Volunteering Coordinator

Job description and person specification

Contract type: Permanent

Working hours: 37.5 hours per week over 5 days per week (Monday – Friday),

Please note: This role includes an expectation to support our Christmas project, which involves working at least 3 days on a rota between 24^th - 30th December and inclusive of some Tuesday and Wednesday Food Club cover, until approximately 19:30

Starting salary range: £29,440-£32,790 (pro rata) dependent on experience

Expected start date: ASAP

Reports to: Volunteering Manager

Location: 3 Pritchard Street, Bristol, BS2 8RH / 14 Little Bishop Street, Bristol, BS2 9JF

Conditions:  Employment is on the condition of a satisfactory Enhanced DBS Check (organised by us) and employment references.

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with 3 years' service
• Flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced 5% pension contribution
• 2 weeks company sick pay, increasing with 1 year of service
• Individual clinical supervision & Group Reflective Practice
• Learning & development budget
   

Who we are
Caring in Bristol was founded in 1987 as Caring at Christmas, when a group of Bristolians responded to urgent need by jumping into action for people facing homelessness at a time when other services were closed. What started as a grassroots act of compassion has grown into a city-wide charity working all year round, but our founding spirit remains the same: to spot gaps in the systems around us and develop practical, innovative ways to respond. Every winter, our flagship Christmas project still offers warmth, safety and dignity to hundreds, powered by an extraordinary team of volunteers. But our work doesn’t stop there...
 

We have three key focus areas; direct support, community activation and influencing change; working to alleviate the impact of homelessness while working to tackle its root causes. We provide specialist support for young people to prevent homelessness in their future, and we run services in communities disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity, to work with people before they reach a crisis point. We are passionate about the power of volunteering and community to change the systems that lead to homelessness.
 

Our vision: No one is homeless in our city.

Our mission: Uniting Bristol to end homelessness.

Our values
Tackling homelessness requires systemic and societal change. Person-centred support helps people achieve better outcomes. Evidence and learning guide better decisions. When communities have a voice and take action, we can build stronger futures together.

Curiosity guides us to listen and understand the context, community needs and political environment.

Creativity drives us to remain open-minded and tailor solutions with fresh thinking.

Collaboration is key; we build relationships to strengthen our mission.

Tenacity ensures that we pursue lasting change with determination and patience.
 

Job Summary
This role is a new position that will directly support the management of our volunteers, the projects they work within and how they engage with people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers are integral to our projects year-round and contribute to our strategic goals around community power and solidarity. Our projects range from Christmas events, engagement projects, prevention initiatives and supporting fundraising campaigns.

This post-holder will be instrumental in the recruitment, onboarding, welfare and on-going support of our volunteers, some of whom also use our services. The Volunteering Coordinator will be passionate about people and enjoy working closely within our project teams to ensure volunteers have the best possible experience.

Key responsibilities

As this is a new role for Caring in Bristol, certain elements will evolve as the position embeds into the team. However, the key focusses will be to:

Recruitment of volunteers

• Promote volunteering opportunities across the city
• Target potential volunteers who support our mission and values, have appropriate skillsets, and represent groups who are representative of the clients we support and align with our strategic Equality, Diversity and Inclusion goals
• Through a variety of promotional tools create and distribute volunteer recruitment assets for Caring in Bristol marketing channels to spread CiB volunteering opportunities
• Attend volunteering recruitment events and engage with prospective volunteers
• Work with Income Generation colleagues to build a base of engaged and informed volunteers to support fundraising events and activities in the community
• Develop and deliver the volunteer application process
• Conduct reference and DBS checks for new volunteers where required

Volunteer Retention

• Update and develop our volunteer induction programme with project staff embedding the values of the charity as well as an understanding of homelessness in our city
• Provide pastoral guidance to volunteers, to ensure they feel heard and supported
• Get to know our regular volunteers and work alongside them to understand the best way to motivate and engage them in their roles
• Attend the projects on a regular basis
• Work with CiB Safeguarding Leads to uphold the safety and safeguarding of volunteers and our service users in the development and management of volunteering in the organisation
• Escalate volunteer complaints or disciplinary issues to project managers and senior management as appropriate
• Manage communication with our volunteer groups, including curating a regular newsletter to keep volunteers informed about our work

Administration - Volunteer Management & Development

• Working alongside our Corporate and Community Coordinator, manage opportunities for groups of corporate volunteers within the organisation
• Update volunteer-facing documentation and policies including the Code of Conduct, ensuring they are implemented consistently across Caring in Bristol volunteering
• Become the organisation's administrator/key user for the volunteer management database.
• Provide administrative support to ensure volunteers receive any out-of-pocket expenses
• Support Caring at Christmas volunteer allocations and project-specific communication
• Work as part of the Caring at Christmas on-site management rota
• Manage the central volunteer email inbox, consulting with project teams where necessary to ensure queries are managed in an appropriate and timely fashion

Personal Specification

We are looking for someone with excellent administrative skills and a real people's person. We wish you to meet most of these criteria. However, we don’t expect you to meet every point and welcome applicants with transferrable skills and the ability to apply themselves in a new context.

Essential

• Experience of managing and motivating a team of volunteers
• Demonstrable knowledge of the motivations for volunteering and the different needs or requirements that volunteers may have
• Interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport quickly and maintain effective working relationships with a range of different stakeholders including people with lived experience of homelessness
• Confidence and ability delivering briefings and/or short training sessions to groups either online or in-person
• Persuasive written communication, able to produce copy for news and marketing pieces as well as clear and concise email responses to a very active inbox
• Strong IT skills including the Microsoft Office suite, including Excel, and experience of using content management systems and databases
• Confident speaking in public and experience delivering training to groups in person out in the community.
• Experience handling difficult conversations and managing group discussions in a safe and respectful environment.
• Solid organisational skills including consistency, accuracy, and an eye for detail.
• A passion for harnessing community power to tackle homelessness

Desirable

• Experience of recruitment or marketing opportunities in the charity sector
• Clear understanding of the legalities around volunteer management and health & safety
• Experience of working in partnership with other groups and organisations in innovative ways to achieve social impact.
• Knowledge and experience of the homelessness sector and/or housing issues in Bristol, which could include lived experience

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Caring in Bristol believes strongly in equity and respect for every individual. We know there are some demographics under-represented in our workforce, and we are actively seeking ways to create accessible opportunities that expand the diversity of our staff and volunteers. We welcome applications from everyone who meets the requirements of the Person Specification. Due to the nature of our work, we especially encourage applications from people with lived experience of homelessness.  

Caring in Bristol is an inclusive workplace that offers flexible working options wherever possible.  We are committed to actively supporting the wellbeing of our staff and encourage a healthy work/life balance.

If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please do let us know in your application form or send any queries to recruitment@caringinbristol.org.uk.

How to apply - please submit a completed application form to recruitment@caringinbristol.org.uk with the subject line: Your Name –Role.