Development Manager for Deeside and Donside areas in Park

Communities in the areas of Deeside and Donside within the Cairngorms National Park are to get their own development manager to develop, plan, manage and deliver a range of projects in the area over the next three years.

With funding support from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), the European funded LEADER programme and Aberdeenshire Council, the post of Development Manager is being advertised this week. It is a full-time position based in Ballater.

Working for the Deeside Donside Development Project, the new job has come about as a direct result of community action planning in the area, with Ballater already having gone through the process with the Ballater One Voice Our Future (BOVOF) community consultation. The successful applicant will be responsible for advising and helping facilitate community groups in developing their projects and achieving their communities’ aspirations.

Gordon Riddler, Chair of Ballater (RD) Ltd, which is managing and co-ordinating the project on behalf of partners said: “This appointment is an excellent result from a lot of hard work and agency support involved in recent Community Action Planning. It will be a challenging and rewarding experience for anyone interested in engaging with the communities in the Cairngorms National Park to deliver a range of projects to support their future needs. It also provides a great new opportunity for communities, individually and collectively, to identify and realise projects to support their sustainability and future development.”

CNPA Board Member and Aberdeenshire Councillor, Peter Argyle said: “The Park Authority and Aberdeenshire Council are delighted to be supporting this new post which will hopefully be a boost  – economically, environmentally and socially – for all the communities in Upper Deeside and Upper Donside.”

Patricia Methven, LEADER Programme Manager added: “The New LEADER programme’s priorities are ‘Revitalising Communities’ and ‘Progressive Rural Economies’, so this project fits extremely well with where we are trying to target funds.”

For more information on the post please contact Gordon Riddler on tel: 013397 55467 or by email .

The post will also appear in the recruitment pages of the local press this week.