Volunteer and Participation Officer

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3000 Care Experienced members.   

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced children and young people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory opportunity for Care Experienced young people across Scotland; we work alongside corporate parents and communities of all sorts to broaden understanding; we work with policy makers, leaders and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy and practice on the basis of all that can be learnt from the voices of those with experience of care – working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

This role will involve supporting both the Volunteer Coordinator and teams across the organisation who involve volunteers in their work as well as facilitating groups for our care experienced members in the Glasgow and Renfrewshire area. 

The postholder will be responsible for promoting the positive involvement of volunteers at Who Cares? Scotland, and assisting the Volunteer Coordinator on the coordination of recruitment, training, development, and support of volunteers in all areas of our work.  

They will have a key role in maintaining a successful volunteer programme across the organisation working as part of the national volunteer and participation team. They will also be supporting groups that care experienced members attend and will have some experience of youth work and of planning/organising activities and events. 

The post holder will be required to be flexible and work some unsocial hours to meet operational needs. There will be opportunities to work from home, but there will be a requirement for the post holder to be based in one of our Central Belt offices.  

The post holder should be well organised, be a highly effective communicator, have the ability to build positive relationships, and have a genuine interest in volunteering and youth work. The post holder will also need to be efficient at working independently as well as part of wider team.  

Significant experience of coordinating the work of volunteers including recruitment, selection, training, support and retention, and of meeting targets set around these areas is essential for this post. In addition, the post holder will have a sound knowledge of current research and recommendations relating to volunteer issues, and have the ability to prioritise, plan and organise tasks and activities effectively. Being strongly committed to the work of Who Cares? Scotland and our aims is also essential for this post. 

If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you.

We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of care who meet the criteria for the post.