Location

Westonbirt National Arboretum, Tetbury, Glos., GL8 8QS

About The Job

Job summary

We’re looking for a new Volunteer Administration Officer to help support the smooth running of our day-to-day volunteering activities at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum. The Arboretum is one of the world’s finest tree collections and a nationally important historic landscape. It is also a major visitor attraction and thriving community, with almost 600,000 visits per year and over 35,000 members. Our activities are supported by almost 300 passionate volunteers, covering over 20 varied roles.

As our new Volunteer Administration Officer, you will play a pivotal role by undertaking key administrative tasks as well as providing a friendly first-point-of-call for our volunteers. Working with the Volunteer Coordinator you will help support individual team supervisors to ensure they deliver volunteer activities that meet business needs and provide the highest quality experience for our volunteers. You will be an excellent administrator with a keen interest in the detail and have exemplary communication skills. You will thrive on forging strong relationships and have the empathy to tackle difficult and sensitive issues respectfully.

The role sits within the Learning and Participation team, which is responsible for the development and delivery of public engagement programmes, including formal education, interpretation, family events and community activities. From time to time you will also help support other L&P activities.

Job Description

Working principally with the Volunteer Coordinator the post holder will support day-to-day volunteer operations and ensure their ongoing compliance with Forestry England policy and volunteering best practice.

Essential administrative tasks will be delivered on time and to the highest standard for all volunteer activities:

Processing volunteer hours / mileage expenses / uniform requestsin line with agreed policy, including liaison with volunteers to chase up forms and ensure accurate submissions
Support accurate record keeping through the volunteer database (including training) in compliance with data protection legislation; run queries as necessary to support decision making
Support recruitment, induction and ongoing training of volunteers
Arrange / coordinate meetings; make venue bookings, prepare refreshments, write agendas and minutes
Oversee radio banks and use of volunteer computers
Support safety of volunteer activities through completion and implementation of risk assessments

Enabling the day-to-day volunteer experience by:

Supporting the running of our volunteer hub
Monitoring implementation of policies including measures put in place to ensure safe working
Responding to volunteer queries and prepare volunteer communications including the volunteer newsletter
Supporting other staff involved in supervising volunteer teams
Supporting volunteer coffee mornings, celebrations, long service awards and arrange Christmas message
Ordering volunteer welfare supplies for across site

Deputise for the volunteer co-ordinator on occasion and support other members of the L&P team eg. through answering telephone calls, dealing with enquiries and assisting with events.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Experience of supporting volunteers fulfilling multiple roles, preferably within environment / heritage
Demonstrable administrative experience within an office environment
Evidence of providing responsive customer services to people from a wide spectrum of the community
Demonstrable evidence of strong interpersonal communication skills (written and verbal)
Evidence of applying policy framework with respect to equality, health and safety and GDPR
A sound working knowledge of technology and its use in delivering administrative tasks; in particular MS teams, Zoom and Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)

Desirable Criteria

Evidence of strong numeracy skills
Experience of marketing through different media
Experience increasing the diversity of a volunteering cohort
Interest in trees and arboriculture

The duties of the post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK.

The post will include some weekend and evening working to support delivery of the volunteering programme.

The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure Check under the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) scheme.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Managing a Quality Service
Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £23,098, Forestry Commission contributes £6,236 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
25 days annual leave on entry, increasing by 1 day each year for a maximum of 5 years
Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum.
The government Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme.
Reduction on Forest Live Music Event tickets and other staff discounts.
Occupational sick pay.
Support with professional fees and training relevant to continuing professional development.
Networking opportunities.
Thorough wellbeing offer including an Employee assistance programme and free access to the Headspace app.
All Forestry Commission staff are entitled to free parking at Forestry England visitor centres when displaying a current staff parking sticker in their vehicle.
10% discount at Forest Holidays
15% discount at Go Ape
Retail discounts, like 10% off Enterprise car hire and 20% off Snow + Rock
All Civil Service staff are entitled to three days volunteering a year

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Complete the online application form on the Civil Service Jobs website. You’ll need to provide a job history, where you can state the experiences you gained that are relevant to this post, and statement of suitability.

Interviews

The interview date for this role is Thursday 14th December and will be held at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, though arrangements for candidates to be interviewed remotely may be possible.

During the interview we will assess you against Civil Service behaviours . The CS behaviours will be:

Communicating and influencing
Working together
Managing a quality service
Delivering at pace

At the interview you will also be asked to complete a short task (information will be given in advance).

Please clearly demonstrate how the above applies to you throughout your application. Failure to do so will mean that your application is automatically sifted out.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Forestry from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Where a role has been identified as one which falls under the scope of the Public Sector English Language Requirements, within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English. Applicants will be assessed in the selection process in accordance with the requirements.

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via fcerecruitment.grs @cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window) .

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : Ben Oliver
Email : ben.oliver@forestryengland.uk
Telephone : 03000674871

Recruitment team

Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Forestry Commission

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