Volunteer Engagement Manager

Founded in 1922, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is the UK based and internationally recognised qualifying body and learned society for chemical, biochemical and process engineers. We exist to advance chemical engineering’s contribution for the benefit of society.

We support our 31,000 members worldwide in applying their expertise and experience to make an influential contribution to solving major global challenges, and we are the only organisation permitted to award Chartered Chemical Engineer status and Professional Process Safety Engineer registration.

Position:

We are seeking a proactive, dynamic and experienced Volunteer Engagement Manager to lead our centralised management function. They will be responsible for leading and continually improving a professional, high-quality, and impactful centralised management function. They will integrate an increasing number of volunteers into the Institution’s activities and initiatives, enhancing their experience, and maximising their impact, regardless of geography or circumstance.

This role makes a significant contribution to the Institution’s success by managing a centralised business function that enables a dynamic, inclusive and effective volunteer community, with positive impacts for volunteers, the IChemE and wider society. They will play a central role in helping the organisation achieve its strategic goals of sustainable membership growth, improved member experience, and amplifying our voice.

As the Volunteer Engagement Manager, you will oversee a small team, ensuring clear and supportive management while working across all areas of the institution to balance supply and demand. You will develop and implement effective strategies, policies, and procedures to engage and retain volunteers, promote the value of volunteering, and ensure a world-class volunteer experience. Your efforts will contribute to a dynamic, inclusive, and effective volunteer community, driving continuous improvement and celebrating volunteer impact.

In this role, you will also provide guidance on best practices in volunteer management, address any issues or conflicts promptly, and ensure appropriate financial management of an assigned budget. You will maintain a clear understanding of volunteer needs through regular evaluation and benchmarking, and develop a growing offer for recognition and reward of volunteers.

If you are a proactive manager with a passion for volunteer engagement and a track record of delivering impactful strategies, we would love to hear from you. Join us in making a difference!

Core responsibilities of the role include:

• Development and implementation of the Institution’s volunteering strategy, policies and procedures to ensure world-class engagement and retention of volunteers at all stages in the volunteer cycle, regardless of geography or circumstance.
• Providing oversight and expert input into a growing number of innovative programs to enhance volunteer recognition and rewards.
• Leading a high-quality and professional volunteer management function, ensuring supply and demand needs are met across the Institution, and supporting all teams to embed consistent and coordinated approaches.
• Playing an active role in company / departmental development projects and continued improvement initiatives.
• Professional and effective line management of appropriate staff.

Requirements:

• Be educated to minimum of Degree level education.
• Have at least 5 years work experience or proven practical and diverse work experience in a related field aligned to volunteer management.

• Proven experience in the development and implementation of impactful volunteer engagement strategies.
• Proven expertise in defining and driving strategies to achieve step changes in engagement.
• Proven experience forming partnerships and networks with other organisations which bring mutual benefit.
• High level of proficiency in risk management and mitigation.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering and reporting against ambitious targets, KPI’s, budgets and deadlines.
• Proven expertise in ensuring appropriate policies and practices to guarantee compliance with regulatory and legal obligations.
• Expertise in developing and continuously adapting a dynamic range of volunteer training and competence assessment activities.

Other information:

This role will be based at our offices in either Rugby or central London. There will be a requirement for some light business travel aligned to the key duties.

This is a permanent, full-time role based on 37.5 hours per week, generally Monday – Friday, but a high degree of flexibility will be required to meet business needs.

Due to IChemE’s international nature, this position requires a willingness to work flexibly and to engage in business discussions outside of normal working hours.

Only candidates eligible to work in the UK will be considered.

The closing date for all applications is midnight Sunday 23 March 2025. IChemE reserves the right to interview exceptional candidates and make an offer of employment before the closing date should we wish.

Interviews are likely to take place as follows:

• Stage 1, Teams call: 20 / 21 February 2025
• Stage 2, in-person interviews at IChemE offices in Rugby: 26/27 February 2025.

IChemE benefits of employment include:

• Annual performance reviews
• Training and development opportunities
• Company contributory pension scheme that matches employee contributions by 1.5 times up to a maximum capped 12% employer contribution
• Life assurance linked to being an active member of the pension scheme
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) for full time members of staff
• Company paid sickness leave after 6 months employment and increased at intervals based on length of service
• Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support
• Health cash plan (cash back on optical, dental, physio and more)
• Financial support to help cover the cost of professional membership subscriptions if relevant to your role
• Free parking and refreshments at our Rugby Office.

For more details about this and other vacancies at IChemE, visit www.icheme.org/jobs.