Job Title:Involve Skillsofficer

Job Title:Involve SkillsOfficer

Scale:NJC 5.24 £22,920 (pro-rata 3 days a week)

Responsible to:Involve Manager

Management responsibility:Volunteers on skills days and individual volunteers

in the office where appropriate.

Job Purpose:

Involve Skills is a new and exciting project that is in development at Volunteer Centre Southwark. We are recruiting for a proactive and creative person to take ownership of the project and drive the programme forward. You will have the necessary project management and development skills required to design a full package of skills volunteering opportunities to offer our business partners.

On some days you will be meeting community organisations to discuss potential projects we could undertake or other days you will be based in the office – writing and preparing content for a skills workshop or writing a report reviewing a volunteering day. Of course, some days you’ll actually be running a skills volunteering event – it could be anything from leading a team to deliver a session on interview techniquefor a group of local unemployed people, to taking a group of less able people service users on a day trip. In your role as Involve Skills Officer you will be instrumental in promoting volunteering to our business partners and as such, you will be responsible for producing a bi-monthly e-bulletin and some updates for our website.

Throughout, the role will need good teamwork and involve liaising with volunteer involving organisations (VIOs), private and public sector partners, and employee volunteers in order to deliver a range of employee volunteering services. The Regional Involve Officer will also work with other post-holders at Volunteer Centre Southwark to ensure that the range of services offered by Involve complements other services for voluntary and community groups offered by the Centre.

Responsibilities:

1. Promote and market Involve’s opportunities to existing and potential business partners, voluntary sector groups and host organisations through direct communication and creation of a bi-monthly e-bulletin.

1. Research and develop skills based opportunities which can be easily replicated by groups of corporate volunteers and could be used to support the community including people who are unemployed, young people, staff or volunteers from voluntary sector groups.

1. Organising, managing and deliver group skills based activities[1] from initial booking to final reporting. This includes developing and sourcing groups/service users for appropriate opportunities, liaising with business and VIO representatives, writing and designing materials and attending and leading groups of volunteers at your planned events.

1. Researching and identify individual employee-volunteering opportunities suitable for our business partners and working alongside the community and voluntary organisations to develop these opportunities. This includes both office based research and initial site visits.

1. Undertake necessary risk assessments – training will be given.

1. Undertaking regular monitoring and evaluation of employee volunteering days, including report writing for businesses.

1. Contributing to Volunteer Centre Southwark’s specialised employer-supported volunteering training days and promotional events.

1. Maintaining relevant administrative systems and processes, ensuring that ICT is used to its full capacity within the programme, including the use of new media, Internet and e-mail and using technology to reduce paper based working.

1. Operating within the budget constraints of the programme.

1. Ensuring that all duties and responsibilities are discharged in accordance with the charity’s policies including: Safeguarding, Health & Safety and Anti-Discrimination policies.

1. Working towards specific agreed targets in improving the performance and growth of the Involve programme across Inner London.

1. Contributing to the production of the Volunteer Centre Southwark annual reports, newsletters, website updates and other publications where appropriate.

1. To positively contribute to the overall work of Volunteer Centre Southwark by establishing & sustaining effective teamwork & relationships with all stakeholders.

1. As directed, the post holder will undertake additional duties and responsibilities that may arise from time to time commensurate with the grade of the post.

Person Specification

Job Title: Involve Skills Officer

Essential criteria

1. Experience and understanding of volunteering and / or experience of an employer-supported volunteering service to businesses and the voluntary and community sectors.

1. Creative approach to project development and problem solving, with an ability to identify and develop volunteering opportunities for employee volunteers.

1. Understanding of partnership working with an ability to establish and maintain relationships with community partners.

1. Enjoy working both in office environments, and outdoors on projects that require hands-on involvement and leadership of volunteers.

1. Ability to work independently and as part of a team (both in the office and when running challenges).

1. Excellent project management and event organisation skills.

1. The ability to deal with conflicting workloads (managing a number of similar projects at the same time) and excellent time management skills.

1. Experience and confidence of leading groups of people/ an energy to lead, inspire and manage groups of volunteers on group volunteering days in varied community settings.

1. Sound administration and report writing skills. Ability to prioritise conflicting workloads and meet deadlines. Computer literate (knowledge of WP, database, spreadsheet and Internet and email systems).

1. Excellent communication skills, written and oral.

1. An understanding of Health & Safety issues and the ability to carry out risk assessments and Health & Safety checks.

1. Flexible attitude towards working hours and ability to work unsociable hours.

1. Commitment to working within a developing anti-discrimination policy.

Desirable criteria:

1. Ability to produce great looking e-bulletins and marketing materials.
2. Knowledge of the London borough of Southwark
3. Community teaching qualification (PTTLS or equivalent).

[1] A Skills Workshop is usually a half-day workshop delivered to local community groups and members of the public paid for and undertaken by volunteers from companies. These projects take place in a variety of community and voluntary organisations and are primarily focussed to engage a volunteers’ intellectual capacity.