Projects Officer

National Association for Voluntary and Community Action

Hours
21 hours per week

Length of contract
12 month

About the Organisation

National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) is the UK’s national membership organisation for local support and development bodies—often called local infrastructure organisations (LIOs)—that work with charities, community groups, and voluntary organisations across England. NAVCA amplifies and strengthens the local voluntary and community infrastructure in England. Through networking, quality standards, policy advocacy, and skill building, it works to ensure that community action remains central to public life and resilient in changing times.

About the role

This is a role that sits at the heart of local and national supporting infrastructure organisations across the country to build capacity, deliver impact, and drive change. From shaping local delivery to supporting national projects, you’ll play a key role in making sure communities can take action on the things that matter to them. You’ll be part of the team delivering NAVCA’s projects – from grant-funded initiatives to responsive support. You’ll work directly with our members and make sure everything runs smoothly and is properly reported.  

In particular, the post-holder will lead the delivery of projects to build capacity in communities, identifying members to deliver capacity-building support to local voluntary sector organisations. They will also work closely with the wider team to ensure the timely and effective delivery of responsive project activity and NAVCA’s core member services. This is a brilliant opportunity if you enjoy project management and working with people, and want to make a real difference to social action across England.

Responsibilities

Direct Project Delivery:

• Work with colleagues and members to produce agreed project materials to support engagement in various topics relevant to local VCSE infrastructure organisations.
• Manage sub-contract arrangements with NAVCA members and others for the delivery of project activities, including training and publications.
• Engage with stakeholders, including NAVCA members, to promote projects and support their involvement in activities.
• Collate, understand, and share the learning from projects.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Monitor project activities, capturing qualitative evidence such as case studies through engagement with members, and quantitative evidence through key performance indicators and agreed monitoring frameworks.
• Work closely with colleagues to provide timely reports to funders and partners on the progress of project outcomes.

Project Administration:

• Maintain key project documents, including project plans, issues, actions, and risk registers in accordance with NAVCA’s Project Management Framework.
• Manage internal and external project meeting arrangements and help to set agendas
• Managing small project budgets and overseeing spend against agreed budget lines, raising purchase orders and invoices in accordance with NAVCA’s Finance Handbook 
• Support colleagues to work within the Project Management 
• Framework and update key documentation. 

Other Tasks:

• Develop and maintain a good understanding of local VCSE sector support and development and the work of our members, to support the Deputy CEO in identifying opportunities for new relationships, partnerships, and business development opportunities.

General Duties:

• Contribute to the wider development of NAVCA, contribute to staff meetings, and work collaboratively with colleagues and external partners, supporting others in their work.
• Understand and promote the priorities, activities, and vision of the organisation, and of the local infrastructure sector.
• Achieve agreed performance targets and participate in regular supervision and personal reviews.
• Engage in training, identify personal and professional development needs, and continuously seek to refresh knowledge in relation to the job.
• Treat with confidentiality any information about any organisation, its staff, trustees, or clients that is sensitive, personal or private.

Skills, Competencies & Experience

Essential Criteria:

• Knowledge of project management tools and techniques (A/I)
• Experience of working in a project environment, including working with external funders/clients and external providers/sub-contractors (A/I)
• Knowledge of monitoring activities and experience in successfully capturing monitoring for internal and external reporting purposes. (A/I)
• Experience of developing successful partnerships and networks, by bringing individuals and organisations together to meet agreed outcomes (A/I)
• Experience of working on externally funded projects to deliver stated outcomes (A/I)
• Excellent communication orally, face-to-face, and in writing, with the ability to motivate and influence through communications (A/I)
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team (A/I)
• A highly organised approach with the ability to effectively prioritise work, meet agreed deadlines, and respond to changes (I/T)
• Experience in synthesising information and identifying good practice to form a resource bank
• Good computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and Teams (A)

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of the VCSE sector, the operating environment, and local VCSE infrastructure organisations in particular (A/I)
• Knowledge of safeguarding in a VCSE setting (A)
• Knowledge of social investment (A)

Compensation & Benefits

• Employer Pension Contribution 8%

Working locations

• Home-Based
• Weekly travel to our office in Sheffield.

How to apply

• Please return all parts of your completed application form to [email protected], using the job title as the subject of the email "Projects Officer"
• For an informal discussion about the role, please call Rich Warrington, Deputy CEO, on 0114 312 2785 or email [email protected]

Interviews

• Interview dates: 8th July in Sheffield 

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