Head of Volunteering Job Vacancy
About StreetVet
StreetVet is a fast-growing national charity, committed to providing free vet care to the pets of those experiencing homelessness and to keeping pets and owners together to maintain their unbreakable bond. StreetVet relies on its team of over 400 vet and nurse volunteers in 23 locations around the UK to provide free veterinary treatment, funded by grants, corporate and private donors and partners. Since inception in 2016 the charity has treated nearly 3,000 pets and has won numerous awards including the Vet Trust Award for the Most Trusted Veterinary Charity, Purina Better with Pets Prize and Homeless Link Excellence Award for Excellent Support.
Title: Head of Volunteering
Duration: Permanent, full-time
Reporting to: CEO
Responsible For: All StreetVet volunteers
Works With/Key Contacts: Colleagues across the organisation, volunteers, potential volunteers
Location: Home – remote working with regular travel to outreach locations and, as necessary, recruitment events
Contracted hours: 37.5-hour work week (flexible working available)
Holiday: 25 days per year plus national holidays
Salary: £35,000 – £43,000 depending on experience
Main Purpose of the Role
The Head of Volunteering will manage, develop and grow StreetVet’s Volunteer programme. They will have overall responsibility to recruit, onboard, induct, train, support, communicate with, develop and recognise volunteers as well as ensure good governance and compliance. The Head of Volunteering will act as an ambassador for volunteering across all StreetVet locations and externally. The Head of Volunteering will monitor and evaluate the impact of StreetVet’s volunteering programme and will identify and assess opportunities to develop the programme further.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement the StreetVet Volunteering Strategy
- Lead and manage the day-to-day operation of the volunteer programme across all locations and work with the clinical team to ensure appropriate and robust processes are in place to provide suitable and high-quality care for the animals StreetVet work with.
- Develop and grow the volunteer programme to continually improve the volunteering experience at StreetVet.
- Review and refine all volunteer processes, policies and documentation to improve standards and ensure compliance.
- Oversee the recruitment and retention of volunteers, including the review and maintenance of all volunteer-related data, ensuring that it is compliant with data protection and GDPR principles.
- Oversee the development and provision of effective induction and learning and development activities appropriate for volunteer roles, working with key contacts across the charity and liaising with existing volunteers as required.
- Work to ensure all volunteers are aware of and adhere to StreetVet’s policies on safeguarding and working with vulnerable individuals.
- Develop effective methods of communicating with volunteers about their volunteering and the activities of the wider charity and provide opportunities for volunteers to communicate with each other.
- Oversee the development and provision of volunteer reward and recognition activities.
- Deal appropriately with escalated issues around volunteering, using tact, diplomacy and mitigating reputational and other risks that might be involved. This may include working in conjunction with management on issues that involve staff, as well as sensitively managing and, on occasion, terminating volunteer agreements when deemed appropriate.
- Establish and develop relationships with key stakeholders across the charity to ensure a consistent and best practice approach to volunteering across our locations and central volunteer team.
- Provide advice and guidance to staff that work with volunteers to ensure they receive appropriate support and development.
- Ensure effective use of the volunteer database and other tools to record, produce and analyse metrics on volunteer involvement, recruitment, retention and other relevant KPIs.
- Produce outcome and impact reports for both internal and external stakeholders on a regular basis.
- Keep up to date with current developments in the volunteering sector, including undertaking benchmarking and accreditation e.g. Investing in Volunteers standard. Maintain and develop good relationships with similar organisations in the sector and represent StreetVet at external conferences/meetings as relevant.
- Manage budgets and resources related to the volunteer programme.
The above job description is intended to be an outline of the duties and responsibilities for this role. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is likely to change over time. You may be expected to undertake other duties that are commensurate with this role and grade.
What we are looking for – behaviours, knowledge and experience:
| Experience | Essential / Desirable |
| 1. A strategic thinker with demonstrable background (5+ years) in volunteer programme management, ideally in the charity sector. | E |
| 2. Experience of line management (experience of managing remote teams desirable). | E |
| 3. Experience with using CRM platforms. | E |
| 4. Experience of project management. | D |
| 5. Experience of setting up and overseeing outreach activities in different geographical locations. | D |
| Knowledge and Understanding | |
| 6. Understanding of best practice in volunteer management and relevant legislation. | E |
| 7. Knowledgeable on safeguarding and GDPR in a volunteering setting. | E |
| Qualifications and skills | |
| 8. Strong leadership skills and a drive for continuous improvement. | E |
| 9. A Leadership and Management qualification. | D |
| 10. Excellent organisation abilities with the ability to work under pressure and manage multiple tasks/conflicting priorities. | E |
| 11. Ability to demonstrate initiative and be a good problem solver. | E |
| 12. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire and influence others. Excellent team-working skills. | E
|
| 13. Good IT skills across a range of systems and programs | E |
| Other | |
| 14. A belief in StreetVet’s mission, vision and values. | E |
| 15. Enthusiastic and self-motivated individual. | E |
| 16. A strong work ethic and commitment to the cause with the ability to work remotely, flexibly and independently within a small, fast-growing organisation. | E |
| 17. Willingness to travel within the UK as required (access to own vehicle desirable). | E |
| 18. Eligibility to work in the UK. | E |
StreetVet is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community – a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We can offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies to support staff from different backgrounds.
We know that diverse teams make us stronger and more effective as an organisation, and we look forward to hearing from all interested candidates.
How to apply: Please email your CV and a covering letter to Zoe Abbotts by COB on Thursday 21st November 2024 (zoe.abbotts@streetvet.org.uk).
Applications close: COB Thursday 21st November 2024
Please see the StreetVet Vision, Mission and Values below.
StreetVet’s team charter defines the values which we, as an organisation feel are the most important to demonstrate as a StreetVet employee and volunteer.
