Wilder Communities Officer (Isle of Wight) in Ryde

Little Duxmore Farm, Rowlands Lane, Havenstreet, Ryde, PO33 4DF

£30,344 pro rata gross per annum (£12,137.60 actual salary for 0.4 FTE)

Fixed Term, 12-Month Contract, Part Time 14 Hours per Week

Closing date: 09 August 2026

Interviews: 20 August 2026

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is shaping a wilder future for our counties protecting special places, restoring habitats and inspiring people to act for nature. As part of the UK’s fastest-growing movement for nature’s recovery, we lead with passion, integrity and bold thinking. Join a team where your work has purpose, your ideas matter, and you can help create lasting change for wildlife and people.

We are seeking a Wilder Communities Officer (Isle of Wight) to join our cause. We have recently taken on the care of a beautiful community garden at Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight and we are looking for a Wilder Communities Officer with some horticulture experience to work with us on this exciting new project to help us grow, maintain and develop a community garden for people and nature. This role is a job share and will require close liaison with our Wilder Communities Officer to help plan and agree a range of activities for communities and volunteers at the garden. The majority of the Wilder Communities Officer's role will be based at the garden at Quarr Abbey.

What you’ll be doing:

• You’ll work with and support communities, individuals, local groups and volunteers across the Isle of Wight in a welcoming community garden setting.
• As part of Team Wilder, the community garden will bring people together to connect with nature, reduce social isolation, improve wellbeing and take action to address the climate and nature emergencies.
• The role will focus on community growing through the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and herbs alongside practical delivery to groups and individuals to help develop skills, confidence and knowledge needed to create and champion wildlife-friendly spaces within their own communities across the Island.
• Initiatives might include greening community spaces or streets, wildlife gardening, habitat creation, supporting particular wildlife species such as pollinators, bats, swifts or hedgehogs through to setting up groups to tackle problems such as litter or household pollution or influencing others, including local government and businesses, to take action for nature.

About you:

You’ll have a passion to help wildlife and support our mission for nature to thrive. You’ll be approachable and have a friendly manner, be empathetic and culturally sensitive with communities and partners you support. You’ll have high standards of professional and personal integrity and values that align to the Trust’s.

Wild About Inclusion!

As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

Disability Confident. We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must:

• Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and;
• (*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)
• Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme.

We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs), free parking at our sites and more.