Community and Volunteer Engagement Co-ordinator

As part of the spaceforall project, All Saints Church has been refurbished with exciting potential for serving the people of Wokingham as an active community hub. We are now seeking someone who will help realise that potential through encouraging local groups to work together with us,  building stronger relationships particularly with the new housing developments and areas of deprivation, reducing isolation,  providing a space for local organisations and charities to interact and enabling social and cultural activities.

Key Responsibilities

·       To promote and develop the aims of the spaceforall project 

·       To recruit, encourage and manage volunteers from the community, using best practice and awareness of safeguarding requirements.

·      To manage the requirements of different groups using the building and seek to find volunteers who can best facilitate fruitful working relationships. 

·       To actively encourage collaboration across community user groups, the church, users of the facilities and volunteers.

·       To empathise with, and understand the needs of, vulnerable people in the community and think creatively about how we can engage with them in a meaningful way.

Experience is required in the following areas:

·      Community development and outreach work

·      Working with, motivating and empowering volunteers to take on responsibility and flourish.

·      Communicating with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

·      Planning and managing your own time to achieve goals.

·      Establishing and sustaining a broad range of professional partnerships 

Skills Required

·       Passionate about making a difference in the local community.

·       Able to adapt to differing needs of volunteers, community groups and users of the project.

·       Able to think creatively, take the initiative and move things forward with a “can do” attitude

·       Able to set priorities and work on own initiative. 

·       Good organisational skills

·       Comfortable working both independently and as part of a team

·       Excellent interpersonal and networking skills; good at meeting new people and developing relationships.  

·       Able to communicate, negotiate and influence across a wide range of audiences.

·       Aptitude for building and maintaining professional relationships with community groups and working with communities in an empowering and supportive way. 

·       Good written communication skills, including IT proficiency, and able to produce reports and Management Information for a wide range of audiences.

·       Comfortable using social media and aware of the pitfalls.

·       Good record keeping skills, with an understanding of Data Protection requirements. 

Applicants are expected to be in sympathy with, and supportive of, the Christian ethos and the ministry of the Church.

Please note that this job required DBS clearance.