Volunteering & Community Engagement Manager

Since the charity’s origins, Caring in Bristol has been powered by the input of hundreds of grass roots volunteers from around Bristol. People give their time and expertise to all our services in different ways, ranging from casual volunteering shifts to long term in-depth consultation about our work in their communities. This role will work across the organisation to build, strengthen, and sustain a strong team of volunteers and community participants to support our strategic priorities. 

The postholder will be responsible for leading on all aspects of our volunteering and community participation programme, including developing and implementing policies and procedures, managing the assigned budget, as well as recruitment, induction, training, support, engagement and retention of volunteers.

Our Volunteers 

We utilise volunteers and community participants across all areas of our work to support and enrich the work we deliver. It is important to understand the different sets of volunteers we work with: 

Winter – over 400 volunteers come together each winter to run our Caring at Christmas day centre and distribute food deliveries across the city. Caring at Christmas has a legacy of over 30 years and relies on a range of volunteers from highly experienced to completely new to the organisation. Additionally, during particularly cold weather, Caring in Bristol volunteers support emergency shelters in the evenings and mornings. 

Food clubs – a small but committed set of volunteers help deliver our Bristol Goods food support programme. We have a fantastic set of regular volunteers at our Hartcliffe and city-centre food clubs with plans for a new location soon. 

Youth services –our accommodation project launched in July 2024, providing four bedrooms for 18-25 year olds each night. Our youth team also run group sessions throughout the week. Volunteers are needed to provide invaluable support to these activities to ensure the young people feel welcome and comfortable. 

Co-Production and Consultation Participants – our committed group of community members are essential to shaping the way we work, taking their housing knowledge out in the wider community. They are often used as a focus group for housing/policy consultations, supported by our Outreach Worker. This work is established in South Bristol, and we are developing a similar group in North Bristol. 

Community Advocates – This is an exciting area of work we wish to develop and grow over the next year; training up community members on Housing Rights and routes for support, empowering them to share this knowledge, signposting those in need of support so to prevent homelessness. 

Fundraising & Office Volunteers – we often have tasks that volunteers can help with which help the “back office” of the charity. This could include helping to organise events, fundraising activities, stuffing mailing envelopes, stocktaking our food store or offering specialist skills /advice. 

Person Specification 

We expect you to meet most of these criteria. However, we don’t expect you to meet every point and welcome applicants with transferable skills and an ability to apply themselves in a new context. 

• Experience of recruitment or marketing opportunities in the charity sector 

• Experience of leading and motivating a team of volunteers 

• Understanding of co-production approaches and a demonstrable commitment to empowering community members   

• Demonstrable knowledge of the motivations for volunteering and the different needs or requirements that volunteers may have 

• Clear understanding of the legalities around volunteer management and health & safety 

• Experience of working in partnership with other groups and organisations in innovative ways to achieve social impact. 

• The ability to build rapport quickly and maintain effective working relationships with a range of very different stakeholders. 

• Persuasive written communication, able to produce copy for news and marketing pieces as well as clear and concise email responses to a very active inbox 

• Strong IT skills including the ability to use database systems and train others 

• Solid organisational skills including consistency, accuracy, and an eye for detail. 

• Proven ability to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively, with a willingness to challenge constructively. 

• A passion to change Bristol for the better