Volunteer People & Volunteer Lead

Help us build the team behind Young Change Makers from the very beginning.

Young Change Makers is being rebuilt from the ground up, and we're looking for a Volunteer People & Volunteer Lead to create the recruitment, onboarding and volunteer-management systems that will support the organisation as it grows.

This is one of our first three appointments. You won't be inheriting an established HR department or a finished volunteer programme. You'll help create them.

About Young Change Makers

Young Change Makers exists to help young people turn their ideas into action.

Our aim is to provide young people with practical guidance, resources and support to develop community projects, campaigns, charitable initiatives and other ideas that create positive change.

YCM is currently being completely relaunched.

We're rebuilding our leadership team, programmes, website, resources, partnerships and internal systems.

To make that possible, we need a strong volunteer team and, just as importantly, a proper structure for recruiting, onboarding and supporting those people.

About the role

As People & Volunteer Lead, you will take ownership of the people side of Young Change Makers.

Initially, you'll work directly with the Founder and Managing Director / Organisation Lead to recruit the organisation's senior leadership team.

As YCM grows, you'll develop a small People & Volunteering team of your own and provide recruitment and volunteer-management support across every department.

The long-term goal is simple: recruitment and volunteer management should not depend on the Founder.

If a department needs another volunteer, its lead should be able to work with you and your team to recruit that person through an organised and consistent process.

What you will be responsible for

You will:

• Develop YCM's volunteer recruitment process.
• Work with department leads to identify recruitment needs.
• Help create clear and engaging volunteer role descriptions.
• Coordinate advertising, applications, shortlisting and interviews.
• Develop consistent candidate communications.
• Build an effective volunteer onboarding process.
• Maintain an accurate central directory of volunteers, roles and reporting relationships.
• Make sure volunteers understand who manages them and what is expected of them.
• Develop volunteer induction materials.
• Coordinate relevant policies and agreements for volunteers.
• Work with the Safeguarding Lead on safer recruitment requirements.
• Help determine where references, checks or additional screening are appropriate.
• Develop processes for volunteer check-ins and support.
• Help department leads manage volunteer engagement and retention.
• Establish sensible processes for dealing with inactivity or volunteers leaving.
• Gather feedback about the volunteer experience.
• Help build a supportive, organised and accountable culture across YCM.

One of your first responsibilities

You are joining during YCM's initial recruitment stage.

Once appointed, you'll work with the Managing Director / Organisation Lead and Founder to recruit our remaining department leads:

• Head of Programmes & Learning
• Partnerships & Outreach Lead
• Communications & Marketing Lead
• Operations & Administration Lead
• Finance & Sustainability Lead

Once those people are appointed, department leads will recruit their own teams with support from you and your People & Volunteering function.

You will therefore be instrumental in taking YCM from a handful of initial appointments to a functioning organisation.

Building your own team

As recruitment activity increases, you'll also be responsible for building the People & Volunteering team.

This is expected to include:

Recruitment Coordinator
Supports vacancies, applications, candidate communication and interviews.

Volunteer Onboarding Coordinator
Makes sure successful applicants receive the information, access and introductions they need to start properly.

Volunteer Support / Experience Officer
Supports volunteer engagement, check-ins, feedback and retention.

These roles do not need to be recruited immediately.

Part of your responsibility as People & Volunteer Lead will be deciding when recruitment volume actually justifies expanding your team.

Who we're looking for

You may be a good fit if you:

• Have experience in recruitment, HR, volunteer management, administration or people management.
• Are highly organised.
• Communicate professionally and confidently.
• Can create straightforward processes and documentation.
• Are comfortable handling personal information appropriately.
• Can manage several vacancies or applicants at different stages.
• Understand that volunteers still need proper management, expectations and support.
• Can work collaboratively with different department leads.
• Are confident taking ownership of your area rather than waiting for the Founder to direct every task.
• Care about creating a positive experience for volunteers.
• Are interested in youth empowerment and social action.

Previous charity experience would be useful but isn't essential.

Starting from the ground up

Young Change Makers is not currently a fully staffed organisation.

We're starting again from the ground up.

There isn't an existing People department waiting for you. Some recruitment processes, onboarding materials, internal documentation and volunteer systems still need to be created.

That's exactly why we're recruiting this position now.

You'll have considerable freedom to recommend how these systems should work rather than being expected to follow processes simply because "that's how we've always done it."

What you'll get from the role

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Build a volunteer-management function from its earliest stage.
• Gain substantial recruitment and people-management experience.
• Recruit and eventually manage your own team.
• Work directly with senior leadership.
• Influence YCM's organisational culture.
• Develop practical HR, recruitment and leadership skills.
• Volunteer remotely with flexible hours.
• Access training and development opportunities as these become available.
• Receive a professional reference following a meaningful period of contribution.

Working Relationship

Initially, you will work closely with the Founder and Managing Director / Organisation Lead.

As YCM develops, the Managing Director should become your primary senior operational contact.

You will work directly with department leads when they need to recruit or manage volunteers, while the Safeguarding Lead will support you with safer recruitment and safeguarding requirements.

A full Young Change Makers Hiring and Team Structure Plan will also be provided so you can understand the planned organisation and, importantly for this role, who is responsible for recruiting whom.