Volunteer and Engagement Manager

Are you a dynamic individual who can develop, lead and grow our volunteer strategy, community engagement and marketing activity in Surrey? Do you thrive on working with people, helping to empower them to use their skills and experiences to help others in the community? Can you make a difference at a local Surrey charity?

Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey has been established for over 100 years. We enable and empower people who are Deaf, hard of hearing, blind, partially sighted, and deafblind to overcome barriers to be as independent as possible and thrive in their communities. We are a countywide charity based in Fetcham, near Leatherhead.

We are seeking a hard-working, driven and flexible individual to develop, lead and grow our volunteer and community engagement team and lead and collaborate with our marketing and communication team to raise awareness and increase engagement to grow our vital work.

Main duties include:

¨ Be an effective manager, line managing our Volunteer, Community Outreach and Marketing and Communications teams.

¨ Working with various partner organisations, building relations while exploring possible funding/joint working/event opportunities, and supporting our Outreach Team to make sure they are best placed to have the biggest impact for the people we enable and empower.

¨ In collaboration with the Marketing and Communications team, oversee the production of high quality communications to raise awareness, increase engagement and grow support for our vital work.

¨ Organise and facilitate our Breaking Down Barriers Workshops three times a year.

¨ Lead on key projects around Communications, Volunteering and Engagement, including:

- Co-produce a strategic volunteering plan for the team aligned to our strategy

- Review and develop the charity policies for volunteering and ensure volunteers are up to date with our relevant policies, legislative requirements and our needs and requirements

- Co-produce a strategic communications plan for the team, aligned to our strategy

- Review all current communications and revise annual marketing plans to strengthen our presence in the community

¨ Working with colleagues in other teams and departments, develop a strategic Community Engagement plan aligned to our strategy

¨ Ability to work flexibly according to the business need which may include evening and weekends

Skills and Qualifications:

• Direct experience of line managing a team of staff
• Relevant experience in the management of a volunteering programme, or extensive experience of directly managing volunteers with the ability to step up into this role
• Knowledge and understanding of volunteering best practice, strategy and policy
• Demonstrable experience of community engagement and building relationships with partner organisations
• Planning and organisational skills, including ability to plan, prioritise and deliver a complex workload
• Strong presentation skills, sufficient to deliver engaging training to staff and volunteers
• Strong communication skills – verbal and written, and ability to relate well to people from all backgrounds
• Experience in MS Office and confident in using a database
• Understanding of data protection requirements and confidentiality
• Able to champion the role and contribution of volunteers
• Ability to engage and influence colleagues

Competencies Required:

1. Strategic and Operational Management

Understand the five year Strategic Plan and objectives and how it contributes to our mission. Think ahead and develop, lead and grow a busy programme of recruitment and encouragement of volunteers to meet the needs of the charity. Develop innovative approaches to recruitment and service delivery and make recommendations and suggestions to senior managers. Implement a communications plan to improve and increase our visibility and awareness.

2. Inspiration

Create new roles and tasks for volunteers working with colleagues across the charity. Increase the potential of the Outreach team as they build relationships across the county. Develop imaginative and effective ways to raise our profile and reach new audiences. Value and motivate volunteers to help them provide quality services and support for the charity.

3. Making Things Happen

Plan resources effectively and manage any crises effectively within laid down policies. Demonstrate a consultative and informed approach to problem solving, using patience and understanding. Liaise with charity colleagues and senior managers, and externally with other groups.

4. Record keeping

The people we support are often vulnerable so it is essential that all volunteers have an appropriate Disclosure and Barring clearance, and that our records of all other relevant paperwork such as driving licence details and insurance is kept up to date and properly recorded.

5. Managing Change

The post holder must be open to new ways of working, adapt well to change and be able to feed back the impact of changes to volunteers, their team and to senior managers.

6. Personal Impact

Make a positive impression on people as a consequence of your personal style, abilities and credibility. Act with integrity and strive to develop the competencies required to meet organisational objectives and to adapt to changing and sometimes uncertain needs and circumstances.

7. Focus on the people we support

Volunteer services are built around the needs of the people we support and the needs of the charity. The post holder must maintain good relations with people we support, seek their views on our services, and respond effectively to their comments to recommend improvements. Encourage volunteers to constantly reflect on service standards and how to deliver effectively. Ensure all marketing and communications reflects our charity and how we want to be positioned in the community.

8. Use of Information Technology

Must be familiar with MS Office programmes and other relevant IT and use it proactively and effectively to do the job.

Full time annual leave entitlement is 28 days per annum. Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey complies with auto enrolment, we match contributions up to 6%. using the Pensions Trust. We offer training opportunities suitable for each role. We pay for annual flu vaccinations and for an eye test every two years with a contribution towards work related glasses.

Location: Surrey, GB

Posted Date: 11/28/2024