Head of Volunteering
About StreetVet
StreetVet is a fast-growing national charity, committed to providing free vet care to the pets of those experiencing homelessness and to keeping pets and owners together to maintain their unbreakable bond. StreetVet relies on its team of over 400 vet and nurse volunteers in 23 locations around the UK to provide free veterinary treatment, funded by grants, corporate and private donors and partners. Since inception in 2016 the charity has treated nearly 3,000 pets and has won numerous awards including the Vet Trust Award for the Most Trusted Veterinary Charity, Purina Better with Pets Prize and Homeless Link Excellence Award for Excellent Support.
Title: Head of Volunteering
Duration: Permanent, full-time Reporting to: CEO
Responsible For: All StreetVet volunteers
Works With/Key Contacts: Colleagues across the organisation, volunteers, potential volunteers
Location: Home - remote working with regular travel to outreach locations and, as necessary, recruitment events
Contracted hours: 37.5-hour work week (flexible working available)
Holiday: 25 days per year plus national holidays
Salary: £35,000 - £43,000 depending on experience
Main Purpose of the Role
The Head of Volunteering will manage, develop and grow StreetVet’s Volunteer programme. They will have overall responsibility to recruit, onboard, induct, train, support, communicate with, develop and recognise volunteers as well as ensure good governance and compliance. The Head of Volunteering will act as an ambassador for volunteering across all StreetVet locations and externally. The Head of Volunteering will monitor and evaluate the impact of StreetVet’s volunteering programme and will identify and assess opportunities to develop the programme further.
Key Responsibilities
• Develop and implement the StreetVet Volunteering Strategy
• Lead and manage the day-to-day operation of the volunteer programme across all locations and work with the clinical team to ensure appropriate and robust processes are in place to provide suitable and high-quality care for the animals StreetVet work with.
• Develop and grow the volunteer programme to continually improve the volunteering experience at StreetVet.
• Review and refine all volunteer processes, policies and documentation to improve standards and ensure compliance.
• Oversee the recruitment and retention of volunteers, including the review and maintenance of all volunteer-related data, ensuring that it is compliant with data protection and GDPR principles.
• Oversee the development and provision of effective induction and learning and development activities appropriate for volunteer roles, working with key contacts across the charity and liaising with existing volunteers as required.
• Work to ensure all volunteers are aware of and adhere to StreetVet’s policies on safeguarding and working with vulnerable individuals.
• Develop effective methods of communicating with volunteers about their volunteering and the activities of the wider charity and provide opportunities for volunteers to communicate with each other.
• Oversee the development and provision of volunteer reward and recognition activities.
• Deal appropriately with escalated issues around volunteering, using tact, diplomacy and mitigating reputational and other risks that might be involved. This may include working in conjunction with management on issues that involve staff, as well as sensitively managing and, on occasion, terminating volunteer agreements when deemed appropriate.
• Establish and develop relationships with key stakeholders across the charity to ensure a consistent and best practice approach to volunteering across our locations and central volunteer team.
• Provide advice and guidance to staff that work with volunteers to ensure they receive appropriate support and development.
• Ensure effective use of the volunteer database and other tools to record, produce and analyse metrics on volunteer involvement, recruitment, retention and other relevant KPIs.
• Produce outcome and impact reports for both internal and external stakeholders on a regular basis.
• Keep up to date with current developments in the volunteering sector, including undertaking benchmarking and accreditation e.g. Investing in Volunteers standard. Maintain and develop good relationships with similar organisations in the sector and represent StreetVet at external conferences/meetings as relevant.
• Manage budgets and resources related to the volunteer programme.
The above job description is intended to be an outline of the duties and responsibilities for this role. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is likely to change over time. You may be expected to undertake other duties that are commensurate with this role and grade.
Please see full job description for essential experience required.
StreetVet is a national charity, committed to providing free vet care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness & to keep pets & owners together
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.