Volunteer Officer

Salary: £27,800 per annum (pro-rata) plus 5% employer contribution pension

Location: The Plex, 15 Margaret Street, Wakefield WF1 2DQ and Wakefield District

Reports to: Chief Officer

Contract: Fixed Term 12 months

Working Hours: Part-time, 22.5 hours per week

Applications close: 11.59pm, Monday 22nd December 2025

About us

Healthwatch Wakefield are the local health and social care champion for Wakefield District. From Airedale to South Kirkby, Overton to Knottingley, and everywhere in between, we make sure NHS and Social Care leaders hear peoples experiences and use their feedback to improve care.

Find out about some of our recent achievements in our Annual Report here >>

About the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic Volunteer Officer to plan and deliver our new Volunteer Strategy. This role involves leading and coordinating our voluntary role holders across different roles and integrating with the wider work of the team.

We want someone who is passionate about volunteers and who will rise to the challenge set by our Chief Officer for all our work to have a clear fingerprint of volunteers demonstrated. The post holder will have latitude to develop a modern, exciting, and vibrant volunteer base and will work across the team to embed new roles which enable us to spread our reach further into the District.

We work closely with the local health and social care system to use our volunteer’s skills and lived experience to support Patient Safety Walkabouts and Patient Led Assessments of Care Environments (PLACE). We also have the power and responsibility to deliver Enter and View visits as a Local Healthwatch organisation. The Volunteer Officer will coordinate and oversee these activities to continue our successful partnership approach.

We are committed to providing social value to the local population, we do this through our opportunities which include volunteering, collaborating, work experience, and placements.

Purpose of role

To have responsibility for the Healthwatch Wakefield Volunteer Strategy. To lead on recruitment, co-ordination, and support of a diverse range of volunteers for Healthwatch Wakefield; including a ‘buddy’ system to help overcome barriers to involvement. To facilitate and maintain an activity and training record, and report on volunteer contributions on a regular basis. To remain up to date with relevant legislation and good practice in volunteering. To review and develop the roles available for volunteers in Healthwatch, working collaboratively with volunteers, contributors and the team.

Essential criteria

• Experience of supporting and supervising volunteers, including recruitment and induction.
• Experience of producing systems and procedures for volunteers.
• Experience of delivering and co-ordinating training.
• Experience of working with a diverse range of communities.
• Experience of working in partnership and with external stakeholders.
• Experience of report writing.
• Communication, facilitating, and liaison skills.
• Ability to confidently build and maintain professional relationships.
• Ability to work as part of a team and to collaborate with others.
• Good planning and organisational skills, including ability to prioritise workload.
• Able to work effectively under pressure and to deadlines.
• Able to produce succinct, articulate and well-formatted documents and reports.
• Ability to understand, interpret and analyse basic financial information.
• Competence in IT skills and internet use.

Please download and view the full Job Description below

Benefits include hybrid and flexible working, 28 days holiday per annum not including Bank Holidays (pro rata), access to mental health and wellbeing support through our employee assistance programme, and training and development opportunities.

How to apply

Submit your CV and cover letter of no more than 500 words to Lewis.Smith-Connell@healthwatchwakefield.co.uk by 11.59 pm on Monday 22 December. Please note that applications which do not include both elements may not be considered.

Interview date is planned for Thursday 15 January.

Join us in making a difference in local health and care services!