Volunteering & Employability Manager

Scottish Canals; Falkirk; Presencial; GBP 50.000 - 54.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

28 days’ annual leave

Up to 10% employer pension

Enhanced sick pay

Health Cash Plan

Employee discounts and wellbeing

Descripción de la vacante

Scottish Canals is recruiting a Volunteering & Employability Manager to lead volunteering strategy and delivery across the Falkirk region. You will work with canal societies, communities and corporate partners to broaden participation, while ensuring safe, supported volunteering and clear progression into employability initiatives.

You will oversee the volunteering team, manage governance and drive additionality, with emphasis on youth pathways, apprenticeships, and partnerships across the Lock

Formación

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Postgraduate qualification in volunteering desirable.
• Knowledge of volunteering sector and canal-side communities.
• Understanding of funding context for volunteering in Scotland.
• Full UK Driving Licence desirable.

Responsabilidades

• Develop and implement a volunteering and employability strategy.
• Lead volunteering and employability across the canal network.
• Coordinate opportunities that add value and ensure additionality.
• Manage the volunteering team, reporting, and budget.
• Develop corporate volunteering and school/trainee pathways.
• Build partnerships with canal societies and community organisations.

Conocimientos

Influencing skills

Independent working

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Volunteer management

Partnership development

Project management

Microsoft Office

Collaboration with unions

Educación

Bachelor's degree

Postgraduate qualification in volunteering

Descripción del empleo

About Us

Scottish Canals are the custodians of the nation’s canal network and surrounding estates. Our vision is to invest in the canal network to generate lasting benefit for people and communities; celebrating their industrial heritage, ensuring they offer quality green and blue spaces for people and communities and contribute to Scotland’s resilience in tackling climate change.

Our success is rooted in valuing the contributions of our entire team - we care, we create, and we collaborate to continue to deliver a whole range of activities and services, from boating, and mooring, paddling, walking and wheeling, to living and playing and improving what the canals have to offer to our visitors and communities. We also work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders to contribute to a wealthier, fairer, greener and more resilient Scotland.

As an employer, we offer a truly unique opportunity to join our team, help us realise our vision, and play a vital role in safeguarding Scotland’s canal heritage — ensuring our waterways flourish now and for generations to come.

Lock 16 - Centre of Excellence for Canals and Traditional Skills is a transformational, heritage led regeneration project that will breathe new life into one of the most historically significant stretches of the Forth & Clyde Canal. Delivered in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, the centre will combine specialist workshops, training spaces, volunteering programmes and skills pathways that support the long term care of Scotland’s canals and the wider traditional built environment. It will open up new opportunities for people and communities across Falkirk and beyond.

Volunteers, trainees and apprentices will play a vital role in shaping the future of the canal network and Scotland’s heritage assets, contributing to environmental stewardship, heritage conservation, and a renewed sense of connection and pride along the canal corridor.

The Volunteering & Employability Manager will be key to realising this vision. This role will lead the volunteering and employability programmes at the heart of the Lock 16 Centre of Excellence and across the wider network, building strong partnerships, supporting high-quality volunteer engagement, and creating progression routes into skills development, training and employment.

Lock 16 – Scotland’s Centre of Excellence for Canals and Traditional Skills activity programme has been made possible with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to be recruiting for this exciting new role.

About the Role

We currently have a fantastic opportunity for a Volunteering & Employability Manager to join our People Team in Falkirk. We’re looking for an enthusiastic, proactive leader to shape and deliver a structured, consistent and supported approach to volunteering and employability across Scottish Canals, with Lock 16 at its heart. You’ll work closely with canal societies, community organisations, third-sector bodies and corporate partners to strengthen community participation and create meaningful opportunities to develop confidence, skills and experience.

You’ll take the strategic lead on volunteering and employability, coordinating suitable opportunities that add value and capacity across the canal network. Additionality will be central to your approach: volunteering should extend what Scottish Canals and its communities can achieve. You’ll maintain clear distinctions between volunteering, paid employment, employability and skills programmes, and partnership delivery, with appropriate training, supervision, health and safety and governance arrangements.

The role is offered on a permanent, full -time basis, working Monday - Friday, 35 hours per week (with some flexibility as required).

Primary responsibilities of the role:

• Develop and implement a Volunteering and Employability Strategy aligned with the People Strategy and Corporate Plan, embedding additionality, meaningful participation, community benefit and safe, supported volunteering.
• Lead and manage volunteering and employability across the canal network, including Lock 16, developing consistent coordination, training, governance and support arrangements.
• Develop and maintain an effective volunteer engagement and support service, ensuring opportunities provide a positive experience and genuine benefit for volunteers as well as Scottish Canals.
• Oversee volunteer recruitment, induction, training, recognition and retention, ensuring activities are suitable for volunteers and take account of competence, risk, supervision and Scottish Canals’ health and safety policies and practices.
• Build collaborative relationships with canal societies, community organisations, and other partners invested in our blue and green spaces.
• Develop structured corporate volunteering opportunities, such as Team Engagement Days, and build corporate partnerships with income generation.
• Create suitable opportunities for young people, including school pupils and students, through volunteering, work experience, traineeships and apprenticeships, keeping the status and arrangements for each programme clear.
• Devise and manage a corporate apprenticeship programme.
• Develop pathways from community participation and volunteering into skills development, employability programmes and paid employment, working with Lock 16, Historic Environment Scotland and other partners.
• Manage the Volunteering and Employability team, including reporting, budgetary support and line management of volunteer co-ordinators, supporting the planned growth of volunteering through dedicated resources and partnerships.
• Provide advice and guidance on volunteering and employability, maintaining clear distinctions between volunteers, employees, programme participants and people employed by partner organisations.
• Work with operational colleagues to identify suitable additional activity, including environmental stewardship, biodiversity, heritage interpretation, events and recording and monitoring, ensuring volunteering supplements rather than replaces planned paid work.

About the Reward

Reward

Salary £49,588 - £54,187. (Band F)

In addition, Scottish Canals offers an excellent benefits package including:

• 28 days’ annual leave, plus six public holidays
• Up to 10% employer pension contribution
• Enhanced sick pay
• Health Cash Plan
• Employee discounts and wellbeing benefits

About You

Qualifications and knowledge required:

• You will be educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Ideally have a professional or post graduate qualification in volunteering or a related discipline.
• Knowledge of volunteering, the voluntary sector and canal-side communities, including additionality and the distinctions between volunteering, paid employment, employability programmes and partnership delivery.
• Have an understanding of the funding context for volunteering in Scotland.
• Knowledge of corporate social responsibility and its application to volunteering.
• Full UK Driving Licence (desirable).
• Understanding of health and safety, risk assessment, appropriate supervision and governance for safe, supported volunteering.

Skills and experience required:

• Strong influencing and persuasion skills when working with key stakeholders and decision makers.
• Ability to work independently, using your own initiative and manage your workload effectively.
• Capable of applying strategic thinking and communicating effectively, both verbally and writing.
• Excellent writing, presentation and IT skills including the use of Microsoft Office.
• Experience of working with volunteers, partnership working and building effective partnerships with community organisations, colleagues and other stakeholders, including senior management.
• Project management experience would be advantageous.
• Ability to develop meaningful volunteering and skills pathways and work collaboratively with operational teams, the People Team and recognised Trade Unions on programme boundaries and workforce planning.

Qualities & abilities required:

• Ability to build effective relationships that generate confidence, respect and collaborative working.
• Highly focused on service delivery and customer satisfaction
• Leads by example in demonstrating our values of We care, We create, We collaborate, encouraging colleagues to embed these behaviours in their work.

Scottish Canals reserve the right to close this vacancy before the closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.