JOB PROFILE
Job Title: Community & Volunteer Engagement Co-ordinator
Department: Services
Location: North and East London
Reporting to: Enterprises & Training Manager
1. INTRODUCTION
PBHA is a housing association with charitable aims that creates positive change in people’s lives. As well as homes and support, we empower people to learn, access work and discover their creative talents. Based in Hackney, Islington and Newham we work with people who are homeless, have mental health needs, learning disabilities and multiple needs. Our work enables people to move on and lead independent lives.
We are committed to an asset based and psychologically informed approach to our work. Mutual support, participation and personal development for both staff and service users is key to this.
Putting the role in context
As Community & Volunteer Engagement Coordinator you will be assisting Peter Bedford Housing Association with its current strategic aims of Making a difference for Tenants and Participants and Achieving more through ambitious partnerships. Situated within the housing association’s Enterprises & Training Team, you will lead the delivery of a specific project seeking to tackle food poverty and long-term development needs such as wellbeing and social connection. Alongside the Pantry Coordinator, you will lead on developing a wrap- around service to enable access to skills training, IAG, and volunteering opportunities for our tenants and local communities.
In this role you will develop partnerships to help Peter Bedford Housing Association listen to community needs collaborating with groups supporting global majority individuals to co-produce activities with wellbeing and community connection at its core. A key target of this important project is to work collaboratively to ensure our Peter Bedford Housing Association activities and services are increasingly accessible and relevant to any local person who wishes to join.
1. Aims of the Post
• Identify, build, and maintain relationships with organisations supporting disadvantaged adults to develop skills and build resilience.
• Work collaboratively with local partners to co-produce services which reflect community needs.
• Organise and deliver events, and workshops that develop community cohesion.
• Oversee the delivery of exciting new activities, groups and workshops for Peter Bedford Housing Association tenants and the local community.
• Recruit & Support 15 volunteers to support with delivery of services.
• Apply learning gained through collaboration to adapt and improve the organisations approach to engaging individuals from marginalised groups.
• Increase Peter Bedford Housing Association’s community presence to promote its activities & services across the community.
• Monitor and evaluate impact over the course of the 1-year project
2. Specific Responsibilities
a) Community Outreach
• Develop new relationships with organisations that can support in the delivery of a wrap-around service including money advice, talking therapies, pro bono legal advice and learning & development.
• Manage a team of volunteers to support with the delivery of services such as digital inclusion, events and marketing & communications.
• Recruit to and facilitate quarterly coproduction meetings with tenants and local community members to help design and improve on service delivery.
• Maintain appropriate information and recording systems relating to the wrap-around service, including ensuring appropriate monitoring and record keeping on our database and evaluation tools.
b)
Coordination of Wrap- around Support & Volunteering
• Liaise with the pantry coordinator to sign up new members to the service
• Liaise with staff and volunteers to update and develop clear task profiles for volunteering roles and promptly identify and fill volunteering vacancies.
• Ensure a timely response to expressions of interest and applications to volunteer.
• Work with volunteer applicants, team leaders and staff, to find the best placement of volunteers.
• Provide induction, line management and support for volunteers linked to the wrap-around service.
• Coach volunteers on how to support tenants and local community members to develop their self-confidence and engage with community activities or groups.
• Collate data for outcomes measurements.
c) Responsibilities of all staff
To communicate and support tenants/participants to access PBHA’s participation and co-production opportunities. To promote PBHA through its marketing and communications strategy.
To adhere to lone-working procedures.
To positively promote and signpost tenants and participants to report complaints in line with PBHA’s practice. To have a collaborative and co-operative approach towards resolving complaints, working with
colleagues across teams and departments. To take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through complaints rather than blaming others. To act within the Professional Standards for engaging with complaints as set by the Chartered Institute of Housing.
• Involvement in the selection and induction of new workers and volunteers.
• Taking part in planning the team’s work and the annual plan
• Ensuring that proper records are kept and information is passed to other team members as necessary.
• To ensure that PBHA’s computerised and manual systems are accurately updated specifically in relation to contact with tenants and service users.
• To meet the required standards and contract compliance of any funder, accreditation or commissioning body where PBHA delivers a service.
3. General Responsibilities of all workers
All staff are expected to:
• Participate in key meetings
• Contribute to policy development, income generation, strategic and annual planning, corporate and cross-team activities, external partnerships and promotional activities as required
• Promote, develop and support PBHA’s ethos, values and impact
• Provide cover for other managers and workers
All staff are expected to:
• Work co-operatively as part of a team and with other teams
• Be involved in the selection and training of new workers and volunteers
• Participate in staff training and development activities, one to ones and all relevant meetings
• Ensure the observation of all PBHA’s policies and practices, including those relating to equality and diversity, data, health and safety, financial control, standing orders, sustainability, recruitment, supervision, appraisals, sickness and disciplinary
• Plan and organise own work with a minimum of day-to-day supervision
• Undertake all other reasonable duties
4. General Information
Please note that:
• Workers must be prepared to see their duties change as the needs of the organisation and its tenants change and develop
• All spaces in Peter Bedford are non-smoking.
5. Accountability
The Community & Volunteer Engagement Co-ordinator is accountable to the Enterprises and Training Manager.
6. Main details of conditions of service
This post is 19hrs per week. Usual working days will be Wednesday to Friday and times are 9.30am to 5.30pm on Thursday & Friday and 1.30pm to 5.30pm on a Wednesday. This is a fixed termed contract of 14 months. Salaries and expenses are based on PBHA’s salary scales and are revised each year. The salary for this post is fixed and outside of PBHA’s salary scales due to the funder’s requirements. The FTE salary will be £31,616 (pro rata of £18,443)
Annual leave entitlement is 26 days per year plus normal bank holidays pro rata (inclusive of bank holidays). This will rise after each completed year of service to a maximum of 30 days.
The post holder will be auto enrolled to be a member of the organisation's contributory pension scheme if eligible.
In common with all posts at PBHA, confirmation of appointment is subject to a probationary period (6 months). The notice period for this role is one month.
PBHA is committed to equality and diversity, anti-discriminatory practice and is striving to be an antiracist organisation.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
Although we are keeping direct experience/knowledge requirements to a minimum, we do need you to use the application form or covering letter to demonstrate your capabilities, in relation to each point listed under essential requirements in the role requirements. Where relevant use your answers to illustrate how your competences have helped you achieve positive results.
The minimum experience required for the post is:
Assessed by*
A, I
• At least 1 year experience working with services that promote learning & development, wellbeing and improving people’s outcomes.
• An understanding of community engagement, poverty reduction initiatives and improving outcomes
• Experience of recruiting and managing volunteers.
• Experience of providing training and delivering engaging presentations in public.
A, I, T
• Good computer literacy including the ability to use Windows applications and word processing and database packages. This also includes the ability to use the internet and to draft and send e-mails, marketing and communications for events.
• Experience of focusing on individuals’ strengths and of learning from mistakes.
• Experience of working in an outcomes focused way
• A demonstrable commitment to promoting social inclusion through collaboration and innovation.
The competencies required for the post are the ability to: Assessed by*
A, I
• Can positively contribute and take initiative, good negotiation skills
• To be positive, resourceful, and resilient when working in a challenging environment.
• Able to constructively challenge and lead positive change- including with assumed constraints and the abilities of people with ongoing mental health needs.
• Promotes positive risk taking and supporting people to find their own solutions to engrained challenges.
• Understanding and ability to manage boundaries effectively, including awareness of limits of own competence, role and responsibilities.
• Good verbal, written & positive interpersonal communication skills, ensuring that stakeholders are treated with respect and dignity and are not judged.
• Ability to manage, plan and take responsibility for your own project case load.
• Ability to use appreciative inquiry and positive framing and communication to support people to develop achievable goals.
• Effectively support PBHA’s tenants to progress to more independent accommodation work through the acquisition of skills, confidence and supportive relationships.
• Establish productive partnerships with a range of key stakeholders, internal and external to ensure that project targets are met.
• Organise work effectively by prioritising, planning and excellent time Management
• Be a self-starter, demonstrating initiative and a pro-active approach to meeting goals and targets. • Use IT effectively to prepare reports, marketing materials etc.
• Meet demanding targets in a difficult climate.
It is desirable that the candidate will have:
Assessed by*
A, I
• Holds a level 3 award in education and training, level 2/level 3 information, advice and guidance qualification or equivalent.
• Ability to make engaging presentations in public.
• Experience of forging working relationships with the voluntary and statutory sector.
The successful candidate will need to be committed to:
Assessed by*
A
• Improving quality and raising standards of service.
• PBHA’s Diversity and Equal Opportunities policy.
• Co-operative team working.
A, I
• Enabling participants in the project to take control of their own lives and become involved in the overall running of the project.
• Reducing waste, increasing recycling and embedding the ethos ofbuying local.
The successful candidate will:
• Have the flexibility to accommodate work responsibilities that occasionally extend beyond normal working hours at short notice.
Assessed by*
A Assessed through Application Form
I Assessed through Interview
T Assessed through Assessment