Junior Wild Work Facilitator Call

West Limerick Resources CLG is seeking an interested individual to facilitate a pilot Junior Wild Work Project taking place from September 2026. No prior experience in the program needed as the applicant will receive training and have access to the Junior Wild Work Toolkit throughout the project. The Junior Wild Work Toolkit is an online biodiversity resource. Using this toolkit together with classroom and outdoor learning, the Junior Wild Work initiative is a nature education project for primary schools.

It will promote:

• Nature connectedness
• Positive actions for biodiversity
• Empower children to be champions for nature in their communities

The project will build the capacity of teachers and local community groups in nature-based learning. We are seeking to contract facilitators to work with the schools and local community groups (Wild Work Ambassadors) in the following locations:

• Newcastle West

About Wild Work
Wild Work is an initiative with a social ethos that was set up by SECAD Partnership to help people to help nature. Junior Wild Work is a place-based nature education project for primary schools (5th/6th class) and local community groups designed to address the current shortcomings in biodiversity knowledge, nature connectedness and resourcing of biodiversity at the local level.

The Junior Wild Work initiative will demonstrate that nature connection and experience is integral to addressing the biodiversity crisis and as a tool for personal and social wellbeing and for integration. West Limerick Resources CLG has partnered with SECAD to run the Junior Wild Work project in West Limerick for the first time.

Junior Wild Work is designed with younger learners in mind, including the child in all of us! Watch our short video on the toolkit and some of the content within it.

It can be used by teachers, after-school clubs and families to explore ideas about how people and nature depend upon each other, and what younger children can do as Junior Wild Workers.  Each module includes hands-on activities out in nature, opportunities to learn about biodiversity, and moments of inspiration and reflection

What will I be teaching?
The Junior Wild Work Toolkit is a newly developed and comprehensive on-line support which consists of a series of modules designed to inform, educate, to capture the interest and imagination of younger people (aged 10-12 years). Using the Junior Wild Work Online Toolkit, the Wild Work facilitator will help the participating pupils and teachers to build knowledge and understanding of biodiversity in the Irish and global context.
The focus of the Wild Work Facilitator is to enable the school to learn to use the Junior Wild Work Toolkit. This facilitation will be delivered to the school over one school year, with an average of one half day support per month. Each participating student will be given a Wild Work Journal to be completed during the period of the school year.
A key focus for the facilitator will be developing the capacity of the class teacher(s) to be confident and capable to deliver the Junior Wild Work Toolkit themselves in subsequent years. There is an additional set of guidelines in place to support the teacher to utilise the Junior Wild Work Toolkit.
Each participating school/student will be given access to the online toolkit for the duration of the project during the academic year and the school will have online access for two years thereafter. The toolkit contains an overview of the program, season-specific lesson plans, print outs and activities.

What the class would look like
You will be teaching up to 30 students at a time (with their usual teacher and any teaching assistants present), from 5^th or 6^th class. In the case of a small class, two classes may be combined. The session will be of a minimum one-hour duration, working with the school’s timetable, and will include outdoor locations nearby such as a local park or garden. Where possible, the school should be encouraged to visit a tidy towns allotment or community garden to see community-led environmental projects in action.

Key Responsibilities of the Junior Wild Work Facilitator

• Fully familiarize themselves with the Junior Wild Work Toolkit prior to commencing the program
• Deliver school-based sessions to participating primary school 5th / 6th class pupils using the Junior Wild Work Toolkit and develop the capacity of teachers within the school to deliver this in the future
• Deliver outdoor education sessions to participating primary school 5th / 6th class pupils and develop the capacity of teachers within the school to deliver these in the future
• Work with designated local community group to identify suitable local habitats as nature spaces for the primary school participants in the Junior Wild Work Programme.
• Support the local community group to carry out risk assessments and manage risks for all outdoor activities
• Build capacity of the community group to support visiting pupils to understand, interpret and monitor the different natural features of these sites
• Ensure all education sessions are positively focused and follow a place-based approach
• Work with schools to develop an end of programme event for their school and community. The format of this event will be designed by the participants and supported by the Wild Work Team, class teachers and Wild Work Ambassadors
• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with schools and relevant community/voluntary organisations.
• Contribute ideas and creative solutions as part of shaping future supports and development of the online toolkits
• Ensure detailed records of all work is maintained and reported, in a timely and efficient manner in line with the reporting requirements
• Effectively represent and promote the mission, vision and values of West Limerick Resources CLG and the Junior Wild Work Programme
• Tax Clearance Cert must be in place for September 2026
• Public Indemnity Insurance must be in place for September 2026

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL
Qualification/experience in a subject relevant to biodiversity such as ecology, earth/natural sciences, zoology, botany, natural resources management
Or
Qualification/experience of delivering Forest School sessions, bushcraft, nature-based events/education, practical conservation or gardening/landscaping

And

• Experience of working with and delivering activities to children, young people and/or adults
• Ability to engage with community and voluntary groups
• Passion for outdoor learning and nature and ability to enthuse others, particularly young people about the natural world
• Strong organisational, time management and administration skills
• Excellent written, verbal, analytical and interpersonal skills
• Have a full clean driving licence and own transport
• Have completed Children First e-learning module with an understanding on importance of Child Protection Training

DESIRABLE

• Experience in the delivery of nature/environmental/outdoor education programmes that follow a positive, place-based approach and are delivered through experiential learning and outdoor education methodologies
• Experience of working with schools
• Experience using/teaching with online learning systems (e.g. Moodle)
• Knowledge and awareness of national programmes such as the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, the National Biodiversity Data Centre, Invasive Species Ireland and Citizen Science

Panel
Successful applicants will be added to a panel of potential environmental educators and may be considered for other positions as they arise.

Term of the role
Pilot project to take place September 2026 – June 2027

Hours of work
Class work/presentation time – 4 hours, once a month (10-month term, September – June)

Renumeration
€300 per half day (4hours, inc. travel)

Terms & Conditions
Contract for 9-10 months in line with academic year
Location: Pilot school based in Newcastle West
Flexibility will be required from the contractor(s)
Reporting to Community Development Worker in West Limerick Resources SICAP team

Application Process
Please email your CV and cover letter to: dconlon@wlr.ie – subject line ‘Junior Wild Work Facilitator 2026’

Closing date for receipt of Applications is 12 noon on Friday 29^th May 2026
Shortlisting may take place.
Candidates selected for interview will be informed by 5^th June and must be available for interview on Tuesday 9^th June 2026.

A panel may be formed and those interviewed may be considered for other related opportunities for short-term environmental contracts in the near future.

West Limerick Resources is an equal opportunities employer.