Community education officer

Community education officer job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Employers of community education officers include voluntary/charitable organisations (for example, the Workers' Educational Association), local authorities, schools, higher/further education institutions and youth/community organisations.

The work is varied and challenging with responsibilities that typically comprise:

• planning educational programmes;
• establishing new community initiatives;
• liaising with relevant community groups and organisations;
• recruiting, training and supervising tutors;
• managing budgets;
• maintaining records;
• writing plans and reports;
• determining priorities;
• preparing and submitting funding applications;
• tutoring students;
• undertaking outreach work to encourage more people to participate;
• facilitating self-help community groups;
• helping individuals to control their own learning.

Long hours, working with people in disadvantaged situations and limited funding and resources can sometimes make the job quite demanding.

Vacancies are advertised in local, regional and national newspapers including the Times Educational Supplement, local authority jobs lists, and publications such as The Big Issue, The Voice, New Statesman and Society and Asian Times. Voluntary work experience can be gained via social services, community, adult education or youth work or by involvement in student community schemes, pressure groups and women's projects. Speculative applications are advisable (particularly for work experience placements), for which the Voluntary Agencies Directory, the Social Services Year Book and Charities Digest may be useful. Local charities and volunteer bureaux can often provide work experience placements.

Qualifications and training required

It is normally necessary to possess a degree and a minimum of one year's relevant paid or voluntary community work experience prior to entry into the profession. Employers generally consider personality and experience to be more important than degree subject studied, although qualifications in sociology, social work/policy, community studies, English, communications, public administration or social sciences can be advantageous. Teaching and adult education qualifications can also be helpful.

Key skills for community education officers

Good interpersonal, teamworking, problem-solving and communication skills are essential, as is a mature, confident, patient and resilient disposition.