ABOUT THE ORGANISATION

Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) builds on Australia’s long history of volunteering both across our region and at home. We work at the intersection between business and community-led resilience and growth. ABV is a team highly skilled development experts, based in Australia and on the ground.

We utilise the skills and expertise of our pool of several hundred Skilled Business Professional (SBP) volunteers and numerous corporate partners. Together we source community-led opportunities and deliver impactful corporate social responsibility programs and grant funded development programs. We continue to build on our 40-year legacy of delivering lasting community-led change.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Head of Volunteering is responsible for refining and implementing the end-to-end approach to engaging, deploying, and retaining ABV’s community of volunteers, who work in ABVs programs in Australia and the Pacific.

The newly created position will lead the Volunteering Team under the operations stream to create a positive, holistic experience for volunteers (SBPs) who donate their time throughout every part of their journey with ABV. This includes developing and implementing a pipeline to attract new volunteers to ABV (including through pro-bono partnerships with corporates and other innovative sources of volunteers).

The Head of Volunteering will be a leader with strong values and a purposeful mindset who wants to give back to the community by strengthening communities through business. The position will have the shared responsibility of ensuring consistent quality implementation of programs and in achieving ABV’s growth targets and enhancing the entire operational structure to drive efficiency and sustained growth. The role will also build a volunteer experience that provides opportunity for ABV volunteers to contribute to the organisation when not on assignment, providing meaningful opportunities for volunteers to feel engaged, rewarded, supported and aligned to ABV throughout their engagement with the organisation.

ABV values collaboration and sharing of technical skills, experience and learning as imperative to the delivery of consistent, quality outcomes across all programs and partnerships.

The following principles guide the way we work together across the team.

Initiative 

• We take a strategic lead in working with communities, partners and all our stakeholders. We use our initiative to find opportunities for our programs, drive partnerships and engagement towards community outcomes, and drive the systems change needed for stronger communities. 

Innovation 

• We are energetic and inquisitive. We are hungry to learn new things, engage with our community and do things differently. We explore innovative ideas, test our assumptions and create the opportunities communities need to be adaptable and sustainable. 

Impact 

• We make a difference in everything we do. We look for ways to amplify our impact through systems change, leveraging our advocacy and evaluation work, to help our partners and funders create adaptable, sustainable and inclusive communities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Volunteer Workforce Planning, Recruitment and Mobilisation

• Working with Marketing and Communications, Heads of Programs and the Volunteer team, design and implement a volunteer recruitment strategy to ensure ABV has the appropriate volunteer workforce to deliver on existing and planned program commitments
• In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, work with existing and new corporate partners to build relationships that facilitate access to pro-bono SBPs as part of the broader strategy
• Lead the Volunteer Team in delivering quality ABV processes for volunteer engagement, recruitment, matching, mobilisation, management and support to volunteers. Ensure the best candidates for assignments are selected and communication and issues management approaches are effective.
• Drive a culture of continuous innovation around volunteer management and explore how new technology platforms can effectively manage a growing pool of SBPs

Volunteer Experience and Engagement

• Lead the Volunteer team to design and implement an end-to-end approach ensuring a holistic and enriching relationship between SBPs, ABV and program partners as part of a broader approach to retention and engagement
• Ensure support to the ABV SBP community who are engaged with the organisation before and after placement to become advocates for ABV and our partners and provide input into continuous improvement
• Proactively seek opportunities to leverage the expertise and experience of the volunteer pool in other non-traditional ways (such as speaking at conferences, media opportunities etc.)
• Working with the Training and Development Manager to identify development priorities and pathways to further enhance the experience of SBPs and further support SBP skill building in ABVs priority areas

Reporting

• Establish and implement procedures and processes for collecting data to support insights into the efficacy of the volunteer program, ensuring effective contributions to program outcomes are captured, reported, and trends analysed
• Provide input into reports and presentations for ABV’s funders and partners, ensuring high standard and timely contributions in line with contractual requirements
• Participate in key information sharing and decision-making forums

Compliance with ABV Policy & Procedures

• Oversee and ensure compliance with and promotion of all ABV policies and procedures, including oversight and management of operational risk relating to the volunteer journey
• Where needed, identify any policy and procedures required to support ABV’s and collaborate Programs teams and other ABV staff to develop and implement policy and procedures

Leadership

• Provide strong leadership to a small and dynamic team
• Ensure that the team is effectively resourced to deliver on commitments

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential Requirements

• Demonstrated qualifications in a relevant field, e.g International Development, People and Culture, Community Development
• 5+ years in Management roles, including in working with volunteers and volunteer agencies (or equivalent)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to strategically plan and execute community development projects, specifically those that leverage a volunteer workforce
• Strong ability to network and to forge, promote and maintain critical business relationships across the organisation and with key partners
• Demonstrated skills in data analysis and working within IT systems to identify insights for workforce development and improvement, translating these insights into actions
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively amid ambiguity, adjusting strategies to shifting priorities
• Capacity to work flexible hours as required from time to time
• Strong interpersonal skills for leading and working within multidisciplinary teams

Desired requirements

• Demonstrated to commitment to volunteering and community development
• Experience in working with volunteers and volunteer agencies in Australia and/or the Pacific
• Experience as a volunteer

Mandatory requirements

• Satisfactory National Police Check
• Hold a current NSW Working With Children Check or willing to obtain
• Willingness to work outside normal business hours (if required) time in lieu of

How to apply

Click "Apply Now" and submit your CV and a cover letter outlining why this role appeals to you whilst addressing the selection criteria - applications reviewed upon receipt. Only applications which include a cover letter and a CV will be considered.

For all questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Hiring Manager, Jessica Lees via email [email protected] using the subject line: Head of Volunteering (Paid Position) enquiry via EthicalJobs.