Volunteer Manager

Background

We’re here to help people in horticulture create better futures.

Perennial has been helping people in horticulture for over 180 years. We are the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping everyone who works in horticulture, and their families.

Volunteer Manager Post

At Perennial we have a real focus on improving the quality of life for people working in horticulture and have ambitious strategies to build better futures for people working in horticulture and their families.

This new post provides an exciting opportunity to design and deliver a long-term integrated volunteer service strategy for services across the UK. This role is pivotal for the growth of sustainable services across all four countries of the UK. You will develop and deliver a new volunteer engagement strategy, ensuring that volunteers are recruited, trained, inducted, supported and rewarded to enable our work across the UK. Working closely with Head of Service, internal and external partners you will build a credible evidence base for our volunteering programmes and service interventions. You will be directly responsible for developing service volunteers, devising a strategy for growth and work to shape and improve the volunteer journey from recruitment and induction through to reward and recognition.

About you

You will be passionate about creating better futures for people working in horticulture, with extensive experience of developing and delivering volunteer programmes and creating new volunteer opportunities and development plans from inception. Being able to translate strategy into sustainable real world success. You will be able to proactively take the lead on Perennial’s volunteer services developments across the UK and will be responsible for supporting compliance with legal requirements and best practice.

You will be highly skilled in:

• Volunteering policy and practice
• Partnership development and co-production
• Volunteer management
• Developing volunteering programmes that support personalised service delivery
• Providing volunteer support to service led outreach activities at scale
• Volunteer strategy and policy development

Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities typically include

• Develop a central hub of volunteer policies, procedures and systems that foster a safe culture with a core focus on continual improvement and delivering impact
• Lead on all aspects of the day-to-day administration and support the supervision of service team of volunteers and their activities, developing and inspiring them to develop best possible practice to meet the needs people working in horticulture and their families
• Recruiting, inducting training and managing volunteer programmes and supporting mandatory training and induction across the services team
• Recognising and deploying volunteers’ strengths and acting as an authentic role model
• Share knowledge and skills to enhance the professional development for all volunteers
• Develop reward and recognition programmes that celebrate volunteer success
• Bring together crucial information and evidence from various internal and external sources in order to develop volunteer programmes and make key development recommendations
• Lead the development and implementation of our volunteer service work with key partner agencies with a particular emphasis on improving standards and accessibility
• Management and development of the relevant KPI’s in order to facilitate analysis and reporting of performance against plans and budgets as well as strategic objectives
• Develop effective partnerships, networks and joint working arrangements, to ensure the most effective provision of the services. Enabling services to be scalable, flexible agile and responsive to changing needs
• Collaboratively developing, implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of service delivery, key programmes and interventions and use this to inform service development including project and programme plans and associated annual delivery plans
• Managing pilots and pathfinder projects through to successful conclusion
• Develops different scenarios for the mitigation of possible risks and provides recommendations for the management of these scenarios
• Ensure that all activity and engagement with volunteers and volunteer programmes complies with safeguarding legislation, policies and procedures

Person Specification

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• 3 years’ experience of volunteer management
• 2 years experience of leading volunteer led service development and overseeing successful implementation
• 2 years’ project management experience - designing, developing, delivering and evaluating programmes and projects
• Experience of developing volunteer strategies, policies and procedures and ensuring compliance across dispersed teams
• Experience of using research information and reliable data, including qualitative and quantitative lived experience data
• Experience of undertaking research, including service user engagement work to support strategic development
• Experience of recruiting, training and managing volunteer teams across the UK
• Experience of developing and implementing new volunteer services
• Successful track record in developing successful, effective partnerships and co-production of programmes at scale
• Experience of cultivating a supportive and open environment where individuals have the opportunity to reach their highest potential
• Ability to maximise the opportunities presented by technology to deliver services and reach wider audiences
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to relate and work with people from diverse backgrounds
• A positive can-do approach to problem solving and challenging situations
• High degree of professionalism and a commitment to achieving outstanding results
• A proven track record in managing volunteer teams with the ability to motivate and inspire others
• Ability to recruit, train and induct people from diverse backgrounds using a variety of delivery mechanisms
• In depth knowledge of safeguarding practice and procedures
• Ability and willingness to work both independently and as part of a team

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker
• Commercially astute with ability to identify potential opportunities for national and regional delivery
• Ability to be self administrating and proactive
• Able to manage and prioritise workloads
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries
• Willing to work within the policies and procedures of Perennial
• Ability to work flexibly and travel involving UK wide travel (including overnight stays evenings and weekends as required to meet the needs of the post)
• A full driving licence and a car due to the location of some of our activities
• Commitment to personal development including keeping up to date on all subject areas relevant to the role
• Commitment to upholding the mission and values of the charity
• Understanding of and, commitment to, the principles of safeguarding, equality and fairness

Key Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions are provided for information only and in no way represent a contract. In the event of an appointment if there is an anomaly between the contract and these terms, the contract is deemed to be the correct version.

Full information on terms and conditions are contained within a Staff Handbook, issues upon appointment. Enquiries on specific matters are welcomed – the following are the key issues.

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week – including some weekends and overnight stays.

Holidays: 25 days per annum, plus bank holidays (with increases for long service)

Pension: Perennial operates an auto-enrolment pension scheme and will match employee contributions up to the statutory amount. Details of the scheme will be available following a formal offer of employment.

Other: Sick Pay, Death in Service Benefit (3x salary). Perennial has a number of well-established, family-friendly policies, including ‘buying’ extra (unpaid) leave, time off for dependents, variations to normal working hours. Further details available on request. Company car/car benefit

General Considerations: All Perennial jobs are subject to a probationary period (6 months) and a periodic review.

Smoking: In the interests of health and safety, Perennial operates a non-smoking policy on its premises and expects staff not to smoke in company vehicles.

Closing date for this vacancy is Saturday 31st August at midnight. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early should we receive sufficient applicants.