Development Officer for North West (fixed term contract to December 2020)

Job Title:                Development Officer for North West

Reports to:             Londonderry County Commissioner

Responsible to:     CEO

Hours:                    10 hours per week term time (fixed term contract to December 2020)

Salary:                    £10.74 per hour

Girlguiding Ulster is looking to recruit a Development Officer to work with local guiding in the North West to identify and respond to the needs of girls and young women (4-18 years).  There will be a focus on areas where existing provision could be enhanced. 

You will recruit participants and volunteers to take part in and deliver Girlguiding’s wide programme of activities for girls and young women.

1. To work with Commissioners to identify areas that would benefit from the introduction of Girlguiding units to provide opportunities for girls and young women not currently involved in guiding.
2. To identify areas where there are units who have reduced numbers and engage with the local community to increase the membership of these.
3. To identify ways to retain the existing membership and offer support to units to enable them to do this.
4. To deliver the aims and objectives and provide feedback to the County Executive Committee.

5. To adhere to the Association’s Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities Policies and undertake risk assessments.

Knowledge and skills

1. Practical attitude and the ability to consider alternative strategies in order to reach set targets
2. Good verbal communication with confidence in speaking to groups or individuals in a variety of situations
3. Good written communication skills (inc. reports, letters and committee papers)
4. Ability to work on own initiative
5. Knowledge of and interest in the development of girls and young women
6. Working knowledge of diversity
7. Knowledge of health and safety and risk assessments
8. Knowledge of Guiding

Innovation

1. Ability to work with volunteers and staff to implement the action plan
2. To develop creative approaches to recruitment of adults and young people
3. To promote Girlguiding regionally in creative and exciting ways including writing for relevant websites and newsletters

Interpersonal skills

1. To network and communicate with the following people and organisations where appropriate to ensure sustainability of project:

External

• • Local youth services
  • Schools
  • Other voluntary organisations 

Internal

• Local Guiding Commissioners
• Local Leaders
• Girlguiding Ulster staff

2. To act as the face of Girlguiding in the community and to represent the organisation in a positive manner at all times.

People development

1. To recruit participants and volunteers, from different sources including taster days, visiting schools and existing groups. 
2. You will be responsible for working with volunteers and staff to determine your work plan for the duration of your contract. Once this is set you will be expected to manage your own workload and prioritise your time accordingly.

You will be required to work midweek, weekends and evenings, where this time exceeds your contracted hours, time off in-lieu will be given.

This post will be home based, Girlguiding Ulster staff will be available for some administration tasks.

Access NI Staff statement

All members of Girlguiding Ulster staff undertake regulated activity on a frequent basis and therefore require an enhanced Access NI check.  Girlguiding Ulster is located at Lorne which is a Training, Activity, Camp and Residential Centre.  This means that all staff have the opportunity of being left unsupervised with children and young adults.  Outdoor Activity staff are involved in the teaching and training of children and all other staff have the opportunity to be in a supervisory role.

Person Specification

Criteria

Essential or Desirable

Skills

Computer literate, including experience of Word for Windows and internet search technology E

Excellent communication skills:

• Written skills to include the ability to produce documents suitable for a wide range of audiences and purposes
• Oral skills to include the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both on the telephone and in person, with individuals and groups E

Ability to work proactively and on own initiative E

Ability to work as a team player and to ensure effective internal consultation E

Ability to work with and relate to staff and volunteers at all levels within the Organisation and to deal professionally and persuasively with external contacts D

Experience of delivering presentations E

Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines E

Ability to work accurately and to pay close attention to detail E

Full driving licence E

Access to a carE

Numerate, with the ability to use Excel to produce graphs and charts based on data gathered by the post holder.D

Experience

Experience of working closely with volunteers D

Experience of working with young people E

Knowledge

Knowledge of and interest in the development of girls and young women E

Knowledge of health and safety and risk assessments E

Working knowledge of diversity D

Knowledge of Guiding D

Values

Commitment to the aims of Girlguiding E