Project Manager - HelpOUT

Position Description

Position: / Project Manager – HelpOUT
Reports to: / CEO
Remuneration: / To be negotiated
Hours: / Part time (0.8EFT): Monday to Thursday
Start Date: / June or July 2016
Term: / To 30 June 2017
Location: / Level 2, 491 King Street, West Melbourne

About Volunteering Victoria

Volunteering Victoria is the peak body for volunteering in Victoria. Our membership is drawn from volunteer involving organisations (VIOs), volunteer support organisations (VSOs) and volunteers from across Victoria, including (but not limited to) the community sector, health, sport, emergency services, arts and culture, the environment, animal welfare and the corporate sector.

Our purpose as the peak body for volunteering in Victoria, is to provide dynamic and transformative leadership that will promote and build a vibrant, prosperous and strong volunteering community that is inclusive, respected and sustainable.

Our vision is resilient communities and empowered and active citizens through volunteering.

We will achieve our purpose and vision by focusing on the following strategic themes that underpin all our objectives and activities. We will:

  • Build a vibrant, diverse, satisfied and growing membership and network of stakeholders that is truly representative of the entire Victorian volunteering community
  • Facilitate an innovative and collaborative approach to develop and deliver quality programs and resources to support the growth and empowerment of the Victorian volunteering community
  • Demonstrate and support the delivery of marketing and business development excellence to promote the value, importance and impact of volunteering on the Victorian community
  • Champion and model governance and management leadership, excellence, accountability and good stewardship
  • Establish a robust and sustainable financial base that demonstrates commercial acumen, supports sustainable growth and enables us to invest in the future of volunteering

Background

During 2015/16 Volunteering Victoria piloted a new spontaneous emergency volunteering service and online platform, HelpOUT in the G21 (greater Geelong) region. Through HelpOUT, every day Victorians can register their interest in helping communities impacted by an emergency. HelpOUT then matches people with rewarding volunteering opportunities that support identified community needs, by partnering with the organisations working on the ground in affected communities.

HelpOUT and its companion project, Managers of Spontaneous Emergency Volunteers (MSEV), are funded by two annual grants through the Natural Disaster Resilience Grant Scheme (NDRGS). During 2016/17 it is expected these two projects will be integrated with a view to transitioning both from project to recurrent funding in 2017/18.

We are also negotiating with Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) to replace the current emergency volunteering portal with HelpOUT. This may include entering into an MOU with EMV.

Position Purpose

The HelpOUT Project Manager is responsible for managing the development and state-wide implementation of the HelpOUT project,in collaboration with the MSEV project team, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering Geelong and other key stakeholders.

Position Responsibilities

  • Planning and day-to-day management of all aspects of the HelpOUT project, including project activities, personnel, financial and other resources, contractors and partnerships, risk management, monitoring and reporting.
  • Developing, monitoring and communicatingtheHelpOUT project plan(consistent with the updatedworkplan in the June 2016 NDRGSprogress report) in collaboration with project team members, partners and other key stakeholders. This includes but is not limited to working with:
  • EMV to develop and refine the state-wide HelpOUT roll-out plan and post-project sustainability plan
  • The MSEV project team and HelpOUT and MSEV partner/s to develop and implement the HelpOUT/MSEV integration plan
  • Volunteering Queensland to scope, test and implement agreed system improvements, consistent with the MOU and Service Level Agreement
  • Providing leadership and support for the HelpOUT project team and ultimately the combined HelpOUT/MSEV project team. This includes:
  • Recruiting and developing a team of HelpOUT staff and volunteers to support project delivery and HelpOUT services, such as the contact centre, during and following an emergency
  • Convening regular project team meetings to communicate, monitor and progress project activities and collectively resolve issues
  • Working closely with other Volunteering Victoria staff and volunteers, including Finance, Marketing, HR and Learning & Development, to support the delivery of the project
  • Establishing and facilitatinga statewide Project Reference Group to engage key stakeholders, secure buy-in, and ensureHelpOUT meets their needs
  • Involving other relevant partners, stakeholders, contractors or consultants in team meetings if and when necessary for specific purposes/occasions
  • Developingand maintaining appropriate agreements, internal business frameworks, operational processes and policies to facilitate the efficient and effective delivery of the project, including:
  • Risk management framework and business continuity plan
  • Evaluation framework and plan
  • Salesforce procedures, user profiles and protocols
  • HelpOUT contact centre operations manual, policies and procedures
  • Assisting the CEO with the development and maintenance of external agreements, such as partnership MOUs, Service Level Agreements and other contracts as required
  • Managing the activation, scale-up, scale-down and deactivation of the HelpOUT contact centre in the event of an emergency
  • Monitor and report on levels of customer demand and staffing requirements, to assist the CEO in management decision-making
  • Monitor and report on any extraordinary costs incurred
  • Adhering to the requirements of the NDRGS funding agreement between the Department of Justice and Volunteering Victoria in relation to this project, including:
  • Preparation and delivery of progress reportsby specified deadlines
  • Preparation of grant acquittals and other reporting requirements by specified deadlines
  • Adhering to Volunteering Victoria’s policies and processes
  • Other relevant duties as required

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

Essential

  • At least five years’ experience as a not-for-profit or public sector project manager
  • A relevant tertiary qualification in project management, business management or similar
  • Demonstrated experience in:
  • positively leading and developing small teams of staff, consultants and volunteers
  • successfullymanaging complexity and responding effectively to change
  • successfully managing external relationships, including project partners, contractors and consultants
  • managing multiple concurrent priorities

Desirable

  • Experience within or working knowledge of the Victorian emergency management sector
  • Volunteer management experience
  • Program or service design and development experience
  • Salesforce (CRM) experience

Personal Attributes

All Volunteering Victoria staff and volunteers are expected to demonstrate Volunteering Victoria’s values which are to be:

  • Collaborative, supportive & inclusive
  • Transparent, accountable & professional
  • Innovative, flexible & proactive

This position specifically requires the following personal attributes:

  • Excellent organisational and time management
  • Flexibility and creativity
  • Ability to work independently
  • Excellent interpersonal communication skills
  • Customer-focused approach
  • Strong work ethic and pro-active attitude

Key Relationships

  • HelpOUT team members (staff and volunteers)
  • MSEV team members (staff and volunteers)
  • EMV staff and management
  • Volunteering Queensland staff
  • Volunteering Geelong and other relevant Volunteer Support Organisation (VSO) staff and volunteers
  • Project partners, funders and supporters
  • HelpOUT client organisations

Key Success Areas

  • Successful implementation of the project deliverables as outlined in the NDRGS agreement, progress report/s and project plan
  • Positive feedback from stakeholders, client organisations and volunteers
  • Successful activation of the HelpOUT contact centre in the event of an emergency

Position Description – Project Manager, HelpOUTPage 1 of 4