Address
Form of work
Salary
Development Worker
Fixed Term Contract
Job Ref: V491
Hours/Days per week: 28 hours per week – (Flexible days/hours)
Salary: £20,000 pro rata (25K FTE) plus attractive employee benefits package
Start date: ASAP
Location: Office based in Alloa, or locally home based, with regular work in local communities
Closing date: 1 April 2024 – 10am
Interview date and Location: Monday 8 April 2024 – Alloa
Volunteering Matters
At Volunteering Matters, we use the unique power of volunteering to bring people together, build stronger, more resilient communities across the UK and solve some of society’s most complex issues. From social isolation and loneliness, to improving health and wellbeing, to building skills, confidence and opportunity, and to ensuring young people can become change-makers in their community; the impact that we have is great. And we won’t stop until everyone in the UK has the opportunity to thrive.
People-led and impact driven, we are a national charity that is deeply embedded in local areas across the UK. We operate in regional hubs across Scotland, England and Wales. We also have a national Employee Volunteering Team, with over 25 years’ experience, acting as a broker of tailor-made solutions to employers. We turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all.
We are a worthwhile, fun, interesting, challenging, team orientated, collaborative and rewarding place to work!
This is an exciting time to be joining the team. We’re changing the way we work to meet new ambitions and make sure our impact continues to grow alongside out business.
Role Purpose
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) is supported by the Volunteering Matters family. RSVP is a volunteer-led project that encourages, facilitates, and supports older people aged 50+ to keep active by volunteering in their community.
RSVP believe by volunteering and using their life experience and skills, older people are less likely to be socially isolated and suffer from poor mental and physical health and wellbeing. RSVP groups are coordinated by a team of Volunteer Organisers. Current activities include volunteering within NHS hospitals and schools, charitable knitting groups, walking groups, and a Handyperson scheme. Over 1000 older people have engaged over the last 21 years.
We are looking for a Development Worker who can work flexibly, is driven, and is passionate about supporting older people to volunteer in their community. It is important that the post holder can commit to our organisational values – being Compassionate, Empowering, Inclusive, Positive and Straightforward.
The coronavirus pandemic caused major disruption to RSVP. Risks to older people meant that our volunteers were asked, overnight, to shield at home. RSVP activities closed for a prolonged period of time. While these have since re-launched, a significant number of Organisers and Volunteers have not returned to volunteering.
As our Development Worker, you will provide staff support to re-build RSVP activities across Forth Valley. You will help to decrease social isolation and loneliness, and improve older people’s mental health and wellbeing, by engaging them in regular, ongoing volunteering roles suited to their needs and interests.
You will work closely with a small team of Volunteer Organisers, supporting and empowering them to deliver and develop RSVP activities across Forth Valley.
Over the next year, we aim to engage a minimum of 60 new volunteers in our activities across Forth Valley. You will lead a volunteer recruitment campaign while also developing and implementing sustainable infrastructure for the future such as Organiser guides, and other volunteering and project resources. These local resources will supplement the nationally developed “RSVP toolkit” and resource materials already available.
This role is funded by the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing fund, in Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
Key Duties
• Role model and display our organisational values – being Compassionate, Empowering, Inclusive, Positive and Straightforward
• Teamwork across the regional staff team and the wider charity, working in a flexible way
• Support the day-to-day activities, and Development of RSVP. This includes meeting ambitious goals, ensuring all older people engaged achieve positive outcomes
• Establish and maintain excellent working relationships with stakeholders including colleagues, volunteer organisers, volunteers, schools, NHS staff, partner organisations and others. This will include face-to-face meetings in a variety of locations across Forth Valley
• Develop and lead an ambitious volunteer recruitment campaign, aimed at engaging older people in volunteering. This includes creating relevant promotional material and information.
• Recruit and support older volunteers and volunteer organisers in an inclusive way
• Support existing Volunteer Organisers, alongside the Delivery Leader, particularly around ensuring the project has appropriate infrastructure in place for our activities
• To maintain Volunteering Matters and RSVP standards around quality and effective Volunteer Management
• Support appropriate risk assessment, safeguarding, quality assurance and audit processes
• Ensure quarterly statistical data is collected and that RSVP Forth Valley meets its agreed goals, reporting format and schedule as required by our funders.
• Administration tasks including the use of Office 365, Microsoft Teams and other relevant software
The above job description is intended to include the broad range of responsibilities and requirements of the post. It is neither exhaustive nor exclusive but while some variations will be expected, these will be at an appropriate level for the role.
Skills / Knowledge Required
• An excellent knowledge and understanding of the life challenges and issues that older people face
• An understanding of how to assess the needs of an individual, using a person-centered approach
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including being able to have strategic conversations with external partners one minute, and talk to an anxious or unsure older person the next
• Excellent people skills with the ability to build professional, long-term relationships with various stakeholders, to influence and motivate others
• Excellent organisational skills including strong attention to detail, the ability to manage a busy workload and prioritise accordingly
• Excellent IT skills including the use of Office 365, Microsoft Teams and other software packages
• A creative approach to problem solving, an ability to work independently and use own initiative
Experience Required
• Experience working directly with older people as volunteers
• Experience in leading or supporting a large volunteer recruitment campaign
• Experience in all aspects of effective Volunteer Management
• Experience developing strong working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Experience of project management, achieving goals, managing a busy workload and working to deadlines
• Experience of measuring the impact of volunteering, and understanding the results
• Understanding of, and full commitment, to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Qualifications
We are not looking for any specific qualifications, for this role. Relevant experience and skills are more important, along with a commitment to our organisational values.
Our values and ways of working
We offer flexible working by default. This means that our staff have significant flexibility when it comes to place of work, working hours, and are empowered with the responsibility of managing their own diary and workload.
Part of your working week will need to be based in local communities within Forth Valley, meeting older people, volunteers, and other stakeholders. For the remainder of the time, you will work from our Alloa office, or from home (must be based locally).
If working from home, you will need good internet access and a suitable home working environment. All I.T. equipment, mobile phone and other infrastructure will be supplied.
At Volunteering Matters, we embrace a philosophy of ‘Freedom within a Framework’ and are guided by our organisational values at all times:
We are Empowering.
We are Inclusive.
We are Compassionate.
We are Positive.
We are Straightforward
We are looking for a candidate who can evidence these characteristics in their application and at interview.
PVG
This role requires membership of the PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) scheme. Having a conviction will not necessarily cause a bar to employment. We will support you to become a member of the PVG scheme, or update your existing membership (if relevant).
Employee Benefits
Volunteering Matters ambition is to be the best place to work in the charity sector. We offer a wide range of employee benefits which include:
• Fully flexible working
• Unlimited annual leave allowance to achieve a positive work-life balance
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loan (public transport)
• Competitive and supportive maternity/adoption/family leave provision
• Competitive and supportive sick leave provision
• Access to our free Employee Assistance line (provided by CiC Wellbeing)
• An organisational “Wellbeing Promise”
Diversity & Inclusion:
We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and communities. This will help us to ensure that our staff team represents the people we serve in Forth Valley.
We particularly welcome applications from Black people, people of colour, and people with disabilities - all of whom are currently under-represented in our staff team.
Our Values & Way of Working:
In all that we do, we embrace a philosophy of ‘Freedom within a Framework’ and are guided by our values: Empowering, Inclusive, Compassionate, Positive & Straightforward.
Diversity & Inclusion
Volunteering Matters welcomes all applicants and are keen to ensure our team reflects the diversity of the UK and the communities we serve. We encourage applications from disabled, LGBT and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, along with candidates with any protected characteristics and from disadvantaged groups.
Disability Confident & Reasonable Adjustments:
We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role. Please provide evidence in your application, which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required in the “Experience/Skills” section of this advert. To be considered for a guaranteed interview or to discuss any reasonable adjustments during the process, please state this in your application for more information.
We have also committed to the following pledges which positively encompass our recruitment and selection processes and methodology: The Promise, Show The Salary, Salary History.
GDPR Statement
If you apply for a role with us, we will retain your contact details including your name, address, email address and phone number to help us manage your application for up to 6 months. We will not use your personal data for any other purpose or share it with any third party. You can contact us at any point to update your personal information or ask us to delete it from our records.
To Apply for this role - Visit our website -
• Please prepare an up-to-date CV
• Please write a supporting statement – this should be at least 1 A4 page which demonstrates why you are the best person for this role. You should refer to the Job Description and Person Specification
• Send your CV and supporting statement
• Finally, please complete our Recruitment Monitoring Form which is available on our website
If you have any questions around this role, or would like to discuss the role with our recruitment manager, please visit our website for contact information.
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