Green Coordinator

We are looking for an enthusiastic, committed and experienced individual to join us as Green Coordinator, supporting the development of our response to climate change.

The vacancy arises in response to the Education Secretary’s recent announcement in that ‘school children and young people are going to be encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge in biodiversity and sustainability and celebrate and recognise their work in protecting the local environment’.

This position will be for one year only and would provide a great opportunity for the post-holder to develop their experience in project management/advisory roles/social enterprise initiatives. It would also suit someone who is passionate about working with young people to effect positive change.

You will be coordinating the Harris Federation response to the climate emergency, working closely with our academies to support and developing their initiatives to demonstrate positive change in their educational communities. 

About Us

The Harris Federation is a leading large multi-academy trust in England for primary and secondary education.  Our Harris primary and secondary academies across London and Essex are making a  significant difference to the life chances of young people and our mission is to ensure that every student in a Harris Academy receives an outstanding education.  With 51 academies in and around London, over 4,000 staff and 38,000 students, we are a successful and thriving organisation.  Our people are at the heart of our success.   

Main Areas of Responsibility

• Engage with outside agencies linked with green initiatives in order to seek out opportunities for academies to engage with 
• Keep all academies up to date with community, university and other agency links which could help them support and develop their response to green issues.
• Head up a teacher forum across the Harris academies to help build expertise and share good practice
• Support academies/quadrants with developing their own plans of how to develop academy engagement over the year, including the stages of development and the success criteria.
• Support academies in writing and posting their climate response mission statements to their websites (if requested)
• Work alongside primary and secondary academies throughout the given period to help develop lasting academy-based projects in response to climate change.
• Help to initiate projects that are student-led, and support all those involved in order to gain effective outcomes, including working with individual groups of students in order to develop their ideas and manage effective delivery.
• Increase Harris visibility on green issues by representing ‘Green Harris’ via the media (national or local papers, Twitter, federation or academy newsletters, etc.), gaining positive press coverage for any events occurring in academies, including writing articles/taking photographs to be published.
• Representing ‘Green Harris’ via the media/social media:  using Twitter to highlight academy successes; building up a bank of photos across academies, etc.; if a budget is available, creating a film to promote ‘Green Harris’ from events across the year.
• Lead and/or coordinate academy events where requested: assemblies, talks, etc. to increase student and staff awareness, in liaison with the academy link teacher.
• Make connections with relevant guest speakers engaged in green initiatives, as part of the wider online careers programme of speakers.
• Coordinate one key Harris Federation conference (secondary) with student representatives across the federation in November 2022.
• Be part of a panel that judges the Harris Green Award applicants
• Supporting academies in working towards the Harris Green Award and the Department for Education Climate Leaders Award
• Work with our federation procurement team to find ways of increasing our green credentials and reducing our carbon footprint.

Qualifications & Experience

• University degree (any subject) 2:1 or above (any subject)
• Experience in working for social change in communities or at local government level
• Experience of working with children in education
• Commitment and passion in relation to making our communities more actively engaged on green issues, both within schools and in the local environment
• Experience of working with or running projects
• Proven links with appropriate outside agencies/initiatives to draw in expertise.
• Excellent communication and written skills
• Strong research skills
• Strong diplomatic skills to ensure good relationships with different academies and approaches
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and work independently
• Creativity to be able to imagine and realise projects
• Media skills – audio, film, photography – in order to create lasting evidence of the projects undertaken
• IT literate

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact careers@harrisfederation.org.uk to arrange a conversation with the Director.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your application.

Please note: we may hold interviews as and when applications are received and we reserve the right to offer to a candidate prior to the closing date. We only accept applications submitted online via our careers website and which are completed before the closing deadline. With this in mind, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible and advise you check the job information as per the listing on our careers site.

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.