vehicles / charging EVs

Ability to plan for, create and react to media opportunities and attract free coverage

Experience of delivering project communications as part of a project team

Experience of advising others on best approaches to communications

Experience of event organisation, promotion and delivery

Understanding of data protection legislation

Experience of collaborating in the development of marketing and communications strategies and action plans

Experience of evaluating the effectiveness of communications

Basic knowledge of energy efficiency and renewable energy

Experience of making videos for social media use
31 October 2019
Space to Connect grant to boost Ambleside’s community spaces

CAfS has been awarded a £7,300 grant from a partnership between Co-op’s charity, the Co-op Foundation, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

We’ll use the ‘Space to Connect’ funding to support Ambleside Action for a Future’s Incredible Edible Group to develop community conversations about how green spaces are used in their area. The grant will also help to develop the group’s skills and capacity to deliver sustainable use of green spaces in the future.

It is one of 57 organisations across England to receive a grant from the £1.6 million partnership, designed to help communities tackle loneliness by improving and protecting local spaces that bring people together.

Space to Connect follows commitments made in the Government’s Civil Society and Loneliness Strategies, published in 2018, to help create sustainable community hubs and spaces where they are most needed.

Funding also builds on the Co-op Foundation’s work to strengthen community spaces where people can connect and co-operate.

“We are delighted to receive this grant, which will really boost efforts to create shared spaces in the Ambleside area,” said Rhona Pringle from CAfS. “We’ll be able to run two ‘Community Conversations’ around how spaces in Ambleside could be used in a way that better meets local needs and priorities, and we’ll explore people’s connection with food and growing as part of this.”

Following on from these sessions, there will be three workshops to bring the community together, on themes such as Incredible Edible activities, Fare Share meals, health and wellbeing.

“Thanks to this funding, and support from South Lakeland District Council, we’re also excited to be able to organise an evening with Pam Warhurst, one of the co-founders of the Incredible Edible movement,” Rhona added. “Pam’s talk will hopefully inspire individuals and organisations to engage in conversations about use of shared space and how they could get involved in practical activities.”

The event will be open to other communities across South Lakeland, encouraging groups to network together and share information, and to build a wider community of interest to support each other in the future.

“Training for Ambleside Action for a Future volunteers is an important part of the grant, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to sustain the organisation and activities in the future – from first aid to working with volunteers and vulnerable adults,” Rhona said.

“The funding will support Ambleside Action for a Future to establish an organisation to take their shared spaces work forward. Through their Incredible Edible Group, they’ll work with local community organisations, such as the school, to deliver this exciting programme for the benefit of their community.”

Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barran, said:

“Strong communities play a crucial role in tackling loneliness and social isolation. This £1.6 million worth of funding will create and enhance local spaces that bring people together, encouraging them to make new and lasting friendships.

“It is part of our ongoing commitment to work hand in hand with local communities to build a shared, integrated and socially responsible society.”

Jim Cooke, Head of the Co-op Foundation, said:

“Our Space to Connect partnership with Government builds on our commitment to strengthen communities and tackle loneliness through co-operation.

“Grants awarded today will empower people to work together to make better use of spaces to address local challenges, improving the well-being and skills of their whole community.”

Space to Connect was launched in June 2019, at the same time as Co-op’s Endangered Spaces campaign to protect, support and improve 2,000 community spaces by 2022.

30 October 2019
Cumbria seeks Cold to Cosy Champions

As the clocks go back, the days get shorter and people are switching on their lights and heating, Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) is seeking to recruit 20 energy champions as part of the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria energy-saving service.

“We’re looking for people from across South Lakes, Eden and beyond who are keen to save money on energy bills and are prepared to tell others about the help that’s on offer,” says Tina Holt, energy efficiency project officer with Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), which runs the service. “These champions could be volunteers in their communities, frontline workers who support people as part of their job, or individuals who are keen to help their neighbours. They will be given training and support and the main thing we’re looking for is enthusiasm rather than expertise.”

The Cold to Cosy team is already visiting homes and ensuring that simple measures such as low-energy lighting, draught excluders and radiator reflectors are in place to reduce energy use and costs. The champions will have an important role in spreading the word and encouraging more referrals to CAfS.

The Cold to Cosy Homes service started in South Lakes and is now available across Eden, gradually extending to other areas of Cumbria.

“Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria is aiming to do exactly what it says, improving people’s homes to save them money and save energy,” says Tina. “Becoming a champion is a great opportunity for people to help others and get involved in a very worthwhile scheme. The first step is to book onto our half-day training session in November at www.cafs.org.uk/events. If that date doesn’t suit, we have another one planned for early in 2020.”

Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria is delivered by CAfS, with a network of trusted Cumbrian tradespeople carrying out the more substantial draught proofing installations. It is funded through the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme and partners are Local Energy Advice Partnership (or LEAP), South Lakeland District Council, Eden District Council’s Warm Homes Eden project and Carlisle City Council.

Householders can apply for a free Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria visit and help here on our website, or by calling CAfS on 01768 210276.

30 October 2019
New video charts renovation progress at 33a Chapel Street

If you cast your mind back to last summer, you might recall that we started following renovations at an old, stone-walled terraced house in Appleby.

33a Chapel Street’s journey from a flooded, damp building to a warm and cosy home is well under way, and you can see the progress so far in our latest video – a seven-minute recap on the works that have been done and the materials used.

You’ll see how the old concrete floor and renders have been stripped out, replaced with an insulated limecrete floor and different types of lime plasters on the walls. These will stop moisture being trapped in the floor and walls, helping this older building to ‘breathe’ (release moisture) in the way it was intended to.

The house now boasts a new roof, specified by a conservation architect to be breathable while also keeping in heat.

These techniques and materials go hand in glove with older buildings constructed before 1920, when cavity walls started to come in.

If you’ve got one of Cumbria’s lovely old solid or rubble-filled stone or brick walls, you’ll pick up lots of information from all our videos following this renovation.

You’ll also see some of the measures that have been taken to minimise damage if the house floods again in the future, including raising up the electrics on the ground floor, beyond the previous flood level.

Keep an eye out for more videos soon!

We’ve been able to follow this renovation with video diaries thanks to support from Historic England.

30 October 2019
Cumbrians asked for views on climate change in county’s first survey

People who live, work or study in Cumbria are being invited to share their opinions on climate change and ways to tackle it in a new survey launched this week.

Cumbria Action for Sustainability is running the survey and we want to hear from people from all walks of life and across all viewpoints, to help shape actions to reduce carbon emissions.

“There is unprecedented momentum in Cumbria to tackle the causes of the climate crisis and we want to make sure that the voices of people in Cumbria are heard and taken into account as the pace towards a zero carbon Cumbria quickens,” said Hazel Graham, chief executive of CAfS.

“The majority of district councils have declared climate emergencies and are now starting to plan the actions they will take in their districts. Meanwhile, business leaders are planning how they can reduce emissions in their operations. What none of us knows for sure is how people in our county feel about climate change. How concerned are they? What actions do they want to see – and, just as importantly, what actions do they not want to see?”

We hope the survey will also show what steps people are taking in their own lives to reduce their carbon footprint, and any challenges that are making it difficult for them, which the charity may be able to help overcome. There are questions from national and international surveys, too, so that views in Cumbria can be compared to wider trends.

“The survey results will be hugely helpful to CAfS for shaping our future projects, so that we give people the support and information they tell us they need,” Hazel said. “The data will also be incredibly useful as evidence for funding bids, helping to bring money into the county to support efforts to cut emissions, with all the potential benefits that can bring – from warmer homes to a healthier, less polluted environment.”

The overall survey results will be shared publicly to help a range of organisations with future planning, from councils and other public-sector bodies to businesses.

CAfS intends to repeat the survey annually, to track any changes in opinions and to ensure its services continue to reflect local needs. It’s funded this year by the National Lottery Community Fund, as part of the Rebuilding Together programme to help Cumbria to adapt for the challenges of flooding and extreme weather.

“Whether you think there’s too much focus on climate change, or whether you’re on the streets protesting for urgent action, please do fill in the survey so that we hear the full range of views,” Hazel said. “This is your opportunity to have your say and influence what happens in our county. And there’s even a chance to win £100 in our prize draw.”

The survey closes on 30 November. It’s available online here on our website, and paper copies will be available at events around the county – from farmers’ markets to coffee mornings. If you’re holding an event and would like some paper copies, please email [email protected] and we’ll send you some.

Fill in Cumbria Climate Survey 2019

2 October 2019