Volunteer Development Officer

Job Description

We are seeking a person dedicated to helping more, and more diverse, volunteers offer their skills and expertise to save nature. Joining RSPB Scotland offers an exceptional chance to deliver top-notch advice, direction, and encouragement to volunteer across the northern part of Scotland covering a geographical area from north of Dundee to Shetland and the Western Isles.

About the role

Volunteering is pivotal for the success of the RSPB. With our volunteers giving their time and talents regularly, it is so vital that we ensure our large workforce is being well supported so they are having a quality volunteering experience and gaining enjoyment and satisfaction from what they do. You’ll be one of two Volunteering Development Officers, ensuring the wider team has the skills to develop and implement innovative and effective volunteering initiatives that align with volunteering good practice and are of the highest standards. You will work with our Local Group network, providing support and guidance to enable them to continue to deliver quality activities and experiences within their community.

With the opportunity to be homebased or located in one of our offices in Aberdeen or Inverness you will be organised and work consistently to be visible to the teams you support, even if you can't be everywhere in person. You will also be a champion for change, looking for ways of doing things better. For the organisation to grow and ultimately save nature, we must mobilise and develop volunteers across all areas of the business, it is the role of the Volunteering Development Officer to give the energy and expertise needed to realise that change.

Key Deliverables of the Role:

• Deliver a recognised & respected source of leadership, support & transformational advice to the Scotland team seeking to develop new volunteering initiatives.
• Proactively guide & advise staff at all levels on the operational aspects of volunteer involvement, enabling them to recruit, support, develop and motivate volunteers effectively.

• Champion the aims of RSPB to engage more and more diverse people in conservation by developing diverse and inclusive volunteering opportunities, support and collaboration.
• Deliver a recognised & respected source of leadership, support & transformational advice to develop new volunteering initiatives.
• Influence & challenge all parts of the country on the roles & contributions volunteers can make to ensure that volunteer’s skills & expertise are put to best effect to meet business needs.
• Proactively guide & advise country staff at all levels on the operational aspects of volunteer involvement, enabling them to recruit, support, develop & motivate volunteers effectively.
• Monitor & evaluate volunteer management standards to ensure all volunteers receive an excellent volunteering experience
• Raise awareness & understanding of volunteering, championing it to ensure that it is valued & seen as a positive way of meeting business needs.

What we need from you:

Essentials:

• Demonstrable track record of having successfully &effectively developed a range of volunteering roles & schemes across an organisation
• Excellent communication & interpersonal skills, successfully influencing, persuading, guiding, listening to, & negotiating with others, constructively challenging thinking where appropriate.
• Ability to build & manage effective and productive stakeholder relationships
• Excellent planning & organisational skills, with the ability to manage & deliver a diverse portfolio of work & to balance the priorities & needs of multiple stakeholders
• Excellent understanding & experience of volunteering
• Experience of working in the charitable sector or a volunteer-involving organisation
• Experience of providing operational advice & guidance on volunteer involvement to people at all levels & building effective stakeholder relationships.

Additional Information

For all application/role inquiries, please contact: karl.stevens@rspb.org.uk

In order to apply, you will need to fill out an application form where you can detail how you meet the aforementioned criteria.

Before applying, please read through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.

At RSPB, we strive to foster an all-encompassing and varied community where everyone can feel nurtured, appreciated, and encouraged to express their true selves. Our goal is to enrich the world with nature, and to achieve this vision, we require a more diverse and inclusive team. Unfortunately, individuals who identify as disabled or people of color are underrepresented in the environmental, climate, sustainability, and conservation fields. We encourage those who identify as such to apply and let us know if there's any additional support they require while completing the application process.

Please note that UK sponsorship is not available for this position. The ideal candidate must possess the legal right to work in the UK.