Location: MSSC NSC, 200B Lambeth Road, London, SE1 7JY (Hybrid Working)
Contract: Full time, permanent
Salary: £40,000 to £42,000 gross per annum, depending on experience
Closing Date: 8 February 2026
Assessment Day: 16 February 2026
Are you looking for a new opportunity supporting volunteers to give their best?
The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is a vibrant and growing charity delivering life changing nautical adventure for young people through the Sea Cadets to give them the best possible head start in life. We also provide personal and professional development opportunities for seafarers with the Marine Society. Working with our staff, cadets, and volunteers, we have built a vision and five-year strategy to take us forward and further improve the astounding contribution already made through our work to the lives of thousands of young people and seafarers, while fully supporting our volunteers who are vital to our success.
About the role
We are currently looking for a Volunteer Support Manager to join our innovative Young People, Volunteer and Business Support Directorate. You will manage the Volunteer Support Team and develop and maintain efficient volunteering systems used by our volunteers. This is a key role focussed on supporting the charity’s volunteering strategy and championing best practice in volunteering.
This is an exciting time to join the Sea Cadets with the opportunity to make a real difference to the way volunteers are supported and recognised. The Volunteer Support Manager will be responsible for the effective and efficient administration of the volunteer processes via Microsoft Forms and Power Automate, as well as reviewing existing and implementing new systems to make them as effective and as volunteer friendly as possible.
Responsibilities
- To maintain, review and update volunteering systems, processes and approaches ensuring that they are efficient, up-to-date and as volunteer friendly as possible
- To line manage and support the Volunteer Support Team based at the MSSC Support Centre to ensure the delivery of effective and timely support to the volunteers
- To functionally manage and support the Area Volunteer Support Team based across the 6 Area Offices to deliver effective and consistent support to the volunteers
- To work with the Head of Volunteering to review MSSC volunteering policies, monitoring their appropriateness and effectiveness, making recommendations for changes as necessary
- To work with Volunteer Support Officers to develop systems and processes for managing the volunteer support workload and monitoring delivery standards
- To develop guidance and associated resources for the support of volunteers
- To manage the Volunteer Support elements of the Training and Admin website ensuring that the information is relevant, accurate and up to date
Requirements
- Experience of managing and motivating a large team
- Experience of managing, reviewing and refining complex administrative processes
- Experience of running effective CRM systems including the use of Microsoft Forms and Power Automate or similar products
- Experience developing processes which are targeted at both internal and external audiences
- Experience of delivering a first-class service to clients or customers
- An understanding of the voluntary and community sector, ideally within the youth field
Desirable
- Experience of managing or supervising a team based remotely
- Experience of being a volunteer
- Experience of managing an onboarding process with the understanding of the importance of safer recruitment
- Experience of empowering a team to deliver a first class customer service
- Experience of leading projects manging change with various stakeholders
- Experience of working with volunteers and the knowledge of how to ensure they are supported
Benefits
- 25 days annual leave per annum, increasing with length of service
- Hybrid working for many roles
- Volunteering Leave
- Life assurance (4x salary)
- Private medical insurance
- Generous pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access to the Marine Society Digital Library
- Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
- Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.
Additional Information
MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.
We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire.
All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo pre-employment checks including a criminal record check.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Battersea has entered an exciting phase of innovation and transformation as we embark on the second year of our new five-year strategy. With increased investment in income generation, we are strengthening our team to drive the growth necessary to achieve our organisational goals.
This is a new role working within Battersea’s Philanthropy & Trusts team to seek and secure new income as part of a £4-6million pound capital fundraising appeal over the next 3 years.
One of the key pillars of Battersea’s current strategy is to ensure that we continue to provide expert care for all the dogs and cats that come through our gates. One of the ways in which we do this is by investing in our facilities to ensure that they continue to meet the changing needs of the animals we care for. Our new capital fundraising appeal will help to achieve that aim.
The key purpose of this Philanthropy Manager (New Business) is to meet both financial and strategic KPIs, by cultivating a pipeline of new major donor prospects to secure significant donations for this capital campaign.
Please note: this is a 3 year Fixed-Term contract opportunity
What we can offer you:
In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:
- 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year.
- Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes.
- Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
- Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
- Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
- Annual interest-free season ticket loans.
We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.
Our hybrid working model:
We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.
Diversity and inclusion:
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.
We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.
More about us:
At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.
Acceptable use of AI:
At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.
To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.
Closing date: 21st January 2026
Interview date(s): Interviews will be taking place on a rolling basis. Early applications are encouraged as the role will closed once filled.
All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received. For full details on the role, please download the recruitment pack.
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Battersea is here for every dog and cat, and has been since 1860. We believe that every dog and cat deserves the best.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.