Volunteer & Engagement Senior Executive (12-Month Fixed Term Contract)

Birdcage Walk, Central London (with hybrid working)

Help us shape an outstanding volunteer experience and strengthen the impact we make together

Volunteers are at the heart of our Institution. They bring their time, expertise, experience and passion to everything from professional registration and assessment to technical communities and member engagement. Their contribution is fundamental to our ability to advance the engineering profession, deliver our charitable mission and support engineers throughout their careers.

We want to make sure that the experience we offer our volunteers reflects just how important they are to us.

We’re looking for a proactive, thoughtful and relationship-focused Volunteer & Engagement Senior Executive to join us on a 12-month fixed-term contract. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of volunteering across the Institution and influence how we attract, welcome, support, develop and recognise the people who give their time and expertise to our work.

This role is about more than managing volunteer activity. You will help us understand what our volunteers need to thrive and turn that insight into meaningful improvements in how we work. By strengthening the volunteer journey, building stronger relationships and creating more consistent and engaging experiences, you will help ensure our volunteers feel valued, connected and empowered to make a difference.

Working with colleagues and volunteers across the Institution, you will use feedback, insight and data to identify opportunities for improvement and help shape approaches that enable us to work more effectively together. In doing so, you will play an important role in strengthening our volunteer community and helping us deliver greater impact for our members, the engineering profession and wider society.

The Role

As our Volunteer & Engagement Senior Executive, you will coordinate the development and enhancement of the volunteer experience across the Institution.

You will support volunteers throughout their journey with us, from recruitment and onboarding through to engagement, development and recognition. You’ll help create the systems, resources and processes that make volunteering with us welcoming, rewarding and consistent, while ensuring we remain responsive to the different needs of our volunteer communities.

Listening will be an important part of the role. You will use volunteer feedback, engagement data and wider insight to understand what is working well, where we can do better and where new opportunities exist. You will help us strengthen participation and retention, anticipate future recruitment and succession needs, and continually improve the support we provide.

Just as importantly, you will bring people together. Working collaboratively with teams across the Institution, you will help build a shared approach to volunteer engagement, embedding our values and behaviours throughout the volunteer journey and ensuring volunteers understand the difference their contribution makes.

Ultimately, your work will help shape a thriving, inclusive and engaged volunteer community, strengthening our ability to deliver our ambitions and make the greatest possible impact.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will:

- Have proven experience of managing volunteer, membership or stakeholder engagement programmes.
- Demonstrate experience of developing and implementing initiatives, processes and resources that enhance engagement, participation and retention.
- Be confident analysing data, identifying trends and translating insights into practical recommendations and measurable actions.
- Have experience of coordinating multiple projects and priorities, delivering outcomes to agreed timescales.
- Be able to build effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, influencing and collaborating across teams.
- Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear reports, guidance and presentations.
- Be highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage competing demands.
- Be proficient in the use of CRM systems and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
- Have a proactive approach to continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to enhance volunteer experiences, processes and ways of working.
- Understand volunteer motivations and a commitment to delivering an outstanding volunteer experience.

The Salary and Benefits

- Salary of circa £41,000 per annum
- 26 days’ holiday per annum plus bank holidays
- An extra day off for your birthday
- Benefits, including stakeholder pension scheme, life assurance and private health cover
- Continuous training and career development
- A range of wellbeing benefits to encourage a healthy work-life balance

This is a fantastic opportunity for a volunteer management professional with an array of related coordination and volunteer-sector skills and experiences to join our internationally respected organisation.

You will have the chance to support a vital community of volunteers whose expertise, time and leadership help deliver our purpose, whilst growing your own expertise and broadening your experience.

The closing date for this role is 26th October 2026.

We regret that we are unable to reply to each applicant, therefore, if you do not hear from us within 28 days of your application for this post, you should assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

In addition to this, we will invest in your continued development with ongoing training and career opportunities, alongside a fantastic range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing and work-life balance.

About the IMechE

With over 110,000 members in 140 countries, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has been at the heart of the mechanical engineering profession since 1847. We strive to improve the world through engineering by developing engineers, promoting engineering, informing opinion and encouraging innovation.

We are proud to have achieved workplace accreditations - Invest in People Gold and Invest in Wellbeing Silver. These awards reflect our organisation’s commitment to our employees, who are a vital part of supporting the engineering community.

This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.

Other organisations may call this role Volunteer Manager, Volunteering Officer, Volunteer Experience and Engagement Officer, Volunteering and Community Engagement Officer, Volunteer Development Coordinator, Volunteering Development Coordinator, or Volunteer Coordinator.

Webrecruit and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.