Volunteer Coordinator

Contract:  Permanent, part time (3 days per week)

Salary:  £23,835 - £26,500 per annum £14,301 - £15,900 for 3 days per week)

Location:  Exeter EX2 8ED

Closing date:  Sunday 11 February 2024

Interview date:  21 & 23 February 2024

We’re recruiting a Foster Coordinator for our Rehoming & Fostering team at our rehoming, behaviour and advice unit in Devon! Our Foster Coordinators recruit and support our amazing volunteer fosterers in the local area who care for the animals in our care, within their homes, whilst our teams find them their forever homes. 

We’ve just launched a new and exciting national Rehoming & Fostering team structure to support our aim of ensuring every pet enjoys a healthy life in a happy home. You’ll be joining a team who strive to be the best versions of themselves, so that they can do the best for the pets who need our help.

More about the role

Since 2016, we've been making a positive impact on our community, helping pets in Newport and surrounding areas. Our foster-based care and Home Direct Scheme ensures animals find loving homes without the stress of kennels. This means that we do not usually have pets staying onsite overnight and our roles may not include daily pet care, but no two days are ever the same. 

Our fostering service is an integral part of the rehoming process, supporting the delivery of our strategy by increasing the service so that Blue Cross can help more pets. 

As a Foster Coordinator you will be responsible for recruiting and supporting a diverse team of volunteer fosterers. Working closely with the Adoptions Coordinator, you will keep up to date with the current capacity and skills of the fosterers and homes available. 

In addition to this, you will be building relationships with local communities and partners, promoting the benefits of fostering to provide more targeted support.

While following a robust rehoming service is important to us, so is the fostering experience. You will ensure that every interaction with our fosterers with us are excellent, supporting them as they provide the safe and nurturing environment every pet need whilst waiting for their permanent home and in crisis care. 

This is a part-time role working three days per week (22.5 hours) a rota which includes weekends and bank holidays. 

If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you. Interested? Then apply and let’s work together to see if this is the role for you.

About you

You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills and be able to communicate with people on all levels. You will have managed a team of remote volunteers previously and understand the special nature of this relationship, being able to offer guidance and advice on all areas of the volunteering relationship.

With the ability to work collaboratively and effectively with people at all levels, you will have a passion for ensuring that volunteers have the right opportunities to thrive in their roles. 

Building a solid and reliable bank of fosterers is absolutely key to this role so you will have experience in marketing volunteer opportunities, delivering local recruitment campaigns and supporting the fosterers to ensure we maintain good numbers of this valuable resource and that we retain people. To do this you will be self-motivated, a forward thinker with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets and management of our fosterers to ensure the best outcome is achieved.

You will know what it is like to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent ‘bounce back ability’ and resilience.  In addition, you will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• Demonstrable experience of supervision or management of volunteers.
• Experience of having worked in an animal welfare environment.
• Good experience of running and marketing recruitment campaigns for volunteer roles.
• Experience of working with local communities and promoting volunteer opportunities
• Good interviewing and recruitment skills
• Experience of working to a high level with minimal supervision.
• Able to prioritise and manage a busy work schedule dealing with complex issues whilst ensuring timely delivery or resolution of issues.
• Good experience of actively managing a bank of clients, volunteers or stakeholders. 
• Previous experience in working in a client focused environment where delivering a high level of customer satisfaction is the norm.
• Championing change initiatives, influencing and leading colleagues to embrace the changes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and numerical skills.
• Strong organisational, administration and analytical skills, including use of computerised systems.
• Current full driving licence
• The ability to demonstrate, understand and apply our Blue Cross values  

 It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:

• Working knowledge of the behaviour of animals and the challenges they face in a rescue environment, as well as relevant legislation.
• Proven experience of working constructively and collaboratively with colleagues from different teams.
• Interpersonal and consultative skills, including the ability to communicate, present, negotiate, influence, and build credibility with colleagues and external parties.
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.

Want to know more detail? Great! We have attached the job description which hopefully gives you everything you need.

How to apply 

Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date on Sunday 11 February 2024. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.  

Blue Cross benefits  

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.  

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.  

Our generous benefits package includes:  

• Enhanced annual leave entitlement: 30 days plus bank holidays  
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution  
• Health cash plan 
• Life assurance  
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme 
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support 
• Free access to GP via MetLife 
• Recognition scheme Annual volunteer days
• Claim for professional fees 

 To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website.