RUSS is recruiting an experienced and driven volunteer management professional for the paid role of Volunteer Manager, with a particular focus on engaging, motivating and supporting our people-powered, members-led organisation, its members, its community-based projects and activities.

Our Volunteer Manager will collaborate with, and be supported by, a team of highly committed volunteers, staff and future residents to design, develop, engage and deliver suitable volunteering opportunities across the organisation.

Our aim is for our Volunteer Manager to galvanise RUSS’s volunteering activities, support and motivate RUSS’s 1000-strong membership to become more active within RUSS.

Background

The Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) is a Community Land Trust based in Ladywell, London SE13, founded in 2009 with the aim of creating sustainable community-led neighbourhoods and truly affordable homes right across London.

RUSS volunteers successfully designed and built our Community Hub in 2019, providing much-needed meeting space for the local community.

More ambitiously, RUSS and our contractor are currently developing our 36-home, all-affordable community housing project in Ladywell, London, SE13.

Our project is on track to complete the homes in 2023, with a range of expert volunteers supporting the project and RUSS’s wider activities. We always welcome the contribution of additional skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic people.

An exciting aspect of this project is that a number of our future residents and volunteers will be fully self-building and completing their own homes: installing kitchens, bathrooms and all internal elements, under the close supervision and support of our own Self Build Manager and Volunteer Manager.

With the same support, our volunteers will be building and completing various communal spaces, including the community office, guest flat, communal laundry, cycle stores, bin stores & external garden/soft landscape planting.

Our Main Board and other groups are developing how we will run and manage our community housing. Our RUSS School programme and Community Hub operations are more established, with volunteering opportunities always being available throughout all parts of our organisation.

The role

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Volunteer Manager who is passionate about motivating volunteers and who want to be part of a cutting-edge, high-profile community-led housing project and organisation.

The Volunteer Manager will be able to actively engage and support volunteers with the self-build, management and operational aspects of the building project and wider organisation.

This role would suit a self-motivated freelancer/contractor, working 1.5 days per week, initially from late December 2022 to June 2023.

Please download the pack below for the full job description:

If you have further questions or would like to discuss the role informally, please contact info@theruss.org

How to apply

If you are interested in this unique opportunity and believe you can positively contribute to RUSS’s aims and outcomes, please send your CV (maximum of two A4 pages) and covering letter (750 max. words) outlining your experience and how you meet the requirements of the role to info@theruss.org.

Please include:

• Your experience and suitability for the role
• Particular experience of enabling and supporting volunteers whilst delivering community-led projects
• Your approach to engaging, re-engaging, and communicating with members and volunteers
• Experience of consolidating, prioritising and communicating volunteering opportunities
• Confirming you have sufficient availability for this part-time role from late December 2022 to June 2023.

Please provide 2 recent references. We will only take up references after the interview.

We look forward to your application and thank you for your interest in RUSS!

Closing date: Monday 12th December 2022, 5pm. We encourage early applications.

Shortlisting: An initial 30 minute chat will be held to assist with short-listing candidates and to provide the opportunity to answer any initial questions.

Interviews: An interview will be held for shortlisted candidates between w/c 12th December & w/c 19th December 2022, preferably in person at our RUSS Community Hub, London SE13 (dates to be arranged to suit diaries).