Senior Practical Support Officer

Salary: £42,479 per annum, rising to £44,716 after 12 months in London (or £38,290 per annum rising to £40,526 after 12 months outside of London).​

Location: Home based, or office based at Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London N1, in line with NCVO’s flexible working policy or home working policy.

Closing date: 09.00, 2 December 2024.

Shortlisting date: 3 and 4 December 2024.

Interviews: 11 December 2024.

About the role

From local and national support services to green spaces, sports clubs, museums and the arts, voluntary organisations and volunteers are a vital part of communities across the country. As the membership community for charities and voluntary organisations, NCVO has championed volunteers and the voluntary sector for over a hundred years.

The Senior Practical Support Officer role is key to the delivery of NCVO’s support for small charities. You will be a key part of a small team, with a focus on managing and responding to enquiries that come in via phone and email to our Small Charity Helpdesk. We receive 400 – 500 enquiries a month about setting up and running a charity, with a particular focus on volunteering and governance.

Alongside the helpdesk you will also work with colleagues across NCVO on the production, and curation of content for our website and with internal and external stakeholders to produce sector leading practical webinars.

You will have a particular focus on volunteering, working with multiple stakeholders on a range of cross-organisational initiatives to ensure we develop and share best practice on involving volunteers.

Your good working knowledge of the voluntary sector, understanding of the specific needs of small charities and sharp focus on delivering excellent customer service will help us to effectively respond to the needs of the sector.

This is fast paced role and with good time management and attention to detail this role has a lasting/meaningful impact on the hundreds of charities we support.

NCVO is fully committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in our sector. We want this to be reflected in the diversity of the people who work for us, and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and identities. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups in the voluntary sector and those with diverse, lived experience. As part of our commitment to employing disabled people, all disabled candidates who meet the minimum requirement for all competencies on the person specification will be guaranteed an interview.

If you have access needs or require reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please let us know. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a pre-interview task and will have one week to complete the exercise. Interview questions will be shared in advance.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

NCVO is fully committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in our sector.

We want this to be reflected in the diversity of the people who work with us. We welcome submissions from people from all backgrounds and identities. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups in the voluntary sector and those with diverse, lived experience.

If you tell us you’re disabled (according to the Equality Act 2010) and your application meets the minimum criteria for each specification listed in the job description, we’ll interview you for the role. We’ll make reasonable adjustments during each recruitment stage to ensure it’s inclusive and works for you.

If you have access needs or require reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please email us.

About NCVO

We are the charity for charities. For over 100 years, NCVO has stood shoulder to shoulder with communities, championing and celebrating voluntary action.

Our membership is made up of around 17,000 voluntary organisations across England, from small, grassroots community groups and social enterprises, to large, far-reaching charities.

We believe that communities are strengthened by voluntary action. We therefore want charities to thrive and be empowered to deliver for people and communities.

We focus on empowering charities and volunteers by making sure they have the knowledge, tools, and resources they need. We advocate for and with our members, giving voice to those not often heard, and harnessing the collective power of partners to ensure the voluntary sector is valued. We bring charities together so they can learn, connect, and create greater impact.

As the voluntary sector and volunteering adapt to new challenges and a changing context, so must NCVO. We are therefore prioritising work to evolve as an organisation to ensure we live our values of ambition, inclusion, openness and collaboration in everything we do internally and externally.

We have around 80 staff and income of more than £7m per year. With our members at the heart of everything we do, our mission is to unite to champion the remarkable role of charities and volunteers. Because stronger charities make for stronger communities.

NCVO is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from everyone. Charity No. 225922.

Benefits for NCVO employees

NCVO offers attractive benefits including:

• 25 days annual leave for full time staff and pro-rata for part-time staff. After three years, annual holiday increases to 27 days. After five years it increases to 30 days (pro rata for part time staff)
• office closure between 25 December and 1 January inclusive
• the option to purchase or sell up to five more days each year
• five days volunteering leave (pro rata for part-time staff)
• two and a half extra wellbeing days off during the year
• enhanced pay for sick, maternity and adoption leave
• subsidised gym membership
• season ticket loan
• flexible working, including opportunities to work from home or off site
• monthly homeworking allowance for permanent homeworkers
• monthly office worker allowance for those who have to work from the office on a daily basis
• generous employer pension contribution of up to 8.5% of salary into our stakeholder pension scheme (linked to employee contribution)
• training and development opportunities
• the opportunity to join Hospital Saturday Fund health cash plan for free at the basic level of cover, or at a reduced rate for other levels of cover
• 24-hour free and confidential employee assistance programme.

We’re located a short walk from London King’s Cross station in a modern, accessible building overlooking Regent’s Canal.