Community, Participation & Volunteering Manager

We're looking for a Senior Community, Participation and Volunteering Manager for the East Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull portfolio.

We're a new portfolio with a focus on the National Trust’s strategic priority areas of Ending Unequal Access and Inspire Millions, so you’ll join at an exciting time as we start to develop plans which rise to the ambitions of the National Trust’s new strategy ‘People and Nature Thriving’, where we are aiming to reach 10m more people from currently underserved groups by 2025.

You’ll lead the development of the Community, Participation and Volunteering offer across the portfolio and reach outwards into our local communities across East Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull to broaden our community participation and engagement with an emphasis on engaging underserved and underrepresented communities, building on the successes of the work delivered to date.

You’ll be required to work regular weekends and bank holidays.

This is an exciting new role in an urban facing portfolio which encompasses Coventry Charterhouse, a medieval monastic house surrounded by acres of tranquil green space. Home to some of the finest examples of medieval and renaissance art in England, this Grade I listed, 14thcentury building has quite the story to share. Founded in 1381, Coventry Charterhouse has served many different purposes.

From a 14th century monastery to a family home and later as a garden that produced exotic fruit for wealthy locals. It’s location, close to Coventry city centre, means it has become a valued place for local people to spend time outdoors and discover Coventry's rich heritage

You’ll work across the portfolio with a focus on reaching audiences beyond our places, where working in partnership will be key. You’ll be part of the duty management rota where, you’ll be responsible on the day for the smooth running of the property during opening hours, acting as the main contact point for staff, volunteers, and customers in case of emergency, enquiry or complaint.

Working in collaboration with other portfolio team members, internal and external consultants, members of the local communities and wider external partners, you’ll develop a plan for community, participation and involvement which is responsive to local needs. You’ll work with the team to explore positive, inclusive and flexible volunteering opportunities for Charterhouse and beyond.

You’ll be excited about the potential of our places to engage the diverse communities on our doorstep and more widely. And you’ll be talking to a wide range of people and organisations, promoting our work to existing and new audiences and exploring how we can meet the needs of these local communities – supporting or developing programmes and partnerships and being part of networks where we achieve positive outcomes for our localities, whether that is led by us, communities or partners.

Thinking about the future, you’ll advocate for our work and explore the possibilities for working in partnership with others to secure external funds to help support and grow our work.

You’ll confidently manage multiple competing priorities during this dynamic period of change, while delegating tasks effectively to ensure progress and clarity.

To deliver this role successfully, you’ll need:

• an understanding of community engagement and participatory practice, with experience of applying these approaches in different contexts
• an understanding of volunteer engagement alongside experience of developing new approaches to volunteering and increasing participation
• the ability to think strategically, analyse data and insights, prioritise activities and make informed decisions about engaging…