In a wide-ranging and challenging role, the successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wakefield Hub. You must be a dedicated team player with a great capacity for personal creativity and flair. Your responsibilities will include line management duties, Hub development work, volunteer management, some income generation and developing the Wakefield tandem club. At times, you will work alongside adults with all sorts of disabilities and be out in all weathers, in all manner of countryside settings. There would be a need to work one weekend each month, plus some evening work. Open Country can guarantee you will find the work fun, well-respected and very rewarding.
The job includes minibus driving. Thus, it is extremely desirable that candidates have a D1 entitlement. Your job will involve some administrative duties, so some familiarity with computers is essential.
The role would suit an experienced countryside, recreation or disability professional who is energetic, hard-working and able to work unsupervised.
Open Country was established in Harrogate in 1990, as a three-year pilot project. Its remit was to help anyone with any disability, be it learning or physical disability, sensory impairment or mental health issue, to access and enjoy the countryside. After the initial three years were over, such a level of expectation had been raised among local disabled people that they have continued ever since! Over the intervening years, Open Country have expanded their activities, so that they currently have over 25 activity clubs working in Harrogate, Barnsley, Ripon, Selby, Wetherby, York, and of course, Wakefield!
The countryside activities include walking, tandem cycling, outdoor pursuits, wildlife study, nature conservation work parties and countryside outings. Activities now welcome around 500 people, most of whom have disabilities, on over 10,000 people/activity days annually.
Through the Countryside Advice Service, Open Country are involved with the dissemination of information, training and advice on countryside access. They have produced ten Breakfree packs, detailing local accessible walks and cycles. They have also produced Countryside Directories for Disabled People for North, West, East and South Yorkshire, Lancashire, Teesside and County Durham. With these publications, Open Country truly has regional influence in the field of disability and countryside matters.
For a small charity, Open Country punch well above their weight! For example, they have received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service and even visited No.10 Downing Street!
The Wakefield Hub has been running since September 2017 and at present Open Country support over 100 disabled adults around the wider community to access and enjoy the countryside through a range of popular activities including adapted cycling, conservation work, walking, wheelchair trips and adventure sports. Open Country have an office in Horbury and an operational base at Thornes Park, just south of the centre of the city.
Since 2004, Open Country has been a Company Limited by Guarantee (05155859) and a Registered Charity (1107331). They have two Patrons - Air Commodore Simon Bostock and Lord Willis of Knaresborough and a board of 8 proactive Director/Trustees. There are 12 other staff posts (7.5 FTE) and Open Country are heavily reliant on 175 fantastic volunteers, including almost 45 in Wakefield district.
Please send a detailed covering letter and your CV to David Shaftoe at chiefofficer@opencountry.org.uk by 6pm on 19 July 2026. Further details are available by request.
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