Volunteer and Participation Co-Ordinator

Due to service development, we have a fantastic opportunity for a dedicated and enthusiastic Volunteer and Participation Co-ordinator to join Barnardo's as part of the East Berkshire Keyworking Service for Children and Young People with Learning Disability and/or Autism. We currently have one full time post available on a permanent contract. Would you like the chance to recruit, train and support Lived Experience Peer Support Volunteers who can make a difference to Children, Young People with SEND (up to 25 years) and their families? Are you passionate about supporting families to build a support network of people who have lived experience?

Covering Bracknell, Slough and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, it is essential to hold a valid UK driving licence with access to your own vehicle. As a Volunteer Co-ordinator, you will have passion, commitment and be confident in the delivery of training and supporting personal development for Lived Experience Peer Support Volunteers. You will work as part of the keyworker team to ensure we provide the right support at the right time, in the right way.

The role provides lots of opportunities to develop your skill set, knowledge and career progression going forward. The service has a comprehensive training offer for all staff and volunteers.

To be a successful, you will need to have the following:

• An understanding of the difference Lived Experience Peer Support Volunteers make and the support required, including providing line management and supervision
• An understanding of the needs of children and young people with Learning Disability and or Autism
• The ability to confidently present information to a range of people, delivering workshops, attending recruitment fairs etc.
• Excellent team working skills. You will work as part of a team that covers East Berkshire
• Safeguarding knowledge and good recording skills
• The ability to efficiently organise events for service users and their families to socialise
• Use of a car

Barnardo's could not do the work it does without our Volunteer co-ordinators and the volunteers that they support. We value the difference that they make. The Lived Experience Peer Support Volunteers you recruit and train will be part of the step-down support offered and will work as part of the keyworking team. Within Barnardo's, the job title for this role is Project Worker 2. This will appear on the job description. When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification/ additional information document.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date.  We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application. 

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• Reference number:23052
• Job Title:Volunteer and Participation Co-Ordinator
• Location:Berkshire
• Locality:Berkshire
• Contract type:Permanent
• Hours:37
• Salary:£28,124.46 - £37,117.07 (FTE) £23,852.58 - £31,479.29 (pro rata)
• Closing Date:28 June 2026
• Interview Date:To be confirmed