Volunteer Manager

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Volunteer Manager

With a strong emphasis on equality and inclusion, the Volunteer Manager, will lead our 200 plus volunteers in a wide range of activities across Chester Zoo including visitor engagement, gardening, archiving historical records and supporting our education and youth engagement work.

They will oversee the recruitment, training and development of both community and zoo volunteers, ensuring a consistent and high-quality approach. Working alongside other teams, they will provide support and guidance for voluntary work placements and staff involved with engaging people on a voluntary basis.

In 2021 we were the first zoo to achieve Investing in Volunteers accreditation, the Volunteer Manager will continue to develop processes and programmes of continuous improvement to ensure we continue to meet the standards of this accreditation.

As our Volunteer Manager, leading a small team, you will:

• Ensure all Chester Zoo volunteers contribute effectively to the delivery of learning, conservation and customer service across the zoo and in community roles. Identify appropriate opportunities for volunteers to contribute and ensure all roles have effective training and supervision in place. Collaborate widely across the zoo to achieve this.
• Support the Community Engagement Manager and Director of Conservation Education and Engagement to shape the future of learning at Chester Zoo, with particular focus on the development of volunteering and training.
• Oversee the recruitment, training and development of all volunteer roles at Chester Zoo and ensure their engagement in their role is well managed.
• Develop and implement policies, standard operating procedures and safe working practices to ensure that volunteer management at the zoo follows best practice and is compliant with all relevant guidelines and legislation.
• Develop skills and knowledge in the areas of conservation education and volunteer management, keeping up to date with best practice, collaborating with partners in the UK and internationally as appropriate, researching excellence and sharing practice both internally and externally.
• Measure the effectiveness of the volunteer programme against KPIs and deliver a programme of research to assess the impact of our volunteer programme. Collaborate internally and with external partners to drive a programme of continual development and improvement based on research and evaluation.
• Manage allocated resources, ensuring initiatives are well planned, deliver maximum value for money and effort.
• Represent Chester Zoo at conferences, networking events and similar, raising the profile of our work with volunteers, how we engage with them and their impact on the visitor experience.

The Package

• Permanent opportunity
• Salary of £38,952.52 per annum
• The responsibilities of the role require the Volunteer Manager to work onsite here at Chester Zoo
• 40 hours per week, working 10 in 14 days, including being on duty every other weekend.
• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%

Our Requirements

• Substantial experience of managing volunteers is essential
• Excellent leadership skills with experience working collaboratively with a range of community organisations, particularly from the voluntary and adult learning sectors.
• Experience of delivering and developing volunteer training, preferably in a visitor facing environment.
• Experience of working in a large public facing organisation, excellent customer service skills and practical knowledge of developing public facing roles is essential.
• Experience in safeguarding adults and/or children and knowledge of current legislation
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, demonstrated through a wide range of experience presenting to different audiences and delivering training. Including good written skills and ability to develop resources.
• Ability to work under pressure and deal with sensitive issues.
• IT skills: Skilled in the use of all key Microsoft packages, volunteer management CRM and use of digital technologies for public engagement.
• Organisational skills: Excellent time management, administration and planning skills. Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, meeting deadlines and ensuring appropriate quality control.
• Managing people: Experience of supervising a team and managing the work of others.
• Interpersonal skills: Excellent diplomacy and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively under own initiative and as part of a team, to work under pressure with positive attitude and also to enthuse and engage others. The role requires the post holder to work extensively across different departments and with external colleagues.

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• Relevant Volunteer Management qualification
• The post holder would ideally have evidence of knowledge of, and interest in conservation.

Closing date: Wednesday 19 June

We reserve the right to close the role prior to the advertised closing date, with this in mind candidates are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible.

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes...

We're a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.

As the UK's biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there's always lots going on here. We're an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of nearly 500 permanent and 500 seasonal team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office - where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?