Volunteering Adviser - South West

£34,893 - £41,050 + Vehicle + Benefits

Homebased with regular travel throughout the region

Ref: 21287

About us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue.

Volunteering is at the heart of the RNLI and we have over 35,000 volunteers in a variety of roles from operational crew and lifeguards to water safety and fundraising volunteers. This is a great time to enjoy the RNLI People Team as we regionalise the delivery of HR and volunteer service to the 6 RNLI regions.

Home based within the region, with regular travel to the regional office in Saltash and other sites across the area, you will report to the Regional People Lead and work closely with the People Adviser. Understanding the opportunities within your region, working with the local leadership team and your peers in the wider People Team you will be responsible for supporting great ‘people’ service and delivery.

Some of the benefits

Flexible working

26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays

Outstanding pension scheme

Life assurance

Your role

We are seeking to recruit a Volunteering Adviser to join our team in South West. As a Volunteering Adviser, you will work closely with a range of stakeholders across the organisation, supporting the development of volunteering across the South West region and the wider RNLI.

This will include:

• Implementation of initiatives to improve the volunteer experience.
• Developing sustainable opportunities along with taking a proactive approach to how we support and manage volunteers.
• Providing staff and volunteers with expert advice and guidance in all aspects of volunteering including areas such as recruitment, retention, problem solving and recognition.
• Supporting local implementation of the volunteering strategy.
• Assisting with the development of volunteer management toolkits and support managers in the use of these.
• Delivering volunteer management training workshops to diverse groups of volunteer managers both in person and virtually.
• Being an ambassador for volunteering and ensure it is championed at all levels.
• You will also be required to support a volunteering helpline service for approximately 2 weeks a year (until 8pm weekdays and 10 am – 4pm weekends).

About you

To be our Volunteering Adviser, you will need:

• Extensive volunteer management experience.
• Confidence in delivering face-to-face and virtual workshops.
• The ability to manage a complex workload.
• Experience in handling volunteering problem solving issues is desirable. In this role you will need to be able to work and plan autonomously. You will also need to have a proactive and flexible approach to work along with excellent interpersonal skills.

This role is home-based and includes extensive travel across the region, and occasionally to the Regional Base in Saltash, often outside of normal business hours. This post requires a valid driving licence.

 For more information and to apply, please visit our jobs page.

 Closing date: 15 March 2026.

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).

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.