Volunteer Coordinator

Contracted Weekly Hours: 37.5. Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Contract Type:  3-year contract

Annual leave:  25 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays per annum.

Salary:  £27,900 per annum.

Location: Based at the ICN office in Bournemouth

Role Overview

ICN’s purpose is to welcome and support refugees and asylum seekers to rebuild their lives and thrive in their new home in the UK. Currently, ICN has around 40 volunteers helping to deliver our services in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), Women and Families work, a community hub for asylum seekers and those recently awarded refugee status, and in our work with family resettlement and UASC (Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum).

Our volunteers play a critical role in delivering these services, several of which couldn’t continue without such help. However, as the number of ICN’s service users continue to grow rapidly and their needs become more complex, full-time coordination of our volunteer base has become critical to supporting healthy and efficient growth in the charity.

The main 4 areas of focus for the role include:

• Recruiting, training, and deploying volunteers.
• To increase the proportion of our volunteers with lived experience (refugees and asylum seekers)
• Ensuring volunteers meet all safeguarding requirements of ICN (including the processing of DBS checks) and follow its policies and code of conduct.
• To thank, encourage and support volunteers as advocates for our work in the wider community.

Key responsibilities:

• To promote volunteer vacancies and deal with enquiries promptly and effectively.
• To ensure that potential volunteers with lived experience are especially encouraged to volunteer with ICN and that barriers to their involvement are challenged and removed.
• To be involved in volunteer recruitment including being part of interview panels with relevant ICN Managers.
• To improve and develop the volunteer recruitment process.
• To ensure all volunteer checks are carried out (DBS, face to face and references).
• To oversee and deliver, as appropriate, volunteer induction and training.
• To maintain central records of volunteer profiles and involvement.
• To work with service delivery staff members on deployment of appropriately qualified and skilled volunteers.
• To ‘check in’ with volunteers, offering support and encouragement and to ensure they feel supported in their role.
• To identify new training requirements and arrange provision within budget parameters.
• To help arrange volunteer events as appropriate, including training, information sharing and thank you events.
• To help develop a group of volunteers who can share their experience of volunteering with ICN in the community and be effective advocates for our work.
• To help develop a group of volunteers to focus on fundraising including to network with high net worth individuals.
• To ensure that volunteer processes are efficient, fair, and inclusive.
• To promote ICN within the community as a rewarding place to volunteer.
• To work with other stakeholders and/or partners of ICN where appropriate.

Person Specification

Skills and Competences:

Essential

• • Sound understanding of why people volunteer and the value volunteering has to a charity such as ICN.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to be able to network effectively.
  • Strong organisational skills, being able to plan well and work efficiently.
  • Strong skills on basic MS Office programmes, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
  • Strong attention to detail and follow-up.
  • Effective team worker across different functions and with volunteers of all ages and abilities.

Desirable

• Previous experience working in a similar volunteer coordinator role.
• Experience working with refugees, asylum seekers and/or vulnerable migrants.
• Experience of measuring the value of volunteering programmes.
• Ability to use Client Relationship Management (CRM) approach and system to the management of volunteers and groups.

Personal Characteristics:

Essential

• Willing to work within and promote the ethos of ICN to volunteers and service users.
• Tangible commitment to the value of volunteering for personal development and creating social value.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently as well as in teams.
• Willingness to adapt and learn new skills.
• High degrees of self-management and able to juggle varied demands.
• A good judge of people, their character, and aptitudes so that volunteers are well-matched to opportunities to serve.
• To be supportive of ICN’s ethos.
• This post requires the applicant to be sympathetic to the Christian values and ethos of the organisation. Please see the ‘Our Story’ section of our website for more information (https://www.icn.org.uk/about-us/our-story/).

Note: This job description and person specification are intended as a general guide to the duties and responsibilities of the role and should not be regarded as exhaustive. ICN is an equal opportunities employer, and individuals from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Accountability

To the Community Services Manager and CEO

Benefits

• Company pension scheme.
• A degree of flexibility with contracted hours.
• Staff welfare opportunities including socials.
• Training opportunities relevant to role.

To apply for this position, please complete the application form and send it to Rebecca Fell (CEO) by 12pm Monday 16th December 2024. Application forms can be sent by email to: r.fell@icn.org.uk. Interviews will likely take place Thursday 19th December. Applications will only be accepted from candidates with the right to work in the UK. Should you have any questions you are welcome to contact Rebecca Fell (CEO) to discuss on either r.fell@icn.org.uk or 01202 589395.

This position is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund