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Job: Customer Administrator

Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 12 July 2022.

SALARY RANGE: £19,305 to £22,352 full-time equivalent (£15,444 to £17,881 for a 30-hour week).

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office in Penrith. However, homeworking can be agreed.  Occasional meetings required at venues across Cumbria.

HOURS: 22.5 to 30 hours per week, with flexibility to work across 3, 4 or 5 days. The working times are flexible but must include core office hours of 10am-3pm unless agreed otherwise. There may also be occasional need to work evenings/weekends for event or meeting support.

START/END DATE: Start as soon as possible. Fixed term contract to April 2023 (with potential for extension subject to funding).

So, you’re an experienced administrator with great customer service skills… how about using your expertise to make a real difference for people in Cumbria?

We need a fantastic new colleague to join our friendly Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria team. You’ll be helping Cumbrians to make their homes warmer, save energy and save money. Our service helps people who are struggling with their energy bills, including some of the most vulnerable folk in the county.

You’ll be the first point of contact for people getting in touch with us by phone, email or via our online enquiry form, handling enquiries and arranging for our energy advisers to go out and see them. You’ll also help with all the other behind the scenes administration that keeps the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria service running smoothly – from supporting events to administering meetings.

As an employee of Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), you’ll be working for an organisation that is flexible, supportive and values your wellbeing. We can offer you a healthy work/life balance, including some flexibility in when and where you work your hours, along with an employer pension contribution of 6% from day one of employment and holiday entitlement of 22 days pro rata plus bank and public holidays.

CAfS is Cumbria’s climate change organisation. 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. We manage and deliver events, advice, training and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria. 

We hope you will consider joining us and being part of Cumbria-wide efforts to tackle climate change while making lives better.

Below you’ll find full details about the role and the skills you’d ideally have. You’ll find these in the job description and person specification. If you can’t tick all the boxes, please do apply as we can offer support and on-the-job training to the right candidate. If you have any questions about the job or the application process, please do get in touch for an informal chat with the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria manager, Gareth: [email protected].

Job description & person specification
Download the job description and person specification to see full details about the role and the skills and experience you’d ideally have:

Customer Administrator– Job Description

How to apply
To apply, please download and fill in the application form below. Please do not send a CV. In the form, you’ll see some guidance on how to complete it.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 12 July 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Tuesday 19 July 2022. Can’t make this date? Please do still apply, as we can make other arrangements with you. The interview process will involve one or more tasks relating to the role. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 9am on 14th July 2022.

Some great benefits of working at CAfS
Deciding whether to apply? Working at CAfS comes with some great benefits. You’ll be joining a friendly and supportive organisation, and your wellbeing and work/life balance are hugely important to us. As well as flexibility around your working hours and location, as mentioned above, you’ll have 22 days of paid annual leave pro rata, plus bank/public holidays. We pay an employer pension contribution of 6% from day one of employment.

Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

14 June 2022
Council commissions study into nature curriculum for schools

Cumbria County Council has appointed CAfS to work alongside the Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) and The University of Cumbria (UoC), to produce a report to help establish an improved nature curriculum for young people in Cumbria.

The study will focus on the provision of place-based learning about the environment and sustainability for schools in Cumbria. It will include learning about the local environment and wider Cumbrian landscape, issues of sustainability, climate change and biodiversity as well as experiences that build appreciation for nature and the environment.

Over the next few months, the partnership will be sending a questionnaire and arranging interviews with schools and other education providers. These will gather info on what provision is already being delivered from early years to post-16 to identify gaps in delivery, establish possible barriers to delivery and highlight opportunities to improve things.

The data collected will be used to create a report on ways to support schools to embed place-based learning about the environment and sustainability throughout the curriculum that will help equip young people with knowledge and skills for the future.

Work for the study is now underway and will begin reporting in the autumn.

If any schools and education providers are interested in contributing to the report or would like further information, please get in touch with [email protected].

Councillor Celia Tibble, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:

“This is a really key piece of work which will help lead to an improved curriculum for all while also supporting national environmental commitments. By establishing a nature curriculum that is based on the unique geography and history of Cumbria, we can give young people skills and knowledge to actively contribute to their communities and prepare them to be change makers and innovators that help bring about positive lasting impacts to Cumbria’s environment, our society and the economy.”

Dan Barton, Cumbria County Council’s Assistant Director for Education and Skills, said:

“We’re delighted to have partnered with colleagues from key local organisations as part of this exciting work which, in the long term, we hope will support the establishment of an ambitious and innovative curriculum for our young people. This will draw on the many possibilities in our county and will help to prepare our children to face the opportunities and challenges in our shared future.”

Laura Goad, Director of CDEC, added:

“We are pleased to be working with Cumbria County Council, CAfS and the UoC on this contract, pooling our collective expertise in education, place-based learning and zero carbon solutions to produce a report that will help inform the curriculum offered to all our young people and build future job opportunities in Cumbria.”

10 June 2022
Volunteer role: Community Climate Champion
Closing date: 9am on Wednesday 6 July 2022.

Are you looking for an unpaid opportunity that will help you to increase your confidence, empower you to change things for the better, and where you can – empower others, all while helping to tackle climate change? CAfS is recruiting 20 community climate champions across Cumbria to help us deliver the second year of a programme to boost knowledge about climate science and solutions and inspire people to take action in their own lives.

Champions will run interactive sessions for their local communities, ranging from short ‘climate crash course’ sessions to conversation cafes or reading groups, or just giving a talk or running a discussion with a small group.

By raising awareness and understanding about climate change, you’ll empower people to act and play their full part in bringing about a zero-carbon Cumbria.

You’ll receive training to deliver these sessions in your community, including a 1 day comprehensive, accredited Carbon Literacy training course. Plus you’ll have the full support of our Community Climate Champions Coordinator. We also hope to arrange a one day Zero Carbon Britain training (Centre for Alternative Technology) as an optional extra for those who wish to attend.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to develop new skills, as well as bringing benefits to your community and playing a really important part in tackling climate change.

The role description below has full details about the project and the role.

This opportunity is open to people over the age of 18 only. If you’re under 18, please do keep an eye on our website and social media, as there’ll be opportunities for youth volunteers at a later date.

We wish to support diversification of the voices in the Cumbrian climate movement and particularly welcome applications from individuals on a low income, individuals in areas without an existing sustainability group or from anyone who feels that their voice, or the voice of their community is under-represented.

Application Process

Please apply by completing the expression of interest form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

Expression of Interest Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 6 July 2022.

Role specification

If you prefer to download the role and person specification, please use the link below:

Community Climate Champion – Role Specification

THE ORGANISATION: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), Rural Eden Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET.

LOCATION: Home-based and in the community

REPORTS TO: Community Climate Champions Coordinator

MINIMUM TIME COMMITMENT: Roughly 4-5 hours/month August onwards, following 10 hours of induction and training in July/August. Starting from August, ideally you would run at least one session every 2 months. This could be an hour or 90-minute session or a quick climate conversation café session or a reading group or giving a talk to a small local group.

BENEFITS: This is an unpaid role, with benefits including:

A free full-day accredited Carbon Literacy training session (worth £139 – see training dates listed later in document). We also hope to arrange a one day Zero Carbon Britain training (Centre for Alternative Technology) as an optional extra for those who wish to attend.

Increased skills and abilities in delivering climate science and solutions training and/or conversations.

Improved confidence and empowerment through opportunities to be mentored during the process.

The chance to be part of a structured and supported network of people who can learn from each other.

Social opportunities, including forums, a buddying system, group and one-to-one chances to get the tailored support you need to enjoy and make a difference in this role.

The opportunity to have costs met to enable you to deliver the training, for example venue costs, Microsoft Office subscription, Zoom Pro accounts or a webcam.

The opportunity to build skills and experience that could support a future application to be a paid freelance carbon literacy trainer.

DURATION: Your induction would take place in July. Your sessions would be delivered from August to December 2022, but being able to sustain your commitment by delivering ongoing events or talks beyond this time will be valuable.

APPLICATIONS BY: 9am on Wednesday 6th July 2022. Please apply using the application form. Please note that champions will be selected based on their application only; no interviews will be held for this role. We encourage applications from those who wish to build knowledge or confidence, as well as from those who are experienced.

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.

ABOUT CAfS

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria which is socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial for all.

Our mission is to promote and facilitate low carbon living and its benefits – inspiring and supporting individuals, communities and organisations across Cumbria and beyond to take action to decarbonise lives, communities and businesses by 2037 or sooner. We do this through events, advice, training and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services. We share our knowledge, skills and practical experience as widely as possible.

CAfS is an award-winning charity with a team of 28 highly skilled staff, working with a pool of specialist contractors and volunteers to deliver around 20 major, transformational low-carbon projects each year. Now in our 24th year, CAfS is the first point of reference in the county for information on sustainability and low-carbon living.

ABOUT ZCCP

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership is working towards making Cumbria the first net zero carbon county in the UK, by 2037.

It’s an ambitious and inspiring challenge that will touch on many aspects of life in Cumbria to bring down the county’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. One part of this work is an exciting five-year programme of community activity to help people reduce their carbon footprint, particularly from food, waste and the goods we buy. It’s all been made possible thanks to a £2.5 million grant from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund.

The partnership brings together 80 organisations spanning the public, private and third sectors, with the aim of cutting greenhouse gas emissions – the root cause of the climate crisis.

Community Climate Champions can play a key role in generating the necessary changes and actions needed within their communities to enable Cumbria to reach its 2037 net zero ambition.

About this project

Following a successful climate champions project in 2021 CAfS are recruiting and training a further cohort of community climate champions to run a widespread programme of events on climate science and solutions across Cumbria, supported by a training coordinator. This exciting project is possible thanks to funding from the Emergence Foundation and The National Lottery Climate Action Fund.

We are aiming to reach communities who may not have the support of a sustainability network, who are concerned about climate change but not sure what to do about it.

We are hoping that alongside the original network of climate champions the additional 20 champions, between them, will also train or run events for hundreds of people over the life of the project, so that they will develop a sense of agency through having a much better understanding of the causes of, and solutions to, the climate crisis. This will ultimately benefit the environment by action taken to reduce emissions and tackle climate change.

All champions will receive free Carbon Literacy training and in depth support. A training package has been developed and the network of volunteers will be supported in a variety of ways to deliver events, talks or reading groups to those they wish to influence, including businesses, groups and other organisations, even to friends and family.

Main purpose of role

To work with the CAfS Community Climate Champions Coordinator as part of a team of volunteer community champions to run a widespread programme of events, training and facilitated discussions on climate science and solutions across Cumbria.

Champions will identify groups within their own communities to work with, as trusted messengers, and as such will be able to support a step change in the understanding of and attitudes towards climate change solutions across Cumbria. We wish to diversify the voices in Cumbria’s sustainability movement and particularly wish to reach under-represented groups in areas without an active sustainability group, and particularly welcome applications from those on a low income.

Key areas of responsibility

To keep own knowledge of climate change and emission reduction measures up to date.

To prepare for talks and events by becoming familiar with resources and attending any train-the-trainer training provided by CAfS.

To run events, training or facilitated conversations with own chosen audiences and to engage the participants effectively (online as well as face-to-face given COVID considerations)

To use the training provided by CAfS to shape these sessions

To gather data, both quantitative and qualitative, to enable monitoring and evaluation of the project by the coordinator.

To evaluate the sessions you deliver and to share your learning with the team of champions.

To share your learning and resources with other champions.

Main tasks

Identify groups and organisations that would like to take part in climate science and solutions training. We want champions to be able to deliver this training (or hold conversations that share the key messages from the training) to groups across Cumbria throughout 2022 and beyond.

Work with other community champions and the Community Climate Champions Coordinator to share resources to deliver training.

Deliver training sessions and conversations in the community to groups and organisations.

Provide peer support, and share lessons learned with the pool of champions.

Help to evaluate sessions for impact.

Skills, abilities and attitudes required

A basic understanding of climate science and ways to reduce carbon emissions. A free full day’s accredited Carbon Literacy training session will be offered to build on existing knowledge.

Confidence, or a desire to build confidence, in public speaking, running events or training.

Good communication and interpersonal skills, including dealing with difficult situations and conflicting views.

A non-judgemental attitude and an understanding that there are a range of views around action on climate change.

Willingness to deliver training sessions and conversations using online platforms if needed. Support will be given.

Willingness to engage with CAfS training on science and solutions, and also on how to engage with different audiences.

Timescales and time input

Your induction would take place in July.

Starting from August, we would like you to run at least one session every 2 months until at least December 2022. This could be an hour or 90-minute session or a quick climate conversation café session or a reading group or giving a talk.

Whilst the core period of delivery for your sessions will be August to December 2022, being able to sustain further sessions beyond this time will be valuable.

Successful applicants will hear back from us by Thursday 7th July at 5pm.

There are two dates when appointed champions could attend the full day accredited course (comprised of two morning sessions or two afternoon sessions):

Tuesday 19 + 26 July 9.15 AM -1.15 AM

OR

Wednesday 20 + 27th 1.15-5.15 PM

NB – If you are unable to attend on these dates there will be another opportunity in August.

CAfS contact

Clare Taylor is the Community Climate Champions Coordinator and will induct, train, support and guide the champions. Please email [email protected] with any questions and please do submit the expression of interest form by the deadline.
7 June 2022
What you said about smart meters
Last month, we asked our kind followers to lend us their thoughts on smart meters. The technology is slowly spreading through homes as energy providers determinedly pursue us over the phone to commit to an installation date.

Basically, a smart meter measures your energy use in real time and shows it to you on a display unit. The idea is that this will allow you to get more accurate bills and see for yourself where you are spending money on energy. It also, in theory, cuts out the inconvenience of needing to read your meter manually yourself.

We wanted to find out how people view smart meters whether they have them or not. In our last newsletter, we distributed this survey. Over 50 generous people took time to record their thoughts and this is what the results were.

Firstly, we found that people are confident in their understanding of the technology. 81% of respondents rated their knowledge of smart meters as either good or very good.

Of those who answered the questionnaire, two thirds of them have already had a smart meter installed in their home and just under a third of respondents were over the age of 65.

Focussing first on the 33% of respondents who do not have a smart meter, 60% of these were not interested in getting one. In fact, absolutely none of them rated themselves as ‘very interested’ and only 20% rated themselves any more positively than ambivalent.

Similarly, this group of people also had absolutely no one with any positive opinions on smart meters. 68% of them had either negative or very negative opinions of the technology.

If, however, we look at the 66% of respondents who do have a smart meter installed, around 50% of them have a positive or very positive opinion of them. 29% of these people held negative opinions.

Alongside these statistics, most of the respondents also provided their own insights with both positive and negative thoughts coming from people who had and don’t have smart meters.

These results are certainly interesting and we will be using these to inform how we approach the subject of smart meters in future. A huge thanks to every person who filled out the survey and shared their thoughts.
27 May 2022
Climate change training rolling out to educators in Cumbria

CAfS will be helping to create a national climate training toolkit for educators as part of a new government plan.

We will be one of the partners developing the toolkits, as part of the Department for Education’s Climate & Sustainability Strategy, announced in April. Every maintained nursery, school, college and university in the country is to have a sustainability lead among their staff, all of whom will have ‘carbon literacy’ training on the climate crisis and how we can respond.

We’ve been delivering accredited Climate and Carbon Literacy training in Cumbria since 2019 and we’re now running a pilot with local colleges to tailor the course for the education sector, supported by the National Lottery through the Zero Carbon Cumbria programme.

Speaking at the launch of the strategy, Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, said:

“We are going to speed up carbon literacy training throughout our education communities so that by 2025 every nursery, school, college and university can put in place a Climate Action Plan. Innovation and green growth will not flourish unless we deliver a workforce with the right skills to make this a reality.”

Hazel Graham, carbon literacy training manager at CAfS, said:

“This announcement by the Department for Education is fantastic news. We have some fantastic examples already of schools leading on emission reduction in Cumbria. This announcement means all schools and colleges will gain the extra knowledge and support they need to reduce their own carbon footprint and also to inspire and involve their students. We’ve trained hundreds of people in organisations and communities around the county, and we’ve seen first-hand the impact that carbon literacy training can have.

Our course is designed to do more than just build knowledge. Delegates tell us that they feel more able to then go on share that knowledge with others, more confident to communicate about the climate crisis, and more motivated to act. We get regular feedback about the significant, meaningful, lasting changes that individuals, communities or organisations have made, after attending our courses.

“We’re excited to be asked to help develop the national carbon literacy kit for educators, which we’re well placed to do as we’re already rolling out climate and carbon literacy training for schools and colleges in the county, written by educators, for educators.”

Among them is Lakes College in West Cumbria. The college principal, Chris Nattress, said:

“We recently engaged with CAfS to plan and deliver climate training to our whole college staff during our annual Staff Conference Day. Staff found the session informative and thought provoking. It was an ideal way for us to give our staff an evidence-based, well-informed overview of the challenges we all face in reducing carbon emissions.

“As a college, climate education is a priority for us, and there is a huge amount of interest from staff and students in full-day, accredited carbon literacy training. We have therefore commissioned CAfS to deliver several sessions for us in June to help us achieve our climate ambitions as an organisation. It is great to see DfE’s announcement that other colleges may soon be doing the same.”

Cumbria County Council, the local education authority for the county, has already offered carbon literacy training by CAfS to a large number of its staff and elected members and is a Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation under the national accreditation scheme.

Councillor Celia Tibble, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:

“This is a fantastic initiative and fits perfectly with our drive to see a golden thread of climate education right from primary up to adult education. This is a key priority for us and, having been trained by CAfS ourselves, we can fully appreciate the impact this training could have if rolled out for educators in the county.”

Louise Atkinson, who is National Vice President of the National Education Union as well as a primary school teacher in Cumbria and governor at a secondary school, said:

“We are pleased to see this announcement from DfE, and here in Cumbria we are ready to respond. We are lucky to have an expert organisation like CAfS in the county to partner with on a roll-out. We at NEU believe that this training is a positive step. Climate change is real and is threatening our future. It is our young generations that will lose the most if it is not addressed now. We all have a role to play and a contribution to make about the necessary changes. We look forward to working with CAfS to roll out this important training for sustainability leads in schools.”

CAfS is inviting schools and colleges in Cumbria to get ahead of the curve.

“We haven’t seen the detail yet of when the DfE roll-out will be but there’s no need to wait,” Hazel said. “Any school or college that wants to be at the forefront of this exciting initiative can get in touch with CAfS now, as we can arrange carbon literacy training for you.”

CAfS also runs carbon literacy courses that are open to the public, for anyone who’d like to learn more about the causes of climate change and what they can do about it, or who would like to get a feel for how the course works.

Our next carbon literacy training session for the public begins on 22 June, you can book on to it here.

You can also email [email protected] for more information about the courses,

18 May 2022
Job: Fundraising officer
Closing date: 10am on Tuesday 14 June 2022.

We’re looking for a knowledgeable and articulate person to help us raise money through donations, grants and contracts. You’ll be a clear and confident communicator with the ability to create persuasive digital material with a strong attention to detail. You’ll have knowledge of fundraising and will be able to research potential new income streams working alongside our development manager.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 10am on 14 June 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Tuesday 21 June 2022.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Fundraising Officer – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however we are open to flexible working patterns and blended (home, site and office-based) or home working is possible for this role.

REPORTS TO: Development Manager

HOURS: 22.5 hrs a week. There may be some flexibility with the contracted hours, which can be discussed at interview if of interest to the applicant.

SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£25,000 per annum full-time equivalent (£12,600 – £15,000 for the 22.5 hour week), depending on skills and experience.

DURATION: Fixed-term 12-month contract. With potential for extension subject to funding.

APPLICATIONS BY: 10am Tuesday 14^th June, 2022. Interviews 21^st June, 2022

Please apply using the application form. CVs will not be considered.

ABOUT CAFS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria which is socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial for all.

Our mission is to promote and facilitate low carbon living and its benefits – inspiring and supporting individuals, communities, and organisations across Cumbria and beyond to take action to decarbonise lives, communities, and businesses by 2037 or sooner. We do this through events, advice, training, and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services. We share our knowledge, skills, and practical experience as widely as possible.

CAfS is an award-winning charity with a team of 28 highly skilled staff, working with a pool of specialist contractors and volunteers to deliver around 20 major, transformational low-carbon projects each year. Now in our 24th year, CAfS is the first point of reference in the county for information on sustainability and low-carbon living.

CAfS continues to see a rapid rise in the demand for its services and has grown to a turnover of almost £1.5 million. However, if we are to meet our vision of zero carbon in Cumbria, within the timescales that the climate emergency requires, then we need to do more. At present most of our funds are restricted to projects, and less than 1% of our income is from donations or corporate partnerships. Working alongside our Development Manager and our marketing team, this is an exciting opportunity to help us increase our core and unrestricted funding streams.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

To help implement our donor and corporate fundraising strategies including campaign and stewardship support.

To increase core funding through development of Trust and Foundation fundraising.

To research grants, contracts and other funding opportunities and feed these into our funding pipeline.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Undertake research about potential donor, corporate and funding prospects, providing briefings for meetings and updating our databases.

Provide stewardship support to, our donors, funders and corporate partners – building and maintaining relationships including thank you letters, updates and invitations to events.

Provide support to donation campaigns and funding applications including drafting cases for support, developing beneficiary case studies & videos and working with our marketing team on digital fundraising content.

Provide support to community fundraising activities.

Develop a pipeline of, and coordinate applications to, Trusts and Foundations including writing creative and compelling funding proposals which meet grantors requirements.

Researching opportunities on funding platforms and websites, passing these onto project managers, and tracking them in our pipeline and funder database.

Working with project managers to compile information and supporting documentation for bids and funding applications.

Supporting the development and implementation of a fundraising CRM, including ensuring the information we hold is data protection complaint.

Support the development and delivery of fundraising events including developing appropriate materials, dealing with bookings, event preparation, event set-up and event follow-up.

Support the monitoring of our impact and reporting on our effectiveness to our funders.

Assist with the preparation of trustee and funder reports

Undertake work as directed by line manager, including collecting and inputting data, data analysis, emails, meeting minutes, etc.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

Manage suppliers as required to support the delivery of the projects.

Manage volunteers as required to support the delivery of the projects.

OTHER RESPONSBILITIES:

Represent CAfS and help to raise the profile of CAfS’ work as opportunities arise.

Contribute to news articles, web content and other information for publicity and CAfS’ profile raising

Ensure documents are completed and filed appropriately.

Ensure CAfS’ ethical funding policies and protocols are followed.

Take part in staff meetings, team meetings and training.

Perform other duties that may be required from time to time.

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

An understanding of the different types of fundraising and ways to develop these to support the charity.

Knowledge of fundraising information sources, and familiarity with research techniques for fundraising prospect research.

Proven ability to write clear and articulate prose, strong attention to detail and editing skills, with the ability to transform project information into compelling and persuasive proposals.

Ability to create compelling online and digital fundraising materials using the experiences of our beneficiaries to inspire supporters.

Proven ability to develop and manage ongoing relationships with people and organisations e.g. donor journeys

Ability to work with and interrogate databases and spreadsheets

Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills

Confident, with the ability to work independently, and as part of a team

Proven ability to use initiative and make effective decisions.

Ability to prioritise work, manage time effectively and meet deadlines

Organised, dedicated, highly motivated and reliable

Proficiency in Microsoft computer packages (Word, Excel, Outlook), and working knowledge of SharePoint and Teams.

A passion for local climate change action and a commitment to CAfS’ aims, values and objectives

Desirable skills and attributes

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

Experience of developing proposals and securing funding from trusts, foundations, and statutory sources

Experience of developing and managing supporter/donor journeys

Experience of using a fundraising CRM to profile donors and target communications and fundraising activities while focused on long term growth

Comfortable with networking and collaborating with project partners, stakeholders and other NGOs to develop joint funding proposals

A good level of numeracy and an understanding of budget development and management

Experience of event organisation

Experience of database/customer relationship management systems.

Experience of data gathering and collating e.g. event participant feedback data.

Experience of setting up and helping to run online meetings eg MS Teams, Zoom.

An understanding of the work of CAfS and the impact of climate change on the environment and economy.

If you would like more information about the role, please contact CAfS Development Manager.

Email. [email protected]

Tel. 01768 593272
13 May 2022
Over £19,000 awarded to locals tackling climate change

Two local projects have been granted funds to combat climate change in Cumbria following a special meeting of the Cumbria Sustainability Network (CSN).

Local sustainability projects were invited to apply and present their ideas to reduce carbon emissions to the CSN and to the public for a chance to be awarded the grants of up to £10,000.

An audience of over 60 people voted on their preferred local projects that targeted the areas of energy use, land use, waste, and transport.

The first ‘winning’ project was the Ulverston Food Waste Project, which received £9,815 to aid in their effort to ensure that food at the end of its shelf life goes to people who will make good use of it.

An additional £9,700 was given to SENS from Staveley to develop their pilot electric-bike hire scheme that will enable locals to access sustainable transport.

Linden Grieve from the Ulverston Food Waste Project said: ‘We were overjoyed to be successful in our bid for funds to make sure that we can continue to save as much edible produce as possible from disappearing into landfill. It was an amazing moment when we realized that so many people had voted for our project! I’m so pleased that we can continue to build and grow our project to benefit people in Ulverston as well as the planet.’

Alistair Kirkbride from SENS said: ‘e-bikes are a great carbon-neutral way of getting out and about for short journeys, and a really effective option to replace short car journeys. Our pilot will enable local people to use this fun and convenient mode of travel day-to-day without having to commit to buying a bike.

‘We are aware of how hard it is for young people to access work or other services without a reliable, frequent bus service, and we want to encourage people of all ages to keep their cars parked up as much as possible or even replace their cars with their own e-bike. We hope to include a pay-as-you-do cargo bike as part of our offer, and we hope that local business will pick up on this as an alternative for deliveries.’

The funding for the grants came from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s (ZCCP) ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037. The grants are awarded by CAfS on behalf of ZCCP.

Coordinator of the CSN Helen Attewell said: ‘The Community Climate Grants are an excellent way of encouraging new methods of tackling climate change by raising awareness and cutting carbon emissions.

‘Although the large grant programme is closed for now, we are still allocating grants of up to £2,000 for small and medium amounts so it remains a great opportunity for community-based groups to take action in support of a Zero Carbon Cumbria’.

Community groups interested in finding funding for their sustainability projects can find more information on our page on Community Climate Grants.

28 April 2022
Vote against climate change in local council elections
At the local elections on May 5^th 2022, Cumbrians will be voting for the councillors who will decide the priorities and policies of the two new Unitary Authorities for Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness.

This is a historical moment for Cumbria and a unique opportunity to put action on climate change at the very heart of local government. Whilst directly responsible for only around 2-5% of local carbon emissions, local authorities can have a big influence on over more than 30% of local emissions through their policies, partnerships and funding streams.

Action on climate change can bring many benefits to individuals, communities and businesses eg cleaner air, more active travel, warmer, drier homes, lower bills, more choice of local food, less road congestion and much more.

We urge people voting and the candidates who are standing to ensure the critical issue of climate change and the benefits of acting on it are acknowledged and prioritised.

How climate change affects Cumbria

We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in Cumbria. As carbon emissions continue to rise, we will see:

more and more extreme weather events such as storms, high winds and floods

sea level rise combined with storm surges leading to more coastal flooding.

hotter, drier summers with increased risk of heatwaves and wildfires.

damage to landscapes, habitats, buildings, infrastructure and the Cumbrian economy.

interruptions to food and water supplies.

The key sources of carbon emissions in Cumbria

A report on the Carbon Baseline of Cumbria by Small World Consulting identifies that in 2019 Cumbria emitted greenhouse gases equivalent in impact on climate change to 7 million tonnes of CO₂ from the following sources of greenhouse gas emissions:

the burning of coal, oil and gas in Cumbria (excluding from vehicles travelling on the M6 over which Cumbria has little influence)

the electricity used in Cumbria (whether the power is generated in Cumbria or elsewhere).

the food we eat and the stuff we buy (regardless of where the goods have been produced).

resident and visitor travel to and from and in and around Cumbria (excluding international visitor travel).

the impact on emissions from different forms of land use, which may be positive or negative.

What the new Unitary Authorities need to do

Local authorities have a crucial role to play in achieving Cumbria’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2037. The new Unitary Authorities need to show strong and ambitious leadership on climate change.

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, which comprises around 80 Cumbrian organisations working together to plan the pathway to net zero including the existing local authorities, has already adopted 2037 as the science-based target for net zero.

The new Unitary Authorities should do the same and set out net zero action plans with clear deliverables, targets and resources – both for their own operations and for the geographical area they cover.

For their own operations, they should:

Consider the carbon impact of ALL decisions made by the authority and align all policies, services, functions and funding with the net zero carbon by 2037 target.

Ensure the right resources are available in the authority – both staffing and skills

Ensure there is a Cabinet position with responsibility for delivering climate action.

Ensure local authority buildings are low carbon

Ensure council vehicles use low carbon fuel

Minimise, reuse and recycle waste.

Act to reduce the carbon emissions from transport used by local authority service users.

Reduce staff commuting.

Manage local authority owned land to reduce carbon emissions, help to sequester carbon through peatbog restoration and tree planting and also benefit wildlife.

Influence supply chains by requiring contractors and suppliers to take action to reduce carbon emissions

Ensure pensions and other investments are climate friendly

Ensure understanding of climate change and solutions is embedded through the whole authority with ‘carbon literate’ employees and elected members

Where carbon emissions are irreducible, identify options

Be accountable – report on operational carbon emissions annually

For their area of influence, they should:

Communicate, engage and consult with local communities and young people on priorities for action on climate change, through initiatives like citizens juries and people’s panels

Use their powers in relation to planning to ensure that developments are net zero.

Use their powers over infrastructure development to enable people to ditch motorised vehicles in favour of safe walking and cycling

Influence the availability of public transport

Encourage electric vehicle use and increase publicly available EV charging infrastructure

Ensure street lighting is low energy and wildlife friendly

Improve domestic and commercial waste reuse and recycling services

Ensure that people are supported through the transition from high carbon to low carbon jobs with help for training and skills development

Fund local climate groups to help get energy saving messages across to friends and neighbours

Champion community owned renewable energy generation

Embed climate change and biodiversity in school curriculums and encourage practical climate action by young people

Support local sustainability groups which are building community resilience

Be transparent – report on carbon emissions for the area annually.

Further reading and references:

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/weatherandclimate/factsclimatechange

https://cumbria.gov.uk/planning-environment/climatechange.asp

https://cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/536/671/4674/17217/17225/4414012219.PDF
26 April 2022
Young people in Copeland make their voices heard on climate change

Young people are highly aware of the threat to their futures from climate change yet are rarely able to influence the ‘gatekeepers’ of climate emissions – those decision makers in Cumbria whose strategies and plans can most affect our carbon emissions. To help address this we worked with Shared Future (a local not for profit organisation) to fund and create interactive sessions with youth groups which explored their views on climate change and shared their ideas with people and organisations across Cumbria.

In total 62 young people aged from 11 to 19 years took part in the workshop sessions which were co-designed and led by youth workers in Seascale, Millom, Frizington, Cleator Moor, Distington and Mirehouse and Woodhouse in Whitehaven during summer 2021. The participants focused initially on identifying their vision for their local area and then explored the issue of climate change and carbon emissions.

In parallel to these youth sessions, Shared Future also ran a Copeland People’s Panel on Climate Change with the help of funding secured by CAfS from the National Lottery’s Climate Change Action Fund. This Panel brought together 30 randomly selected local people who, over the course of several weeks, heard from experts about climate change and the actions that can be taken to tackle it. The Panel then debated and agreed its recommendations for action.

The parallel initiatives of the youth sessions and the People’s Panel were brought together by the presentation of the outcomes of the youth group sessions to the People’s Panel just before the latter drafted its recommendations. This had a significant effect on the Panel which said ‘We have been inspired by the work of young people in youth groups across Copeland and our recommendations echo what many of them have said.’

The outcomes of the youth group discussions have also been presented more widely and directly to key decisionmakers across Cumbria through the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership – which is a group of around 80 organisations including local authorities, community groups, businesses and other influential bodies that are collectively planning Cumbria’s pathway to net zero.

The young people of Copeland want to see better, more affordable and reliable public transport, electric cars and chargepoints and walking and cycling encouraged, along with more recycling. They want more solar and wind turbines and energy efficiency improvements at home. They want their local environment to be cleaned up and they want more jobs, especially low carbon jobs, with training.

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership is committed to ensuring young people have more opportunities to speak, to be heard and to influence action now which affects their futures.

A report detailing the youth group process and the findings in full is available here Youth-Group-Report-Draft-10.pdf (cafs.org.uk).

The recommendations of the Copeland People’s Panel are available here: Copeland-report-v0.4.pdf (sharedfuturecic.org.uk)

For more information about the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership see our project page.

For more information about CAfS youth engagement programme see our Youth Climate Action project page.

14 April 2022
Job: Home Energy Adviser
Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 3 May 2022.

We’re looking for an experienced and knowledgeable individual to help vulnerable people improve their home energy efficiency, giving advice through in-home visits, over telephone and at events. You will be tasked with helping implement our Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria service across districts within the county and providing excellent customer service to our clients. You’ll have excellent communication and accurate coordination skills, supporting our pool of contractors and advisers.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 3 May 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Wednesday 11 May 2022.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Home Energy Adviser – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however we are open to flexible working patterns and blended home, site and office working.

REPORTS TO: Project Manager – Cold to Cosy Homes

HOURS: 22.5 to 30 hours a week, with flexibility to work across 3, 4 or 5 days. The working times are flexible but must include core office hours of 10am-3pm unless agreed otherwise. There may also be occasional need to work evenings/weekends for event or meeting support.

START/END DATE: Start as soon as possible. Fixed-term contract to 30 April 2023. (with potential for extension subject to funding)

SALARY RANGE: £21,336 to £25,400 per annum full-time equivalent, (£17,068, to £20,320 for a 30-hour week) depending on skills and experience.

LEGAL RIGHT TO WORK: You must have a legal right to work in the UK as CAfS is not in a position to act as a sponsor. 

APPLICATIONS BY: Apply using the CAfS application form. CVs will not be considered. Application forms must be received by 9am on 3rd May 2022.

INTERVIEWS: Interviews will be held on 11th May 2022.

Interviews will be via Zoom. The interview process will also involve one or more tasks relating to the role. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 17:00 on 6th May 2022.

ABOUT CAFS:

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. We manage and deliver events, advice, training, and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria.

We are expanding our Cold to Cosy Homes service to deliver more free home energy advice support across all districts of Cumbria. The service supports vulnerable people who may be living in cold, draughty, or damp homes and includes: 

Advice about home energy efficiency by telephone and in-home by trained CAfS employees and contractors.  

Events and training about home energy efficiency for householders and volunteers. 

The installation of energy measures such as draughtproofing, low energy light bulbs and insulation by professional installers. 

We also increasingly offer a range of commercial services to householders for energy audits and advice.  

This job description is not exhaustive but is provided to assist the postholder to know what the main duties are. It may be amended from time to time without change to the levels of responsibility appropriate to the grade of the post and in discussion with the postholder. 

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

This role is to:

Provide home energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through events to clients across Cumbria.

Oversee the day to day running of energy advice related projects across Cumbria.

Help deliver growth in our Cold to Cosy Homes service.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Implement the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria project across districts in Cumbria.

Delivering energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through arranging and delivery of advice at events throughout Cumbria.

Provide a high quality of customer service, building a friendly rapport with clients and a strong and credible reputation for the advice service and CAfS.

Oversee energy advice related projects that support the delivery of our Cold to Cosy Homes service.

Manage relationships with specific stakeholders to develop the Cold to Cosy Homes service, for example Electricity North West.

Manage the reviewing and learning from our service to inform developments

Develop and support our team of professional energy advisers to provide telephone-based advice and visits.

Develop new ways to support our clients to save energy and afford to heat their homes.

Contribute to the ongoing work of CAfS generally, including attending appropriate networking meetings, team meetings and training sessions.

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

Knowledge of domestic energy saving, the domestic energy market, tariff comparisons and switching, renewable energy and other schemes to help people save energy and afford their energy bills.

Experience of project delivery.

Good knowledge of the issues that vulnerable people can have in heating their homes.

Demonstrable skills and experience of providing high-quality customer service.

Strong team player and capability to work cooperatively as part of a small team as well as on own initiative without day-to-day supervision.

Excellent communication skills, to network and reach out to communities and organisations supporting vulnerable customers and to provide clear energy-efficiency advice.

Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of sustainability issues and an interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver.

Ability to deliver workshops and speak confidently to small groups.

Good written communication and Microsoft Office skills.

Ability to work to tight deadlines and juggle multiple priorities.

Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working by agreement.

Ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.

Desirable criteria

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

Experience of providing energy saving advice.

Experience of working in or with local authorities, housing association tenants or organisation supporting households.

Experience of providing services to vulnerable households.

A qualification in providing energy advice – such as City & Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness.

Experience of working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including vulnerable individuals and community groups.

Experience of working in a dispersed team and using Microsoft Teams or similar. 

Practical experience of improving energy efficiency in domestic settings.

An existing network of contacts in Cumbria or demonstrable ability to build networks rapidly.

Additional experience / qualification in energy auditing/thermography.

Budgeting and project management experience.

Experience of securing grant funding and tenders.

If you would like more information about the role, please email: [email protected]
12 April 2022