Special Events Manager - Volunteering

Special Events Manager – Volunteering

Contract type: 12 Months Fixed term–35 hours per week

Location: London, UK

UK hybrid working: a minimum of 40% of working time is spent face‑to‑face (London office, external meetings or travel). 60/40 hybrid working at Water Aid means roughly three days wherever you work best and two days together in person.

Salary: £47,423 per year with excellent benefits.

About Water Aid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The Community, Events and Education team manages and delivers a diverse portfolio of fundraising and engagement activity ranging from challenge events, partnerships with festivals to community fundraising, our volunteer Speaker Network and education engagement. The team delivers more than income by deepening the engagement of new and existing supporters, raising awareness of Water Aid’s work.

The Special Events team is responsible for the management and delivery of unique festival partnerships and special events.

About the role

As our Special Events Manager – Volunteering you will lead volunteer management across all of Water Aid’s festivals and special events and manage teams of staff and volunteers onsite at some of the UK’s biggest and most loved public events.

In this role, you will:

• Recruit, train and manage over 700 volunteers across festivals
• Develop and deliver volunteer training, safeguarding and wellbeing processes.
• Support the special events team with operational plans, including volunteer schedules, logistics and volunteer welfare.
• Lead teams onsite at festival events, including Glastonbury and other Water Aid events.
• Champion Water Aid’s commitment to equity, inclusion and safeguarding.

To be successful, you will need:

• Proven experience of recruiting, developing, motivating and managing large teams of volunteers at mass public events.
• Excellent knowledge and experience of safeguarding and welfare practices for volunteers and experience in delivering these in a live events environment.
• Proven experience of leading, managing and supporting volunteers and staff.
• Ability to manage cross‑team projects and establish excellent stakeholder relationships at peer and senior levels to deliver against shared objectives.

Benefits

• 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10%
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

As part of our annual leave policy, all employees receive three additional days of annual leave on top of your standard allocation of 25 days. These days are designated to cover the period when our UK office closes between Christmas and New Year, allowing all UK Water Aiders to take a well‑deserved break.

These days are automatically scheduled and cannot be changed or moved. Annual leave is accrued based on your start date. If sufficient leave has not been accrued by the time of the closure, the 3 days will be taken as unpaid leave or pro‑rated, depending on your circumstances.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero‑tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, and exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously.

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counter‑terrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change!