Volunteer Coordinator (VMFW Fieldwork Coordinator - Cambridgeshire)

Are you keen to help save nature, would like to utilise your existing office-based skills and have up to 2 days a week to spare? Please note: This role is available on a rolling 3-month period.

We are looking for a volunteer who can support and take on administrator tasks as part of the Volunteer Monitoring of Farm Wildlife (VMFW) team, supporting our Conservation Officers in counties across the UK (currently Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire – you do not need to be based in the counties we are offering the project). By opening our work to more volunteers in this way, it means we can scale up what we can achieve and do more for nature.

The VMFW project aims to link volunteers, both experienced and new, with farmers across England to survey their on-farm wildlife. Our vision is for a sustainable, cost-effective volunteer wildlife survey service for farmers that generates tangible conservation benefits. Our overall aims are to:

• Evaluate if and how data collection by citizen science can contribute to both farmer’s requirements and to wider local and national evidence needs.
• Work towards improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
• Engage with wider knowledge sharing and collaboration across partnerships.

Can you help us to ensure that volunteers have a rewarding and enjoyable time with us? This is a wonderful opportunity to make a genuine contribution to wildlife conservation.

Skills needed: Beneficial skills for this role are:

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• You need to be a great people person, friendly and approachable.
• Excellent telephone manner and written communication skills.
• An ability to lead/inspire others and work as part of a team.
• Creative and forward thinking.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a small team.
• Excellent record keeper.
• Happy to work from home.
• Tact/diplomacy.
• [Optional] Good mapping skills (e.g., GIS) or the willingness to learn basic mapping skills for the role.

What you’ll be doing: Volunteer Coordinators undertake a wide range of tasks, including:

• Being the first point of contact for our volunteers and farmers and answering general queries.
• Lead on advertising new volunteer roles (on the RSPB and external websites, in the local community).
• Making and maintain contact with established relationships in the farming community and creating new relationships.
• Line managing survey volunteers.
• Set up calls with potential volunteers and assist with induction administration.
• Linking volunteers with farms, monitoring progress of surveys, and collecting all survey information at the end of the season in a timely manner.
• Following up data processing and coordinating the dissemination of results to farmers.
• Working closely with the Admin Coordinator and Conservation Officer.
• Plenty of scope to take on new tasks, as they develop, going forward, if you'd like to.
• Supporting the team for up to 2 days per week in spring/summer, ½ a day per week the rest of the year.
• Happy to work from home.

Benefits:

• Rewarding and enjoyable role.
• Part of a small and friendly team of staff and volunteers.
• Provided with an RSPB laptop and set up with access to the RSPB computer network so you can comfortably carry out your role at home.
• Appropriate training will be provided.
• Chance to gain experience in working with people of all ages and to learn new skills and develop existing ones.
• Room for development within the role, an opportunity to volunteer for additional days or role-share.
• Expenses will be re-imbursed where necessary.