About the role
The Group Lead Volunteer is a key volunteer role within local Scouting with responsibility for providing outstanding leadership and support for the Sections and Teams within the Group. The primary focus for the Group Lead Volunteer is to ensure that Scouting is able to reach every young person in the area; open to all regardless of faith, colour or social background, because we believe Scouting has the ability to change lives. This is achieved by leading their Team Leaders, and other Group volunteers as well as working with the District Team and Growth & Communities Teams (employed staff) to provide enough places to meet the demand for Scouting, and by ensuring that every youth member has access to a high-quality balanced programme that is challenging, relevant and rewarding.
Information about the role
Recruited by: District Lead Volunteer, via a search group process
Responsible to: District Lead Volunteer
Responsible for: Group Team Leaders, and all other Group appointments, however it is expected that line management for other roles are delegated to Team Leaders.
Number of sections: 4 (and a linked Explorer Scout Unit)
Number of youth members: 77 (and 12 linked Explorers)
Number of adult volunteers: 18
Extra information: We’re looking for a candidate with a strong commitment to community partnerships and growth.
Key tasks (can be delegated to Group Leadership Team members
Support the Group’s Sections:
- Make sure the Group Leadership Team runs smoothly.
- Work with the District 14-24 Team to make sure there are Young Leaders in all the Group’s Section Teams.
- Help Section Teams work well, using tools to measure quality where needed.
Develop our volunteers:
- Champion Our Volunteering Culture, so Team Members are aware of it, reflect on it, commit to it, and apply it.
- Support all volunteers to grow and gain the skills they need (or would like).
- Make sure all teams in the Group follow our approach to equity, diversity and inclusion, safer volunteer recruitment, joining, reviews, and processes for leaving Scouts.
- Make sure volunteers are doing what’s expected of them, including getting learning done and completing their criminal record checks.
Engage with the community:
- Create and look after relationships outside of Scouts to help deliver the programme and recruit adults and young people. This could include local community leaders, other youth groups, volunteer recruitment agencies, and local media and social media outlets.
- Plan and run fundraising events when they’re needed.
Open new provision:
- Work with District Teams to open new Sections and support the inclusive growth of Scouts.
Manage incidents:
- Make sure all incidents are reported in the right way.
- Handle Subject Access Requests and personal data breaches.
- Follow the Complaints Policy to stop complaints escalating (where possible).
- Work with other volunteers to respond to safety, safeguarding, and data incidents, and complaints (where needed).
Support effective processes:
Oversee:
- Sections Teams, to make sure they’re briefing helpers on the practical aspects of safety and safeguarding. This includes giving them a copy of the Yellow Card, confirming they’ve read and understood it, and checking they know who to speak to in case of any concerns.
- The payment of invoices and volunteer expenses.
- Enquiries from new volunteers and new members, waiting lists, and the movement of young people between Sections.
- Equipment owned by the Group.
- Meeting places (whether they’re rented, leased, or owned).
- Supplies of uniform, including badges and clothing.
- First aid kits and accident forms for all Sections and meeting places.
- Membership system records for volunteers and young people, making sure they’re correct and up to date.
- Group social media platforms.
- Group website and emails.
- If there are staff in the Group, make sure they’re properly managed and recognised. This includes following employment law and acting as a responsible employer in line with Scout values.
- Governance administration for the Trustee Board, to include meeting preparation, minute taking and AGM organisation.
Person specification
Knowledge & experience:
- Ability to lead, manage and motivate people in a voluntary environment. Essential.
- Understanding of the challenges of working in the voluntary sector. Desirable.
- Experience of working with young people and/or community work with adult groups. Desirable.
Skills & abilities:
- Excellent ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing including ability to speak and present publicly in a clear, articulate and motivating way. Essential.
- Ability to provide advice and guidance effectively to others. Essential.
- Ability to provide inspirational strategic leadership for the County. Essential.
- Ability to contribute to strategy development and identify practical actions to achieve strategic objectives. Essential.
- Ability to effectively chair meetings. Essential.
- Can build, maintain and facilitate effective working relationships with a wide range of people. Essential.
- Ability to enable others to identify issues, clarify objectives, develop attainable objectives and gain the necessary skills and confidence to work as an effective team. Essential.
- Ability to negotiate compromises Essential.
- Plans, manages and monitors own tasks and time. Essential.
- Can construct and implement long-term plans that improve and expand the Scouting offered to young people, and identify any training, resources and other needs required to undertake
this work. Essential. - Ability to use technology, especially mobile email, to carry out a range of tasks (confident in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Essential.
Personal qualities:
- An understanding of the needs of adult volunteers. Essential.
- Flexible approach. Essential.
- Self-motivated. Essential.
- Able to work as part of a team and promote good teamwork. Essential.
- Resourceful, energetic and enthusiastic about the job. Essential.
- Acceptance of the fundamentals of the Scout Movement. Essential.
Being a Team Leader
We’re currently looking for a Group Lead Volunteer. This is a management role, and we need someone who can provide leadership, motivation and guidance to our other adult volunteers. A ‘team’ approach will be considered for this role.
Group Lead Volunteers support volunteers and other managers, who run the local Scout Group. Adults at every level need support to ensure that they are motivated, inspired and focused on providing first-class Scouting. A good manager thanks other volunteers for their hard work, and helps to make sure that they feel happy and supported, week after week.
The GroupLead Volunteer will also provide direction for the Group, and will help others see the bigger Scouting picture through solid leadership.
We believe that everyone in management roles within Scouting should adopt an approach that combines the skills of both leadership and management.
What is a Brilliant Leader at Scouts?
We’ve identified five core skill areas that make a good Scouting manager.
1. Brilliant Leaders collaborate to create impact for young people
· Understand what’s important to young people and how their team helps this to happen.
· Strong understanding of the current realities of local Scouting.
· Create effective working relationships across the team and beyond to deliver our goals.
· Know their customers and hold themselves accountable to meeting their needs.
· Are network builders who cultivate new connections that add value to Scouts
.2. Brilliant Leaders inspire and support our people to thrive
· Have a clear and compelling purpose for themselves and their team.
· Are self-aware, manage their energy effectively and role-model self-care.
· Take great care of people, supporting mental and physical health.
· Recognise and reward positive behaviours and high performance.
· Enable people to enjoy being a part of our organisation.
3. Brilliant Leaders are advocates for equity and inclusion
· Actively listen to and centre diverse voices.
· Create a psychologically safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels secure, respected, and valued.
· Recognise and take concrete steps to address privilege, power and bias in themselves as individuals and in our movement.
· Are role models for continuous learning; giving and receiving challenge while creating safe and brave spaces for colleagues to learn together.
· Make sure that their behaviour is underpinned by our values.
4. Brilliant Leaders are great at getting things done
· Are adaptable – agree clear objectives but change in line with circumstances.
· Work in an agile way, constantly learning, iterating. and achieving results at pace.
· Dynamically manage risk, calmly leading others through periods of change or crisis.
· Trust people to do the right thing and deliver
5. Brilliant Leaders are forward thinking users of digital and data
· Use data and insights to drive decision-making.
· Understand and deploy user-centred design principles in development work.
· Are digitally literate and committed to making best use of digital to do things better.
· Encourage innovation and welcome disruptive thinking.
· Create a culture of active learning, spotting, and responding to future trends in the world beyond Scouts
Sound good? Apply now.
Before making an application please ensure that you’ve read carefully read our vacancy informtion.
Questions?
If you’d like to discuss this role in more detail, please get in touch with Dan Phillips.
Next steps
Thank you for your interest in volunteering as Group Lead Volunteer for 1st Walsall Wood. You can apply for the role yourself using the application form.
A search group has been put together to oversee this process and will review all applications and nominations in order to make decisions as to who to invite to attend the selection stage of this process (subject to internal checks).
Interview date: TBC – will be during July for a September start.
Closing date: Monday 30th June 2025.