Community Volunteers Enabling You (COVEY) has been a lifeline for children, young people, and families across Lanarkshire since 1992. We provide 1-1 and group-based befriending, mentoring, and family support services tailored to those who need it most. Our mission is to help children, young people and families become more resilient, safe, and better equipped to reach their full potential.

This new role will lead volunteering engagement across COVEY - recruiting, training, supporting and retaining volunteer befrienders/mentors and parent/carer volunteers, while increasing volunteer capacity in line with service demand and strategic priorities.

As Volunteer Engagement Manager, you will have responsibility for COVEY’s volunteer system including recruitment pipelines, safe recruitment, induction and training frameworks, supervision standards, retention, recognition and reporting. You will work closely with Service Managers and frontline staff, who support volunteers day-to-day within services, while you ensure consistency, quality, safeguarding and performance across the organisation.

What we’re looking for:

• Significant experience leading volunteer recruitment, onboarding, training and retention, ideally within mentoring, befriending, family support or similar services.

• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, safe recruitment and volunteer boundaries

• Experience designing or improving volunteer systems, processes and quality standards

• Confidence using data and CRM systems to monitor performance and report on outcomes

• Line management or coaching experience

• Strong relationship-management and communication skills with the ability to influence, engage and inspire people.

What We Offer

We offer a rewarding and fulfilling role with the opportunity to develop your skills and career in an enriching environment. Our benefits package includes:

• 6% employer pension contribution

• 22 days A/L (rising to up to 27 days) and 10 public holidays.

• One special leave day to celebrate your birthday

• Flexible working

• HSF Health plan (including dental, optical, physio claim back, personal accident coverage, GP, mental health counselling, legal support, and discounts for gym, cinema, and shopping)

• Quarterly staff wellbeing activities

• Access to ScotWest Credit Union (loans, mortgages, and savings accounts)

• Access to learning and development opportunities

The COVEY Board of Trustees is seeking to appoint new trustees with expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• HR/Employment Law – e.g. people management, organisational change, staff wellbeing and employment law in a UK context.
• Children, young people and family services – particularly in areas such as mentoring, youth work, education, social care or whole-family support.
• Senior leadership – proven experience at CEO or equivalent senior leadership level, ideally within the third sector or local/national government.

COVEY (Community Volunteers Enabling You) is a lifeline for children, young people, and families across Lanarkshire. Since 1992, we have provided 1-1 and group-based befriending, mentoring, and family support services tailored to those who need it the most.

Please view our short impact video that can be found on the ‘About Us’ page of our website : covey.org.uk

Our Board of Trustees bring wide ranging skills, knowledge, expertise and passion to the organisation. Working closely with the Chief Executive and Leadership Team, the Board has legal responsibility and strategic oversight of the charity, ensuring that it is financially sustainable, has strong governance, manages risk effectively, protects its reputation and delivers against its strategy and charitable objectives.

We have created a supportive, welcoming Board and will give you the support you need to get the best out of the experience, including a structured induction and opportunities to learn more about COVEY’s work.

Applications are encouraged from groups currently under-represented on charity Boards in Scotland.

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed individual. You will have the opportunity to use and further develop your skills and experience to support children and families across Lanarkshire and beyond.

The role will involve attending Board meetings (approximately four per year) plus an AGM and/or EGMs; and any training and strategy days as required. There will also be opportunities to join any standing committees of the Board or occasional short life working groups.

The position is voluntary, however reasonable travel expenses are reimbursed. Location: Meetings of the Board are normally held every quarter at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride between 6.00pm – 8.00pm.

We are recruiting for Volunteer Coordinators to coordinate and oversee the effective delivery of a community-based mentoring model for young people aged between 12 and 25.

These are newly created roles, and the post holders will have responsibility for the recruitment, training and day to day supervision of volunteer mentors and ensuring ongoing support of mentor and mentee matches. The roles are fixed term contracts for a period of 12-months working 17.5 hours per week. One role is based in Kirkwall, Orkney, and one in Inverness.

Main duties and responsibilities will include:

• Volunteer Management including recruitment, training and regular support and reflection with volunteer mentors, ensuring that volunteers are supported to undertake their roles effectively.
• Develop and build relationships with our programme teams
• Build upon existing strong relationships with social work, education, children’s houses, third sector and other professionals and strengthening these relationships.
• Confidently manage and coordinate positive, respectful and compassionate relationships between mentor and mentee, ensuring good boundaries.
• Liaise with existing support team(s) internally and externally and provide additional support(s) to the mentee’s family, as and when required.
• Liaise with internal and external referral sources, regarding new and existing mentoring referrals.
• Ensure support plans for the people we support are completed and updated in accordance with GDPR and confidentiality processes.
• Ensure Risk Assessments are completed and updated for the people we support.

Our values make us who we are and define our actions and behaviours every day. We’d expect the post-holder to uphold and represent our organisation in a way that reflects our values and person-centred way of working.

We’re looking for you to have gained experience of volunteer and/or staff management as well as experience of supporting young people and families with complex needs. You will have knowledge of the issues facing young people who are care-experienced and/or on the edges of care, knowledge of current relevant legislation and policies relating to children and young people as well as a working knowledge of child protection procedures.

A full driving license and access to a car for work purposes is an essential requirement.

What you can expect from us...

• Your normal working hours are 17.5 per week, Monday to Friday, between the hours of 9am and 5pm depending on the needs of the service. Flexibility will be required to meet the needs of the people we support and volunteers, some evening and weekend work will be required.
• Your main place of work is Kirkwall, Orkney. You are also required to work in the local community and you will be paid travel expenses from your usual place of work for appointments undertaken in the course of your duties.
• Annual leave entitlement of 210 hours (equivalent to 6 weeks) pro rata per year in the first year rising to 280 hours (equivalent to 8 weeks) pro rata per year in the second.
• You will be automatically enrolled into the People’s Pension in the month that you will complete 3-months of employment, provided you meet the auto-enrolment criteria
• Life Insurance from day one
• Cycle to work scheme
• Option to purchase and sell annual leave

A full list of benefits is detailed in the job & person specification on our website.

About Us

We are Right There, a charity that recently celebrated our 200th anniversary. We provide tailored support for people, at home, and in the community. We are here for people who are living with the effects of homelessness, poverty, substance use, or family breakdowns.

Last year we supported almost 4,000 individuals, helping to prevent them from becoming homeless or separated from the people they love. Every person’s story is unique, and everyone’s route home is different - it doesn’t matter what the situation is – we’re not here to judge, only to help.

This is a 2-year fixed term contract due to internal development.

This is an opportunity to join a small, dynamic, ambitious, and welcoming team that believes in the transformative power of youth work and the power of partnerships. Operations Officers support the operational delivery and development of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) through managing a portfolio of Licensed Organisations (LOs).

LOs range from local authorities, state and independent schools to youth organisations, secure units, and community groups. The DofE Scotland Operations team works with these licensed organisations to build their capacity, support their reach into more marginalised communities and ensure quality and compliance with the Award framework.

The DofE Scotland office covers DofE activity across the length and breadth of Scotland, working with over 140 Licensed Organisations and over 19,000 young people in the last year alone. Each Operations Officer manages a portfolio based on broad geographic region.

The role will be field-based and when not attending meetings, employees will work from home. You will need to have an appropriate home office set up and live within or near the region of North Scotland.

What we are looking for:

The successful candidate will be a dynamic and proactive team player, who is able to embrace innovation and change. You will be a confident and effective communicator and collaborator and have experience of building and sustaining relationships with stakeholders across the education and/or youth and community sectors.

You will be a passionate advocate for the work of the DofE and motivated by the charity’s current strategic ambition to give more than one million young people the chance to participate in our life-changing programmes.

Benefits

We offer excellent staff benefits including a generous pension contribution, an employee assistance programme, healthcare cash plan and volunteer leave. Also, 25 days holiday, plus Bank Holidays and an additional 3 days paid leave between Christmas and the New Year. Buy additional annual leave, benefits discount website, death in service benefit 4 x salary, incapacity benefit, generous family leave and sick leave.

The DofE are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. All successful applicants will be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. (e.g. DBS/PVG or similar), including references covering any gaps of employment/education, confirm eligibility to work in the UK and complete a health check.

About The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a renowned charity that empowers young people by offering life-changing programs. With a vision of Youth Without Limits, their aim is to provide over a million young individuals, particularly those facing marginalisation, the opportunity to participate in their transformative initiatives within the next five years. By supporting young people in acquiring new skills, overcoming obstacles, and building confidence and resilience, they promote personal growth and development.

The organisation operates by licensing and supporting various institutions like schools, colleges, youth groups, and hospitals to run their programs. They prioritise the safety of participants and have taken necessary measures to ensure it. Additionally, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award has an Executive Leadership Team that works together to expand their provision and a team of Trustees who set the strategic direction for the charity.

With an international reach in over 130 countries and territories, the DofE is part of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, which aims to provide opportunities to young people globally. The history of the DofE traces back to 1956 when it was initially launched for boys. Over the years, it has evolved and now offers programs for young people aged 14 to 24, focusing on four key sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, and Expedition. The impact of the DofE has been astounding, with millions of young people benefiting from the program. Even during challenging times like the coronavirus pandemic, the dedication and contributions of DofE participants have been remarkable.

As the UK recovers, the DofE continues to support and empower young people, playing a vital role in the national effort. With a rich history and a commitment to youth development, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award remains a beacon of opportunity and growth for young individuals across the globe.