Volunteering & Community Officer

Summary        
We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as a Volunteering & Community Officer. You'll support volunteer managers across the property with improving the volunteer experience and increasing support in targeted ways. You'll support our community engagement and partnerships, sometimes with a volunteering focus. Working with property colleagues you'll ensure our volunteering offer grows and develops.  

You'll be part of the Visitor Operations & Experience team at Petworth House & Park, reporting to the Visitor Operations & Experience Manager. 

This is a fixed term contract due to end when the previous employee returns from maternity leave.  At this point we cannot confirm exactly how long this contract will last, but it is unlikely to be more than 12 months.

Interviews will be held on the 5th of February. 

What it's like to work here        
For hundreds of years, Petworth has been instrumental in nurturing now legendary artists and makers, providing the space to be inspired, to share ideas and to create new work. 

Petworth’s ambition is to return to this same spirit, to be a place that champions art and creativity as fundamental to life. We'll put new audiences, access and participation at the centre, connecting local and regional to national and international. We are striving to put our communities, audience and supporters at the heart of everything we do and create exceptional experiences for our visitors.

Volunteers are involved in every aspect of our work, with over 300 dedicated volunteers across the property. We are open 363 days a year and growing our visitor numbers, from local communities and independent adults to families. We are proud to look after a place of international significance, but our focus is firmly on becoming locally loved and relevant.

What you'll be doing        
You’ll play a significant role in the development and delivery of our strategic plan for volunteering and community engagement. You'll lead for change, widening and deepening our relationships with existing and new audiences. 

We want you to lead by example, increasing the confidence and capability of others so that collectively across the property we are creating a positive, flexible and inclusive environment for existing and future volunteers, communities and partners. 

You’ll line manage two Volunteering and Community Assistants as well as managing volunteers.

Who we're looking for        
We'd love to hear from you if you’re:

• enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the benefits of volunteering
• someone who loves working with volunteers, and who understands the legal differences between staff and volunteers
• good at talking to, and getting on with, all kinds of people from all backgrounds, and you understand why great customer service matters
• flexible and collaborative, a team player who’s happy to lead on and work with other people’s agendas towards a shared goal
• well-organised, with good attention to detail
• experienced in volunteering principles and practice