Volunteer Engagement Officer

Volunteer Engagement Officer, Birmingham, B7 5QT

Salary: £11904-£12695 (Depending on skills, experience)

Location: Nechells, Birmingham B7 5QT

Hours: Part Time, 19.5 hours per week 0845-1515, flexibility required

Days: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (degree of flexibility)

Benefits: 25 days holiday, pro-rata, 5.5% Employer Pension Contribution including Life Cover, Occupational Sick Pay Benefits & Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Leave and Pay, plus more

Reporting to: Volunteer Manager

FareShare Midlands is the region’s largest food redistribution charity. We take good-to-eat surplus food from the food industry and get it to our Members - frontline charities and community groups all over the Midlands. We turn an environmental problem into a social solution.

Last year we redistributed almost 5,794 tonnes of food from our warehouses in Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. It is sorted and stored by our dedicated teams of staff and volunteers, and then redistributed to around 800 Members including food pantries and cafes, homeless shelters and drop-in centers. These local organisations turn the food into food parcels, affordable shopping and delicious meals for people of all ages. As well as food, our Members provide vital support to families and the elderly, many of whom are facing challenging circumstances and living in poverty.

Last year our food reached more than 83,000 vulnerable people every week, providing 13 million meals. At the same time, we are growing our Employability Programmes to help people gain work experience, skills and jobs.

Hunger is a growing issue in the UK and while there is surplus food that is otherwise going to waste, we believe that this food should be used to feed people first.

The Role

At Nechells we are fortunate to have over 80 dedicated Volunteers that commit their time to ensure our 200 local Community Food Members receive the much-needed food to support their communities. Working with a wide range of Volunteers, you will be responsible for all aspects of volunteer support including but not limited to recruitment, induction, administration, co-ordination and engagement of our Volunteers. Essential health and safety compliance documentation and record keeping is a crucial element of the role as is working closely with the Operational staff, to coordinate all the Volunteer scheduling rota. A large aspect of the role with be overseeing the Corporate Volunteers that regularly attend the depot for their day of Volunteering. This customer facing element of the position is exciting and rewarding. You will also be the first and key point of contact of our diverse group of Volunteers, organising engagement events to completing risk assessments when required.

Person Specification - Skills, Qualities & Experience

Essential

·       Able to establish and maintain systems and accurate recording of data

·       Experience of working with people from a diverse range of backgrounds

·       Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with people at all levels

·       Enthusiastic and self-motivated with good team-working skills

·       Good time management with ability to manage workloads to meet deadlines

·       IT literacy, in particular of using Microsoft applications (Outlook, Word, and Excel)

·       A commitment to Equal Opportunities and inclusivity

·       To subscribe to the ethos, vision and mission of FareShare Midlands

Desirable

·       Experience of supporting volunteers

·       Recruitment & Induction delivery

·       Full clean driving licence and have access to a vehicle so can travel between depots as needed

Values and behaviours 

·       A commitment to Equal Opportunities

·       An appreciation of FareShare Midlands’ mission and vision

·       Flexibility of approach and ability to work in a team

·       Proven ability to develop and maintain good working relations, with both internal and external audiences

·       The role holder will be required to work flexibly to meet operational needs

How to Apply:

If you would like to apply for this role, please create a supporting statement to demonstrate your suitability and to explain your interest in both the job and FareShare Midlands. Please send your supporting statement with a copy of your CV.

We continue to strive to ensure that the profile of our staff and volunteers reflects the diverse communities we serve across the Midlands. As such we encourage and welcome applications from all our communities. We particularly welcome applications from people from ethnically diverse backgrounds as they are currently under-represented within FareShare Midlands. 

Closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 31st July 2024