Volunteer Admin Assistant (HR/Volunteering)

Amazing, giving, and inspiring are just a few words we would use to describe our volunteers.  

Volunteers play an integral part in the services we provide and the people we support. If you are looking for a rewarding role where you will make a difference while gaining experience along the way, then join us here at Rethink Mental Illness.  

About the role 

Would you like to boost your CV by gaining valuable experience in an admin role? Do you have a keen interest in starting a career in HR? If so, this might be the perfect opportunity for you! 

We are looking for a well-organised individual who would like to join us as a Volunteer Admin Assistant. You will support the recruitment and onboarding of volunteers across the charity, ensuring volunteers and Volunteer Managers have a positive experience. As a volunteer yourself, any ideas you have on how we can improve our processes will be encouraged and welcomed. 

Your role will sit within the Volunteering Team which forms part of our central People Team. This is a home-based role however, there will be opportunities for you to join monthly team meetings in Birmingham and London. You will be reimbursed for out-of-pocket travel expenses. 

You will receive training and regular supervision to ensure you feel confident in your role. You can read more about the benefits of volunteering on our website.  

About the service 

The Volunteering Team develops policies and practices for volunteering across Rethink and provides support and advice throughout all aspects of the volunteer lifecycle. We support managers whose roles are dedicated to managing volunteers, and we also support managers who recruit volunteers occasionally. 

You might be supporting with 

• Creating and posting adverts for volunteer opportunities 

• Creating and posting content on social media 

• Processing volunteer offers 

• Issuing volunteer agreements 

• Processing online DBS applications 

• Responding enquiries in the volunteering inbox 

• Contacting volunteers to request outstanding documents 

• Updating the volunteering recruitment system 

What will make you a great fit for this role?  

Previous admin experience is not essential. If you have the right attitude, we can teach you the rest! We are looking for someone who is committed, reliable, and able to communicate well with people from different backgrounds.

You must have: 

• A positive attitude 

• Good organisational skills 

• Good communication skills 

• Basic IT skills 

• Ability to adapt communication style dependent on the needs of an individual 

• Access to the internet 

Maybe you: 

• Are seeking experience to help you gain employment 

• Have lived experience of mental illness 

• Want to make a difference to the lives of people affected by mental illness 

How do we select volunteers? 

We will read through the information you include on your application form, and we will invite suitable applicants for an informal discussion, which will take place online via Microsoft Teams. Before the discussion, you will complete a short computer-based task which will be emailed to you the day before. We will also share a copy of the discussion questions with you. 

What are the time commitments? 

Ideally, you will be able to commit a minimum of 7 hours per week to volunteer between Monday – Friday. There will be some flexibility around how you choose to complete these hours, and you will be able to confirm your availability on your application form.  

Dates for your diary 

Monday 23rd September – advert is set to close. We encourage you to complete an application as soon as possible as the advert may close early if we receive a high level of interest. 

Tuesday 24th September – we will contact successful applicants to arrange discussions. 

Tuesday 1st October & Wednesday 2nd October – online discussions will take place.  

Who are we? 

We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.”    

It is an exciting time to join our growing charity. We are on a transformation journey, one that supports the delivery of the organisation strategy – delivering Communities that Care. Supporting employees, managers and leaders through this change is a key priority for the People function. Just like its key that we attract diverse people to come and work for us.    

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion  

Diversity is important to us and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.  We recognise and support staff networks for our Black, Asian and minority ethnic and our LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.  

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation  

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrate our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.  

We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or questioning), Intersex and (asexual) (LGBTQIA+), people with a disability, and people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.