News

After 3 1/2  years our Membership Officer is leaving to go travelling and volunteer with a conservation charity overseas. Do you have the skills to keep growing our membership and keep our members happy?

Job Description

Place of work:            GCT Offices, central London
Hours of work:            35 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Reports to:                Chief Executive
Line Manages:           No direct reports; some volunteer management
Closing date:              9 August at 10am.
Interviews:                 Will take place on 18 August.
Salary:                      £18,000 to £21,000

Scope and general purpose of the job:

To manage GCT's membership programme in an efficient, professional and proactive manner, in order to maximise the return for the Galapagos Conservation Trust.

MEMBERSHIP

•    Manage the recruitment and retention of individual, joint, life and junior members for the Trust.

•    Administer the membership database and ensure data and reports are accurate, kept up to date and used to best advantage

•    Record and issue the relevant documentation for new and existing members in a timely and accurate manner, including:
 
o    Potential visitors who have been to Galapagos
o    New members
o    Renewals
o    Payroll giving members
o    Park donors
o    Individual, School and Group Tortoise Club members
 

•    Produce regular statistical membership reports and, in discussion with the CEO, analyse trends and opportunities

•    Work closely with the office based volunteers, and especially the Membership volunteer, managing them as necessary

•    Explore ways to increase GCT's membership base beyond visitors to Galapagos

•    Deal with membership and general enquiries in a timely and professional manner

•    Manage and administer quarterly Gift Aid applications

•    Seek out new ways to increase the return for GCT from both its membership scheme and members

•    Manage and administer Tribute Funds

FINANCIAL

•    Process GCT's Direct Debit and other payments accurately and within the permitted timeframe

•    Produce GCT's monthly income reports

•    Assist as required with GCT's wider fundraising, projects and events


PUBLICATIONS & INFORMATION

•    Project manage the production of the biannual Tortoise Club newsletter to agreed deadlines and budget

•    Ensure that the Membership and Kids sections of GCT's website are accurate and up to date

•    Support GCT's work to increase awareness in the UK of the issues facing Galapagos


GENERAL

•    Be aware of individual responsibility for health and safety of self and others in the workplace and to adhere to GCT's health and safety policies and procedures

•    Portray the charity in a positive light at all times

•    Undertake any other duties which may be required from time to time

•    Be willing to work outside normal working hours - including attending or helping at evening or weekend events and overseas travel - if required


Person Specification.


ESSENTIAL

•    Excellent IT skills. This includes ability to use all Microsoft Office Programmes to a high level of proficiency - in particular Word, Excel and Outlook
•    Self motivated, with ability to work both quickly and accurately and prioritise work whilst ensuring that information is processed in both a meaningful and timely fashion.
•    Proven knowledge and experience of working with databases and excellent data entry skills
•    Accuracy and excellent attention to detail
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with competence and fluency in English
•    Experience of working in a busy and varied office environment
•    A proactive approach, able to work on own initiative as well as part of a small team
•    Willingness to be flexible, creative and work within limited budgets
•    A friendly and open approach, able to deal with colleagues, volunteers, donors and public enquiries in a positive and engaging fashion


DESIRABLE

•    Experience of working in a voluntary sector and /or membership based organisation
•    Experience of budgets and finance
•    Experience of working with volunteers
•    Proven interest in conservation
•    Ability to speak Spanish

Click here to read and download Application Form Membership Officer .



 


   

A Galapagos lichen survey conducted on 16 June 2010 by an international scientific team of lichenologists, botanists, professors, graduate students, and naturalists taking part in a lichen workshop at the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) uncovered a bounty of new findings:  more than 60 species newly reported from Galapagos, and an estimated ten species new to science.

The one-day field excursion resulted in 400 samples collected on Santa Cruz Island from diverse habitats in various vegetation zones and on an array of substrates.  Identifications for half these new specimens have been completed with the remainder requiring further examination.

All specimens were databased, visually inspected, studied under the microscope, examined with ultra-violet and chemical analyses and cross-checked against the CDF Quick Guide to Galapagos Lichens. The results of the workshop will be included in the CDF Galapagos Species Checklist.

The workshop participants hailed from the following institutions: Rosa Batallas, National Herbarium of Ecuador; Lenyn Betancourt, CDF; Frank Bungartz, CDF; Desiree Cruz, Galapagos Naturalist Guide; Manuela Dal Forno, George Mason University, US; Valeria Dután, CDF; Anne Guézou, CDF; Patricia Jaramillo, CDF; Harald Jonitz, Galapagos Naturalist Guide; Robert Lücking, Field Museum, US; Danilo Minga, University of Azuay, Ecuador; Ricardo Miranda, National Autonomous University of México; Fredy Nugra, University of Azuay, Ecuador; Catalina Quintana, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador; Eimy Rivas-Plata, Field Museum, US; Adriano Spielmann, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil; Diego Villagomez, CDF; Alba Yánez-Ayabaca, Central University of Quito, Ecuador; and Frauke Ziemmeck, CDF.

Among the exciting finds are species in the genera Coenogonium, Physcia, Coccocarpia, Cryptothecia, Herpothallon, Heterodermia, Pyrenula, Parmotrema, Aulaxina, Phaeographis, Sticta, Calopadia, Pseudocyphellaria, and many others.

"Describing new species and discovering previously unreported ones is exciting," says lichenologist Dr. Frank Bungartz, workshop coordinator and CDF Head of Natural History Collections and Theme Leader in Biodiversity Assessment.  But he continues that:  "It is also an essential part of fully understanding the complex components that make up ecosystems.  Without knowing the individual elements of ecology -- the species -- we cannot anticipate how these elements fit together.  It is therefore critical to expand our horizons -- to notice the unnoticed."

This workshop demonstrated how much remains to be discovered in Galapagos.  In the past four years since CDF began its Galapagos lichen inventory in November 2005, seven new species have been described with many more still awaiting formal publication.  As a result, the list of lichen species known from the archipelago has tripled from 200 to now more than 600 species.

"We identified more than 60 new Galapagos species in just one day, some of them scientifically undescribed.  It gives us a rather good idea," observes Bungartz, "of how little we know and further inspires us to deepen our understanding of Galapagos biodiversity!  To do science objectively," he continues, "to really understand ecosystems and how they function, we can no longer afford to ignore the fungi, lichens, bryophytes and invertebrates that make up the large majority of life on Earth. Biodiversity is more than just the sum of its parts."

The Lichen Collection of the CDF Herbarium contains 12,000 specimens of now more than 600 Galapagos species.  Look for lichens and additional scientific data on the continuously updated  CDF Galapagos Species Checklist.

Source: Charles Darwin Foundation

Long standing supporters of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, The Ultimate Travel Company, came along to Trafalagar Square on Friday 18 June to join in the celebrations of Blue-footed Booby Day.

The Ultimate Travel Company said it was delighted to be playing a part in the latest BBC Wildlife Fund initiative: "Its Wear Wildlife to Work idea made it very easy for everyone to be involved and certainly inspired the Galapagos Conservation Trust.

Their Blue-footed Booby Day proved to be a real hit with the crowds in Trafalgar Square and, as always, we were very happy to support their fund-raising effort", said Nick Van Gruisen, managing director of The Ultimate Travel Company .

The pigeons in Trafalgar Square got a shock today when they were joined by a silver 'statue' with blue webbed feet supporting Blue-footed Boobies.

The Galapagos Conservation Trust's chief executive Toni Darton said: "The Blue-footed Booby is symbolic of the threatened species on the Galapagos Islands, the paradise which inspired Charles Darwin, but which is now at risk."

Celebrating Blue-footed Booby Day, the Galapagos Conservation Trust was joining in the BBC's Wear Your Wildlife to Work Day, part of the BBC Wildlife Fund's appeal to help save threatened species and wild places around the world. The appeal culminates this Sunday with BBC 2's Wild Night In.

A fun day was enjoyed by GCT supporters, including those from The UltimateTravel Company, as they celebrated Blue-footed Booby Day in Trafalgar Square on 18 June.

Tourists and pigeons looked on in amusement as supporters danced and paddled in their blue shod feet. Here are a selection of photographs which capture the day.