Volunteer and Participation Coordinator

Job title:

Volunteer and Participation Coordinator

Company

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Job description

Volunteer and Participation CoordinatorEmployerKingston CouncilLocation(s)KingstonContract TypeFixed TermLength of Employment / Contract End Date11 monthsWorking HoursPart TimeGradeOtherGrade (Other)FreelanceHours Per Week21.6Salary RangeFreelanceSalary BasisPer hourHourly Rate£27SalaryFreelanceLeave EntitlementOtherLeave EntitlementNAApplication Deadline08/12/2024, 23:55Anticipated Interview Date(s)Week of 16 December 2024About the BoroughThis special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else – it is where the first kings of England were crowned.Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston’s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.About the Role and our Ideal CandidateAbout the roleIn 2025 Kingston will mark the 1100th anniversary of the crowning of King Athelstan, the first King of a United England, with a borough-wide celebration of our past, present and future. Shaped with our communities and key stakeholders, this is an opportunity to tell a new, contemporary and inclusive narrative about the borough’s heritage. Culminating in participatory events leading up to the Athelstan celebration, Kingston 2025 will be a six month, multi-strand cultural programme which will engage more communities in new ways, to bring attention to the great things that are already going on, and to reposition the role of culture in Kingston’s life.We are looking for a Volunteer and Participation Co-ordinator to develop and recruit to volunteering opportunities across the Kingston 2025 programme and as a legacy of the project for Kingston’s Heritage Service. The candidate will support different communities to explore the personal and collective histories of Kingston, with the aim of giving voice to narratives that are hidden or less understood into the mainstream to better reflect the borough’s diversity and rich history.The community research strands, supported with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will focus on opening up access to groups whose current engagement with heritage is limited, by ensuring the programme reflects their cultures, histories and interests. The Volunteer and Participation Co-ordinator will build relationships with our diverse communities, working closely with the Heritage Project Manager and our Skills and Employment Lead, as well as other colleagues and partners, to develop volunteering roles and opportunities, including ‘badged’ training modules to develop the skills needed in the heritage and cultural sector. This will include a strong focus on encouraging participation from our diverse communities to improve inclusion and representation through the development of community connectors.About youYou will bring invaluable experience of working collaboratively with diverse communities and a passion for building inclusion and access within the heritage sector. You will be adept at developing strong, structured, volunteer programmes and working in partnership with communities to deliver compelling heritage content and activities. In particular, you will understand how to build trusting and productive relationships with community networks that will not only contribute to the delivery of the Kingston 2025 heritage and cultural programme, but will also provide a lasting legacy for Kingston to build on in the future.About UsYou will be part of the wider Culture and Heritage service which brings together heritage, arts, libraries, music and adult education with a shared vision to place the vibrant and rich culture and heritage of the Borough at the centre of its life. You will sit within the Heritage Service, a small, friendly, enthusiastic and dedicated team of 11 who are passionate about working with partners within and beyond the Council to engage our diverse local communities and wider world in sharing and adding to Kingston’s rich history. Kingston History Centre is an accredited archive service and Kingston Museum is an accredited museum.

About YouOur Offer To YouPlease note, the successful candidate will be payrolled via Matrix CDL, Kingston’s temporary workforce provider. The successful
candidate will not be a direct employee of Kingston Council.As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.Application ProcessPlease apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.Additional InformationWe are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the

Expected salary

£27 per hour

Location

Kingston upon Thames

Job date

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 04:40:21 GMT

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