Employment and Skills Initiative: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector

Overview

The Department for Communities is providing funding to the Arts, Creative Industries, Heritage, Sports and Voluntary and Community sectors to address employment and skills deficits which have arisen, as a result of, or been exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through key roles impacted upon by the pandemic, the aim is to enhance an individual’s job prospects and skill sets and in doing so, strengthen the organisations and sectors to aid recovery and sustainability. This is in recognition of the wider benefits these sectors bring to Northern Ireland citizens.

The Department for Communities has appointed the Rank Foundation to deliver this programme to organisations specifically within the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, in the form of the Start Here programme.

Eligibility Criteria

They invite you to apply for the Start Here programme if your organisation fits the following criteria:

• Are you a not-for-profit VCSE organisation that is based within Northern Ireland?
• Can you support the employability and skills of an individual who wishes to enter into, or progress within, the VCSE sector?
• Has the type of role this individual would fulfil been affected by the pandemic?
• Will your support for this role strengthen the VCSE sector?

This new 3-year programme will enable entry-level employees to flourish within the VCSE sector.

Successful organisations will receive:

• A grant to fund an entry level position for 3 years. This is calculated on the Real Living Wage plus on-costs and includes an anticipated % increase year on year. The grant also covers the cost of training and support for this new entry level position.
• An additional and optional grant of up £6,000 to fund a skills and development programme for existing staff. This should add value to the individuals involved, to the organisation and to the sector.

In addition, newly appointed entry level staff will also have access to:

• A Start Here conference designed and delivered by the Rank Foundation, in partnership with N.I. based infrastructure support organisations. This annual 2- day event will enable the new entry level staff from across the VCSE sector to meet, develop new insights, network and enhance skills.
• A place on a facilitated Action Learning Set (ALS), meeting 6 times per year. ALS provide a safe and structured space for new post holders to reflect on their challenges and to work with their peers to seek solutions and learning opportunities.

Additional Value

All new staff, plus a named colleague/manager from each organisation will also have access to:

• Membership to RankNet. This is a digital platform run by the Rank Foundation that serves as a gateway for deeper engagement, one where social sector colleagues can convene, identify common issues, build solutions and collaborations. All members have access to a digital platform that offers opportunities to connect directly with others, to access opportunities such as training events & bursary opportunities and to share best practice on areas of thematic interest.
• The Rank Foundation annual networking conference. This event is attended by around 300 social sector professionals UK wide. Participants hear from thought leaders, frontline staff, sector experts and those with lived experience.
• Regular convening. They anticipate there being at least approx. 20 funded organisations and 20 new entry levels posts within the VCSE sector. They will provide convening and networking opportunities throughout the 3-year period and will consciously introduce discussion and learning opportunities around sustainability, funding and leadership.

Eligibility

The Start Here programme will be open to all VCSE organisations, although priority will be given to those organisations that have a supporting, co-ordinating or development role in relation to voluntary and community sector organisations, particularly in policy areas which are the responsibility of the Department.

You will have the opportunity to apply for grant funding for a new 3-year entry level position. In addition to the application for a new 3-year post, you will have the option to apply for funding to upskill existing staff and volunteers, and thereby creating a holistic approach to enhancing job prospects, skills and strength across the whole organisation and in turn the VCSE sector. The grant is for a new entry level role and not previously funded posts.

You can only apply for the additional upskilling funding if you are applying for the Start Here programme. The Upskilling grants are not a stand-alone offer.

Key Dates

• The Start Here application form will go live on 1st February 2022 via www.rankfoundation.com/start-here-vcse
• The application deadline is 21st February 2022 at midday
• Successful applicants will be notified by 31st March 2022
• The new entry level post holder should be in post by 4th July 2022 • The first learning conference will take place in October 2022

Applicant organisations must:

• Be a not-for-profit organisation, constituted, with two unrelated people able to sign on behalf of the organisation.
• Demonstrate that the new posts would provide a good quality job opportunity for individuals which will in turn support organisational and sectoral growth.
• Demonstrate how a new entry level post or enhanced existing post will help to address the Department for Communities’ priorities of enabling an effective, sustainable & inclusive VCSE that also promotes and supports volunteering.
• Demonstrate a credible plan to recruit the new employee (what makes the offer attractive, given the finely balanced employment market i.e. few jobless people in the pool).
• Demonstrate the ability to fully support the new employee with a named line manager within the organisation. Applicants will need to present a credible proposal detailing how the individual will be supported, developed and managed.
• Demonstrate a credible plan to prevent the need for further public sector funding for the new post after 2025, such as absorbing the post into the organisation.
• Provide assurance that funding for this activity has not been received from an alternative source. Should it be found this not to be the case, the contract will include a clawback clause, so the monies are returned.
• Agree to the contractual terms of the overarching grant agreement between The Rank Foundation Limited and The Department for Communities, which will be flowed down to onward grant recipients

Priority will be given to:

1. Infrastructure organisations: those organisations whose main or only purpose is to support the work of other groups in the local voluntary and community sector.

2. Organisations working regionally across NI, sub regionally or those with a multineighbourhood reach (across at least two Super Output Areas)