Recognition Adviser

About us

Our purpose is simple, to save lives at sea. At the heart of the RNLI are thousands of volunteers. Their passion, talent and kindness have supported saving lives for over 200 years. Recognising the incredible contributions of our volunteers, supporters, and staff is vitally important to us - their commitment is what makes saving lives possible.

Some of the benefits:

• Salary of £35,853 - £42,181 (dependent on experience)
• 26 days’ annual leave, plus Bank Holidays
• Competitive pension scheme 
• Life assurance
• Heath cash plan option

About the role

Recognising the huge contribution that volunteers make to the organisation is something we are immensely passionate about. To help us do this, we are looking for a talented Recognition Adviser to join the Volunteering Development and Inclusion team. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape our approach to volunteer recognition both now and for the future.

In this role, you will lead a small team of one member of staff and our Recognition Volunteers to deliver our existing awards and events programme.

You will also coordinate a review of current ways of working whilst exploring new ways of recognising volunteers.

This is a hybrid role with 3 days per week required in Poole.

About you

To be our Recognition Adviser, you will need to be a motivated volunteering professional who:

• Has experience of developing recognition initiatives.
• Is able to demonstrate how they have implemented recognition initiatives effectively within a large volunteer led organisation.
• Can use your first-class communication and stakeholder management skills to influence and engage a varied audience. 
• Is able to drive forward change to ensure the volunteer experience for recognition is seamless
• Is passionate about making a difference.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website.

Closing date: 17 May 2026.

First interview: 22 May 2026 (remote via Teams).

Second interview 28 May 2026 (in person in Poole).

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.