Role: Interim Volunteer Manager
Contract type: Fixed Term, 1-2 days per week
Contract length: Negotiable (3-6 months)
Salary: Negotiable, a suggested day rate is to be provided with application
Location: This role is based in Oxford though some remote working is possible.
About the role
Broken Spoke is recruiting for an interim role to help us develop our organisation around our brilliant community of volunteers. As we move through a time of change, growth and recovery from Covid-19, we need someone to join our team on a temporary basis, and work hand-in-hand with our Community Coordinator to develop an organisation which revolves around its members and volunteers.
Ideally, you’ll join us for a 6-month period and take accountability for the development of a volunteer strategy, the management of our volunteer culture, the development and training of key staff and volunteers, and creating a clear operational plan to move ahead with.
The interim volunteer manager role will work closely with our Interim General Manager to shape an informed business model which can utilise volunteers to participate meaningfully in the operations of our business and the delivery of our work programmes. At the same time, the interim volunteer manager will work with our fixed staff to put in place the practices and policies necessary to take the best possible care of our volunteers whilst ensuring an excellent quality of service and a safe place to work.
An essential part of this role is the development and training of our Community Coordinator. The success of the Interim Volunteer Manager role will depend on the Community Coordinator’s ability to carry forward the work that is initiated in this period and we expect the person who takes this role to establish a close relationship with the Community Coordinator and take responsibility for their professional development.
The Interim Volunteer Manager will leave behind them at Broken Spoke an engaged and enthused volunteer base, who are contributing regularly, reliably and meaningfully to the organisation. To sit alongside our business model, they will have developed a clear set of policies and procedures which ensure a workplace safe for all and encourage the delivery of excellent work. By the time they move-on, we will be fast on our way to a culture of openness and collaboration where volunteers feel able to take initiative and pull the organisation in exciting new directions. All of this will be overseen by a confident and capable Community Coordinator, left with the tools they need to maintain a thriving community of volunteer help.
About Broken Spoke
Broken Spoke* is a community bike project in Central Oxford. Our staff and volunteers help people from across the city to fix and ride their bikes, and get as many people on bikes as possible through courses, training and events. Broken Spoke is for everyone and we are actively working with marginalised groups across the city to make cycling an option for anybody. We’re as much about community building and inclusivity as we are about bikes. As one of our founders puts it;
“Broken Spoke creates a safe learning space that doesn’t just allow people to defy the expectations they have of themselves or that others have of them, it smashes power structures that put them there in the first place”
We’re a community-owned organisation, accountable to our members, and working to benefit everyone in our community. Our legal structure is a Community Benefit Society with charitable objectives, and we have recognised charitable status with HMRC for tax purposes. We run on cooperative principles. Our governing document is our primary rules. It’s a lot of rules – and there’s no need to read them before you apply. But we’re a friendly bunch and will be happy to discuss any questions you have about our rules.
We’ve been running since 2012. You can find out a bit more about what we do, and our history, on our website. As a co-operative, we also subscribe to this Statement on the Cooperative Identity – the Values and Principles. We are members of Locality.
If you’re interested in what we’ve been up to recently, here’s a short video about some of the things we’ve been up to during the Covid-19 pandemic. Plus we’ve been producing a series of blog posts on ‘why community bike projects matter’ such as this blog post from our co-founder Ellie.
*Our full legal name is Broken Spoke Bicycles Limited, and our Registered Society number is 31918R
Essential Skills
- 5+ years experience of working with volunteers, min 2 at a leadership or management level
- Excellent communication and employee engagement skills
- Experience of workshop facilitation and collaborative programme delivery
- Demonstrable experience of project management
- Demonstrable experience of coaching or training others
Desirable Skills
- An understanding and awareness of community bike projects and active travel.
- Knowledge of online communication and collaboration tools such as G Drive and Slack
- Demonstrable experience in collaborating and working as part of a healthy team or community online.
About you
You’ll be joining Broken Spoke at a moment of change. We do a lot for a small organisation and our staff are driven by a love for the organisation and a commitment to what we do. Covid has hugely impacted our business and the team has been through a worrying and tiring period. The right person for the interim Volunteer Manager role will be someone who can step confidently, calmly and reassuringly into our team and help steer our ship through these choppy waters with an experienced and assured hand.
You’ll be able to bring your experience of managing volunteers in different business types and on different tasks to contribute meaningfully to operations and programme delivery. You’ll be able to adapt this experience to the context, limitations, and personalities at Broken Spoke, finding neat and experience-informed solutions for operating in a post-Covid world.
You’ll be open and communicative in your approach, seeking every opportunity possible to transfer your skills and experience to others in the organisation, to seek input, and to empower others to aid you in your mission. Whilst you’ll show up with the full weight of your experience, your ego will stay at the door whilst you shepherd a process which is led by staff and volunteers.
Whilst the staff team and board will support you, you will lead this process and the right person for the role will be a confident manager of their own, and others’ time and happy being solely-responsible for the delivery of a programme of work.
How to apply – Please send us a CV and cover letter, including a brief outline of your suggested approach to this role to recruitment@bsbcoop.org, with the subject line, ‘Volunteer Manager application’. Your letter should include a proposed day rate or expected salary for this period of work and a clear set of deliverables to be provided in return for your fee. We would like to know whether you are able to offer any pro-bono support or discount to your standard fee in reflection of the nature and purpose of Broken Spoke, though this is not an essential requirement. Please also tell us your availability for a period of 3-6 months and a possible start date.
The deadline for applicants is the 16th November and interviews will take place between 23rd November and 4th December. The ideal candidate will be ready to start in early January. If you would like to discuss the role with one of our board members, please email recruitment@bsbcoop.org.
We’re also recruiting an interim General Manager! Want more info? Check out the ad here.
