Head of Volunteer Experience and Engagement

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFo A) is the UK's chartered professional body dedicated to educating, developing and regulating actuaries based both in the UK and internationally.

The IFo A regulates and represents over 34,000 members worldwide, overseeing their actuarial education at all stages of qualification and development throughout their careers.

We set examinations, continuing professional development, professional codes and disciplinary standards for our members.

We are currently recruiting a Head of Volunteer Experience and Engagement for a Permanent contract.

This role is hybrid, both working from home and in our London hub (1-2 times per month).

We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly between home and the hub to suit their needs and preferences, in line with our hybrid working policy.

Colleagues are able to work their hours flexibly, in line with core business hours and requirements.

We also offer formalised flexible working agreements.

The starting salary is £73,245.

Applicants for this role must have the right to work in the UK.

Purpose of Job

The Head of Volunteer Experience & Engagement is the strategic and operational leader responsible for championing, designing, delivering and continuously improving a world-class volunteering proposition that enables IFo A volunteers to make a meaningful contribution to the IFo A's mission, strategy and global impact for our members.

The role ensures that volunteering across the institute is purposeful, well-governed, inclusive and aligned to organisational priorities.

The postholder establishes clear operational and governance frameworks for volunteer groups, and leads the recruitment, onboarding, support and management of a diverse portfolio of volunteer groups – including committees, panels, working groups, practice boards and communities – operating across international markets.

The role plays a critical part in strengthening member engagement, leads the research and content strategic plan and calendar, and champions Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the volunteer community.

• Principal Accountabilities
• Develop and own a compelling global volunteering proposition that clearly articulates the value of volunteering for individuals, the profession and the institute, ensuring opportunities are purposeful, accessible, inclusive and aligned to IFo A strategic priorities.
• Establish and maintain clear and simple operational and governance frameworks for volunteer groups across the institute, defining and standardising roles, terms of reference, reporting structures, decision-making authorities and ways of working.
• Lead end-to-end volunteer lifecycle management – including attraction, recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, ongoing engagement, recognition and succession planning – ensuring equitable, transparent and inclusive processes.
• Oversee a diverse portfolio of volunteer committees, panels, working groups and communities, ensuring outputs are high-quality, timely and aligned with organisational priorities, and that volunteering supports key member acquisition, retention and commercial revenue targets.
• Lead volunteer-led research initiatives and manage the content and research journals plan and calendar, collaborating with marketing and communications colleagues to amplify outputs and integrate them into member value propositions.
• Champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the volunteer community, developing DEI metrics, ensuring all volunteer policies and processes enable greater inclusion.
• Build strong relationships with senior volunteers, elected leaders and committee chairs across international markets, acting as a trusted adviser on governance, operations, effectiveness and engagement.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team responsible for volunteer recruitment, engagement and operations, managing volunteer engagement budgets and ensuring value for money.
• Develop robust reporting and insight on volunteer activity, engagement, diversity, impact and outcomes, using data to inform continuous improvement and executive decision-making.
• As a member of the Senior Management Group, contribute to the executive leadership of the IFo A and lead and/or contribute to pan-IFo A projects and transformation as appropriate.

Essential

• Knowledge and Experience
• Demonstrable leadership experience at a level commensurate with membership of the IFo A's Senior Leadership Team.
• Demonstrable people management and development experience.
• Experience of managing volunteer programmes and working with volunteer communities.
• Extensive change management experience within a member-centric or similar environment.
• Significant experience of matrix working, demonstrating skill in influencing and managing relationships without formal authority.
• Exceptional collaborator with strong stakeholder management, diplomacy, tact and international cultural fluency.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to professional ethics, integrity, inclusion and evidence-based practice.

Desirable

• Experience of leading collaborative working across teams/directorates
• Experience of managing and supporting research and content development
• Experience of working in a regulatory, membership or financial sector environment.
• Decision-Making and Complexity

The post holder has autonomous decision-making responsibility for the day-to-day running of the team, including budget responsibility and vendor/supplier selection.

Decisions are generally made within organisational and departmental policies, guidelines and procedures.

The role requires leadership of a team balancing multiple workflows and projects and involves proactive, autonomous working in a busy environment.

As a member of the Senior Manager Group, the postholder is involved in decisions on complex matters related to the long-term strategic future of the IFo A.

• Additional Dimensions
• Leads a team of circa 8 Communities Engagement and Content and Research Managers and Executives.
• Accountable budget holder for the volunteering communities budget of £500k per annum.
• Responsible for the volunteer research and academic budget of £70k.
• Responsible for the volunteer proposition and experience for 3,500 volunteers.
• Member of the IFo A Senior Management Group.
• Some travel and out-of-hours working will be required for meetings and events.
• Alternative format and adjustments
• Please Email The HR Team If You Require
• any information regarding our vacancies in an alternative format
• any adjustments to support you to fully participate in any part of the application and recruitment process

Any information shared will be used only to enable us to make reasonable adjustments to support candidates to participate in the recruitment process.

It will not inform selection decisions.

You can reach us at HRsupport@actuaries. org. uk.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

The IFo A encourages applicants from a variety of backgrounds and experience and welcomes diversity with regard not only to protected characteristics but also diversity of thought.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are more than just words for us.

That’s why we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels included and respected, and where no one is unfairly discriminated against.

Consequently, we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all our policies, practices and procedures, and actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates.

All applications for our roles are considered on merit alone, and if you don’t meet all the criteria but believe you have something to offer, we want to hear from you.

• For more information on our commitments, please see our DEI strategy page
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