Volunteer Officer (Salaried Permanent Vacancy)

Volunteer Officer 

Permanent – Full-time

We are Chester Zoo, and for over 80 years we’ve been a leading conservation and education charity, and an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction.

We’re also a team of passionate, talented, enthusiastic and expert people, doing everything we can to keep the zoo going, from feeding the animals to discovering new conservation ideas, and giving our 1.9 million visitors an inspirational day out.

We work hard because we love animals, we care about nature, we love Chester Zoo and we want to be the best zoo in the world!

If you think you can help us to achieve that, then we’d love to hear from you.

We currently have an exciting vacancy for a Volunteer Officer to join our Discovery and Learning team.

The Role: 

• To support the recruitment, training and day-to-day supervision of the Volunteer Programme (200+ volunteers) including hosting recruitment events, enabling the zoo and the participants to determine suitability 
• To support individual volunteers to take on their role, including working alongside them in the zoo, finding appropriate buddies/mentors, providing feedback on performance and monitoring progress 
• To produce and maintain weekly rota’s to ensure key locations are manned
• To develop communication materials to ensure volunteers are kept up to date
• To research and develop resources for training and for volunteers to use when taking on their public engagement roles out in the zoo, e.g. developing content on iPads
• To assist with planning and implementation of volunteer events, group projects and volunteer appreciation events
• To communicate effectively with internal and external partners to develop opportunities for volunteers to contribute to a wide range of zoo activities and to ensure a wide range of input into volunteer training 

The successful candidate will have:

• Experience of working with and supervising volunteers on a regular basis, including administration of rotas, supervision of volunteers and managing recruitment processes 
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively under own initiative and as part of a team, to work under pressure with positive attitude and also to enthuse and engage others
• Experience working with a range of community organisations, particularly from the voluntary and adult learning sectors
• Excellent customer service skills, alongside experience working with and/or supporting volunteers in a visitor facing environment
• Excellent presentation skills and have experience of delivering engaging training sessions preferably to a wide range of participant groups and especially to those who face additional barriers to learning
• Experience in the use of all key Microsoft packages and use of digital technologies for public engagement, have good written skills and the ability to develop resources
• Strong organisational skills including excellent time management, administration and planning skills, with substantial administration experience, including the production of reports and dealing with personal data 

Prior knowledge of conservation and zoology would also be advantageous, this is likely be demonstrated by a Zoology or Biological Science degree and/or experience of working within a zoo, conservation organisation or similar environment. 

Hours of work are 35 hours per week within a 5 in 7 roster system which will include weekends and Bank Holidays. A degree of flexibility to cover volunteer events will be required, with time off in lieu given for any additional hours worked.

The salary for this role is £19,133.59 per annum and in addition we offer a range of amazing benefits which can be found on the Chester Zoo careers page. 

To apply for this position please click the ‘apply’ button on this page where you’ll be redirected to the vacancy on the Chester Zoo website. You’ll then be required to provide your current CV and covering letter stating why you believe you should be considered for the Volunteer Officer role.

Closing date for applications is Sunday, 22nd January 2017.

This Volunteer Officer vacancy is advertised by JVP Jobs on behalf of the employer Chester Zoo. Please note that JVP is an advertising company NOT a recruitment agency, therefore all applications will be reviewed directly by the employer Chester Zoo, and should they wish to progress your application further, they will be in contact with you.

**KEY WORDS: Charity, Not for Profit**