Volunteering and Community Fundraising Officer

At an exciting time in JGDR's fundraising, we are looking for volunteering & community fundraising officers to support our communities in South Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. It is a great opportunity to join a passionate team. 

Volunteering and Community Fundraising Officer South Lincolnshire x 1

Volunteering and Community Fundraising Officer Nottinghamshire x 1

Salary: £27,000 per annum (35 hours per week)

Location: Hybrid, with regular travel to shops and Centres within the Nottinghamshire or South Lincolnshire region. Post holders will be expected to be working flexibly across their community 4 days out of 5 – with at least one day per week from the local Centre – and attend regular team meetings in an agreed location.

Due to the scope and nature of the role, you will need to live within, or in close proximity to, the area you’ll be responsible for, and be able to travel freely without reliance on public transport.  Please state on your application the community applied for. 

About us

All dogs deserve a good life and a safe, loving home. We exist to provide a safe place for dogs without a home, and to find new loving places for them to live.

We currently have three operating centres in North and South Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, and also provide support and community specific initiatives across East Yorkshire. Our Central Office is located on our North Lincolnshire site, near Brigg.

Fundraising at Jerry Green Dog Rescue (JGDR)

We are at an exciting moment in our fundraising history at Jerry Green. Our new CEO, Christina Marriott, is a champion for the importance of fundraising and volunteering in securing the future of Jerry Green Dog Rescue, and it is a great opportunity to join a passionate team ready to tackle the next stage of JGDR’s history.

Job summary

We are looking for a proactive, confident and supporter-focused fundraiser to build and manage relationships with JGDR’s local community in Nottinghamshire and South Lincolnshire. Working with the Volunteering and Community Fundraising Manager, you will deliver a strategy to grow income and volunteer numbers from the local community. This is a varied role which will cover:

·         Stewarding and recruiting supporters undertaking their own fundraising activities, including those taking part in challenge events

·         Organising and attending local events to raise awareness and income

·         Working with local and national businesses

·         Recruiting and overseeing a network of volunteers who can support income generation in your local area

This role would suit a target-driven, approachable and resourceful fundraiser with ambition and drive – there is plenty of opportunity to make this role your own, and drive forward growth in these crucial income streams.

Your role

You will sit in the Volunteering and Community Fundraising team, and report into the Volunteering and Community Fundraising Manager. You will manage your own time to effectively balance both developing and stewarding relationships with individual and corporate supporters in the local area, and working through a network of volunteers to deliver fundraising and retail objectives.

You will develop and grow strong relationships with supporters, collaborating with colleagues across the Fundraising team, particularly the Individual Giving and Legacies team, to ensure you are offering the best supporter experience you can. You will attend local events with, and through, volunteers, work with colleagues in our retail sites, and spot other opportunities to promote JGDR in your community and drive support for our work.

You will deliver excellent stewardship to supporters and volunteers, and develop relationships with key local contacts who can help to further JGDR’s mission. You will champion supporter care, and ensure that all relevant supporter information is stored on JGDR’s CRM, Donorflex.

Key responsibilities

Community fundraising

·         Identify, engage, and steward DIY and community fundraisers, developing strategies to promote fundraising activities in these groups and grow income from your local area

·         Proactively pursue local business partnership opportunities, developing a pipeline of potential corporate support and making applications to secure support

·         Provide high quality stewardship of supporters, groups and businesses within the community, responding to enquiries in a timely way and ensuring relationships are developed and maintained at a high standard

·         Represent JGDR as the first point of contact within the community, promoting our mission, vision, and values alongside fundraising and volunteer opportunities

·         Ensure that Donorflex is up-to-date and develop regular reporting mechanisms to inform the Volunteering and Community Fundraising Manager of outputs and results, and support understanding of the local audiences, including individual supporters, local businesses, and volunteers, and their historical engagement with the charity

Volunteering

·         Work with the Volunteering and Community Fundraising Manager and Volunteering Assistant to recruit, induct and train volunteers to support fundraising and other relevant initiatives in the local community

·         Via volunteer support, oversee the distribution of collection boxes in your local area, monitoring and reporting on income generated

·         Coordinate and attend – supported by a network of volunteers – key local events, e.g. county shows, to raise awareness of JGDR in the local community and drive support for the charity amongst target audience groups.

·         Ensure JGDR retail shops, and their volunteers, in your area have relevant and timely information on current fundraising campaigns and other initiatives to share with customers

Other duties

 ·         Contribute content for social media, fundraising newsletters, publications and local media to support marketing objectives and increase our engagement with adopters, supporters and donors online

·         Keep up-to-date with sector trends and developments in community and regional fundraising, and volunteering

·         Ensure all fundraising activities and events operate within best practice and regulatory guidelines and comply with health and safety requirements.

·         Act as a champion for fundraising compliance across the organisation, including ensuring adherence to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice, the General Data Protection Act and PECR, and other relevant legislative requirements.

·         Manage any complaints from supporters efficiently and sensitively

·         Act as a collaborative role model to the wider team, and build strong working relationships with colleagues across the wider charity to be an internal ambassador for Fundraising and Marketing

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, but outlines the key roles and responsibilities for this post. The post holder’s specific objectives will be set upon commencing their role.

You are:

·         A target-driven and tenacious professional with experience in community and regional fundraising or volunteer engagement

·         Knowledgeable about your local community, with a positive approach to your work and supporting your colleagues to achieve shared objectives

·         Skilled at building relationships with people, and motivated by spending time getting to know supporters and volunteers in the local area

·         Entrepreneurial, with a drive to seek out new opportunities to drive income generation and pursue them with a continual eye on hitting KPIs and targets

·         Organised, with a keen eye for detail and a confidence in managing competing priorities effectively

·         Financially proficient, and comfortable planning, monitoring and being accountable for fundraising budgets to agreed deadlines

·         Familiar with sector trends and best practice methods of acquiring, retaining and stewarding supporters

·         A credible and clear communicator, preferably with copywriting and creative design skills

·         Experienced in using CRM databases to input, monitor, and report on supporter data and to gather insights

·         Diligent, organised and respectful of others’ contributions, and keen to work in an environment that encourages constructive feedback and collaboration

·         Committed to dog welfare, and representing the values of JGDR both internally and externally

·         Prepared and able to travel extensively in your region, including to other JGDR Centres and retail sites. A valid UK driving license and access to a vehicle will be necessary.

·         Prepared and able to attend relevant supporter events in the evening and at weekends within the community; a time off in lieu policy for this is in place.

Diversity and Accessibility

Jerry Green Dog Rescue is committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process and encouraging equality and diversity among our workforces. We acknowledge that some candidates may require additional support to overcome barriers experienced during the application process.