Case studies: Volunteering officer: Annie Bethell

Annie is a volunteering officer for the Alzheimer’s Society in South Yorkshire. She has a Bachelors degree in archaeological science and a Masters degree in human osteology and funerary archaeology.

Prior to securing my current position I gained a mixture of voluntary and paid work experience that helped me to develop relevant skills and knowledge. I spent the year after graduation as the Vice-President of Student Activities at my university. As part of this role I had responsibility for managing the student volunteering programme and also got some experience at strategic level, for example managing budgets and sitting on board meetings. I then got a temporary job as an administrator for an organisation that was responsible for maintaining good relationships between local government and the voluntary sector. This gave me a firm grounding in the workings of the voluntary sector as I worked with a range of different charities. I also have a history of volunteering myself in a range of capacities and still volunteer now.

My role is to develop, manage and coordinate the society’s volunteering projects across South Yorkshire. This involves developing new volunteer projects and roles, recruiting volunteers, assisting with the management of current projects that have a volunteering element, liaising with paid staff to effectively use volunteers, and wider partnership working. I also support the line management of over 200 volunteers across South Yorkshire, directly manage seven volunteers and ensure that suitable training is in place for all volunteers. A typical day can be very busy and varied.

I truly enjoy everything about my job. I particularly love meeting and helping a diverse range of people. I also like the fact that it is a constant learning curve on different levels - I enjoy learning about how the voluntary sector works generally, and specifically about dementia and the work of the society.

There are, however, challenges to face; for example, getting busy paid staff to effectively use volunteers and managing projects well when volunteers’ circumstances change. I also have to manage a busy schedule to ensure that I leave enough time for administrative tasks.  

I would advise anyone interested in this job to volunteer themselves and try to choose a role that may offer the chance to develop and gain supervisory experience. This will help you to make stronger applications for paid posts as prior experience of managing volunteers is often required. Being on a committee or board and keeping abreast of relevant policy and legislation will also help.