Volunteer Officer

The Organisation 

The Royal Parks (TRP) is a charity created in March 2017. We manage over 5,000 acres of diverse parkland, rare habitats, and historic buildings and monuments in eight Royal Parks across London. These are Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Green Park, St James’s Park, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park, and Bushy Park. 

We also manage other important public spaces, including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. Our eight Royal Parks and other iconic green spaces are among the most visited attractions in the UK, with tens of millions of visits every year. 

Our Volunteer Ranger Service, including the Volunteer Bus in Richmond Park, is a growing success story, launched as a trial to engage, inspire and inform visitors about the parks’ rich natural and cultural landscape. 

We are currently looking for a Volunteer Officer to join us on 6-fixed term contract on a full-time basis. 

This role does include working 2 weekends a month and evening work. 

The Benefits 

• Competitive Salary
• 26 days’ annual leave, pro rata, plus public holidays
• Employer pension scheme
• Private healthcare cash plan and health insurance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme - available to all staff and family members

This is a fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic individual with experience of working with, and managing, volunteers and a love of the great outdoors to join our passionate organisation. 

You’ll be the welcoming presence that truly inspires our visitors, creating unforgettable experiences while helping to shape a legacy in parks that have defined London’s heritage for generations. 

And with the scope to lead and innovate, this role offers the ideal platform to flex your leadership skills, designing impactful programmes that elevate public engagement and redefine what volunteering looks like in the heritage and environmental sector. 

The Role 

As a Volunteering Officer, you will manage and develop the Volunteer Ranger Service in Richmond and Bushy Park. 

Specifically, you will train and develop new volunteers, ensuring they are well-equipped to engage the public on the parks' history, heritage and wildlife. 

Alongside this, you will also collaborate with a variety of volunteer groups across the parks, helping to co-ordinate conservation activities, support corporate volunteering sessions and contribute to the development of both new and existing initiatives. 

Additionally, you will:

• Help to maintain all tools, equipment and PPE
• Support the promotion of the Volunteer Ranger Service and wider Volunteering activities
• Ensure all expenditure is approved and budgets are updated accordingly

About You 

To be considered as a Volunteer Officer, you will need: 

• Proven experience of working with, managing, leading and training volunteers, especially relating to visitor engagement and conservation
• Experience of developing and delivering successful volunteer projects and programmes and working with partners
• Excellent people skills including team working, negotiating, problem solving and the ability to be calm and decisive in challenging situations
• To be highly organised with the ability to prioritise a heavy workload, manage tasks simultaneously and perform effectively under pressure
• An awareness of and ability to advocate for equality, inclusion and diversity, health and safety, and safeguarding
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Other organisations may call this role Volunteer Services Co-ordinator, Volunteer Co-ordinator, or Volunteer Development Co-ordinator. 

We want to put everyone in the best possible position to succeed and use Recite-me accessibility software. At the top of the application page, there is an “Accessibility Tools” button which you can use to complete the application form in a way that works for you. If you think that you may need more support to complete our application process, please do get in touch. 

The Royal Parks is strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. Please visit our website to find out more on our approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 

So, if you’re interested in this unique opportunity as a Volunteer Officer, please apply via the button shown.