BCM team members wanted

Paid work available for new team members! 

Update on Tuesday 19 January
We’ve had lots of great applications for these roles – thank you! We’re pausing now to give them the attention they deserve and we’re not actively seeking any more candidates at the moment. We plan to open this recruitment call again in late February, though, so please check back then. 

Birmingham Community Matters (BCM) is a small charity, founded in 2016 to give people face-to-face support with getting started and running their community groups and projects across Birmingham. We support in many ways but, essentially, when people approach us for help, we match them with people who are experienced at doing similar things.

We call this a ‘peer-to-peer learning network’ and our motto is: Everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach.

We had a busy 2020, supporting many small voluntary and community groups within Birmingham to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic while adapting and building their activity. Covid-19 changed BCM’s ways of working, just as it has for most organisations. We’re proud to have grown at the same time, finding both wider-ranging and more in-depth ways to help while keeping one another safe.

We now deliver digital one-to-one sessions, webinars, networking and small group meetings. This flyer explains what we do and how we’ve changed this year.

We look forward to resuming our in-person events when it is safe to do so, and we will also retain our new, virtual ways of working in order to widen our reach. Our commitment to peer-to-peer learning remains at the heart of everything we do.

View details of BCM’s forthcoming events at our Eventbrite page.

Now we’re pleased to be in a position to expand our pool of self-employed team members to help us to deliver our services more widely, both online and face to face. We have opportunities starting from January 2021 and beyond.

We hold our hands up in admitting we are not yet as diverse a team as we’d like to be. Birmingham is a diverse, vibrant, forward-thinking city and we would love to work alongside people from many different backgrounds to help us better represent the needs of, and support, Brum’s growing number of community groups and projects. If you feel you are underrepresented in the charity sector (for any reason), then we would especially love to hear from you. 

We are looking for people who can help reach people throughout our wonderful city by doing some or all of the following activities:

• Delivering small information/support sessions for voluntary and community groups alongside a Community Matters Helper or BCM partner
• Working with Community Matters Helpers or BCM partners to develop presentations and resources for new sessions around frequently asked questions
• Conducting triage calls with people getting in touch with BCM for support. This involves talking through their challenges and ideas, identifying support needs, recording information on our CRM (customer relationship management) system, and, where appropriate, matching them with suitable Helpers or sessions
• Setting up online meetings and attending and supporting one-to-one sessions between Community Matters Helpers and people needing support for their group, and also recording and coordinating follow-up actions, and recording feedback
• When it is safe to do so, and government guidance permits, setting up and managing short face-to-face sessions between groups and BCM partners. This will involve liaising with host organisations (such as community halls), promoting sessions, setting up the room and signage, conducting session risk assessments, welcoming attendees, and gathering feedback
• Conducting one-to-one sessions with representatives from groups to perform small asset-based organisational reviews, identify support needs and match them with appropriate help from volunteer helpers, peers or BCM partners
• Representing BCM at external / project meetings where required
• Helping us with other tasks and projects as they become available.

We are looking for people with some or all of the following:

Knowledge

• Understanding of how voluntary groups work in terms of governance, committee role, fundraising, recruiting volunteers, planning and running activities
• Any specific skills or knowledge in the areas outlined above
• Knowledge or links with local groups and activities within various neighbourhoods of Birmingham.

Experience

• Experience of involvement in voluntary groups, small charities or third sector organisations – either paid or as a volunteer
• Experience of undertaking reviews or evaluations of voluntary organisations
• Experience of coordinating and/or writing funding applications.

Skills

• Confidence in using technology – for example to set up online meetings on platforms such as Zoom, and create and deliver PowerPoint presentations
• Ability to facilitate online meetings, making sure sessions are welcoming, informal, lively, kept to time and inclusive.

Qualities

• Committed to BCM’s ethos of peer support and peer learning while working with voluntary and community groups, using an ‘asset-based approach’ (as in playing to strengths rather than focusing on problems and deficits – please see this useful definition from Croydon Council) and upholding our motto: Everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach
• Ability to build good working relationships with colleagues, peers and volunteers.

You should also have your own computer and a reliable internet connection.

BCM is a relatively new organisation and, as a team, we have always taken a flexible and responsive approach to the services we offer. This adaptiveness has been especially valuable while responding to Covid-19 restrictions and the resulting changes in needs from communities. Therefore we are interested in developing a team of people who can offer services which may complement what we currently do – perhaps by identifying and responding to emerging needs amongst the groups we work with. So if you think you have something different and useful to offer in terms of the knowledge, skills or qualities listed above, we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for self-employed team members to cover up to ten days per month at a rate of £250 per day (exclusive of travel expenses). The ten days are not guaranteed but rather depend on demand and particular project needs, but we would aim to offer a minimum of six days over each three-month period.

If you are interested in joining BCM as a self-employed team member, please send a recent CV and a covering email explaining why you are interested in the role to info@birminghamcommunitymatters.org.uk with the subject heading BCM team. If appropriate we will arrange a conversation online to get to know you and you us. Should you have any questions about the role, please also do get in touch via this email too.