Professional Officer: Chartered Geographer

The Society

The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is the learned society and professional body for geography and geographers. It is also a charity and a membership organisation.

The Society has an international membership of approximately 16,000, 32 specialist research and professional practice groups, and a programme of activities that extends far beyond its membership to broad engagement with more than three million people per year. Over 200 lectures, conferences and other events are organised each year including a major four-day Annual Conference, a programme of popular lectures, professional development for geographers, and policy-related discussions.

The Society also publishes, under contract, scholarly journals and the popular Geographical magazine. It empowers others through a programme of grant-giving in support of research, fieldwork and expeditions, and teaching. The Society’s information resources include its historic geographical Collections of maps, images, books, manuscript archives and artefacts. The Society offers professional accreditation to members through Chartered Geographer status.

The Society is based in a listed building in its own grounds in Kensington opposite Hyde Park, and operates nine regional branches in the UK and two overseas. There are 54 permanent full-time staff, together with part-time, temporary and volunteer staff.

Applicants are strongly recommended to familiarise themselves with the current work of the Society set out on our website: www.rgs.org

The position

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) seeks to fill the role of the Professional Officer: Chartered Geographer.

This is an exciting opportunity to support the development and running of the Chartered Geographer accreditation and provides an excellent opportunity to work with organisations and professional geographers from a wide range of sectors and roles. The postholder will manage the day to day running of Chartered Geographer, including supporting the panel of assessors, promoting Chartered Geographer and working with applicants. The postholder will also work with the wider professional geographer community, supporting them through events and resources.

The role is ideally suited to someone with very strong organisational and communication skills and would ideally be appropriate to someone in their second full-time role. 

Salary and application details

This is a permanent, full-time post subject to successful completion of a probationary period of three months. The salary range for this post is £31,685- £34,585 per annum depending on experience and qualifications. The post is based in Kensington, London.

There are a range of benefits at the Society which include the following:

• 35-hour working week with core working hours between 10.00am and 4.00pm.
• Flexible working arrangements are available with a mix of office based and home working.
• 25 days annual leave per annum plus public bank holidays.
• Society closure between Christmas and New Year, in addition to the basic annual leave allowance.
• Pension scheme - 3% employee, 7.5% employer.
• Group Life Assurance at four-times basic annual salary.
• Corporate eye care vouchers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Free 24-hour Employee Assistance helpline with available counselling support

The Society aims to be an equal opportunities employer. 

To apply please email HR@rgs.org via the ‘Apply’ button above with a copy of your CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability for the post and how you fulfil the selection criteria, along with the monitoring form.

Applications must be received by 9.30am on Tuesday 9 April. Interviews are planned to take place in the week commencing 15 April. We thank, in advance, all candidates for applying and regret we are unable to write separately to those who are not selected for interview.

Job description for the post of Professional Officer: Chartered Geographer

Post: Professional Officer: Chartered Geographer

Department: Research and Higher Education Division

Responsible to: Professional and Policy Manager

Persons reporting:  None

Location: South Kensington, London

Salary: £31,685- £34,585 per annum

Purpose of post

The person appointed to the post will be expected to promote and administer the Chartered Geographer professional accreditation and to support the Society’s work on professional development and careers.

Duties and responsibilities

Chartered Geographer (core role)

• Promote the Chartered Geographer accreditation and its value to individuals and employers, through presentations (online and in person), newsletters and social media.
• Respond to all enquiries made by prospective applicants for Chartered Status, running webinars and accelerators to support applicants.
• Administer all applications for Chartered Geographer status prior to their consideration by the Society’s Council, liaising closely with Assessors.
• Maintain the register of Chartered Geographers.
• Maintain the record of continuing professional development of Chartered Geographers.
• Provide support for meetings of the Assessors Forum and the Chartered Geographer Assessors Committee, writing papers and minutes.
• Work with the membership team to administer all payments relating to the acquisition or maintenance of Chartered Status in accordance with the Society's regulations.
• Liaise with, and support, other networks where there are joint benefits related to accreditation such as the Early Career network of the AGI and the Government Geography Profession.
• Develop and maintain online resources to support professional development and a register of opportunities appropriate to Chartered Geographers.

Professional geographers

• Support the work of the Professional and Policy team with professional geographers, including promoting membership for professionals and the Society’s LinkedIn presence for professional geographers.
• Develop and deliver webinars for professional geographers, including the Professional insights series.
• Host visits at the Society for professional geographers.

Support the pipeline of professional geographers (variable amounts but up to 20% of time)

• Develop and maintain resources which support the career journey from student to professional. These may be delivered in a variety of ways, including presentations, events, written resources including ‘I am a geographer’ profiles, and social media
• Deliver presentations to undergraduate students on the skills, knowledge and behaviours of professional geographers and opportunities for professional development.

In addition to the above, any other duties that may be reasonably be required by the Professional and Policy Manager, and the wider Research and Higher Education Division, such as supporting external visits to the Society or facilitating events.

Selection criteria

The following are the requirements for this post. These are the criteria against which candidates will be shortlisted and judged, and it is in your interest to ensure that you cover each of these areas in the covering letter of your application.

Essential

• A degree or equivalent and a keen interest in geography, particularly its application in the workplace.
• Excellent inter-personal skills, with strong communication skills, in person, online for example on Teams or Zoom, in writing and through social media.
• Strong administrative skills, with previous office experience.
• A demonstrated ability to complete tasks successfully, to multi-task and to work efficiently.
• Excellent IT skills with proven experience with the range of Microsoft Office applications, including advanced expertise with Excel and experience of maintaining and manipulating databases.
• An interest in online developments to support communication and networking.
• Drive, enthusiasm, resourcefulness and initiative, along with an attention to detail.
• An ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Desirable

• Relevant work-based professional experience of at least two years.
• Awareness of, and interest in, professional accreditation and the recognition of geographical skills, knowledge and understanding in the workplace. Experience with such schemes is desirable.