Volunteering Programme Evaluation Assistant
Who are we?
We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 48,000 students throughout their time at university. We help to make student life the best it can be by supporting students to campaign for change, creating opportunities to meet new people, providing employment opportunities, providing advice and support and being a safe place on campus.
We are a values-centred organisation that employs around 90 permanent, full-time members of staff. We recruit a wide range of roles throughout the year within all our departments from our Commercial team operating Manchester Academy Venues, 13 Media, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee to our Student Activities, Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Finance, HR and Facilities teams. Our team of around 400 part-time, studying staff are instrumental in providing to support to all departments as well as leading major projects like Student Angels. When you join UMSU, you’ll be immersed in an environment that empowers staff to make great things happen and we're always on the lookout for innovative, passionate, and proactive people to join us.
Our values are really important to us and shape the work that we do every day. As part of our recruitment process, we want you to demonstrate how your experiences, behaviours and skills align with our values. You can find more detailed explanations of our values on our website.
About the role
The Student Development team supports a diverse and growing volunteering programme made up of two key strands: Access All Areas, which focuses on widening participation and raising aspirations towards higher education, and Student Action, in which students create positive change through community volunteering and civic engagement. All projects within these programmes are entirely student-led, with students taking the lead in designing, organising and delivering activities that have meaningful impact. The Student Development team plays a crucial role in equipping these student leaders with the training, guidance and support they need to run safe, engaging and effective projects that benefit both volunteers and the wider community.
As Volunteering Programme Evaluation and Administration Assistant, you’ll play a key role in strengthening the quality, reach and strategic impact of our volunteering offer. Working within the Student Development team, you’ll help ensure that our student-led projects can clearly articulate the change they seek to make and demonstrate the value they bring to volunteers, beneficiaries and the wider community.
You’ll support project leaders to understand and express their intended impact by guiding them through the creation of Theory of Changes, evaluation plans and evaluation resources. By offering training, drop-ins and one-to-one support, you’ll build students’ confidence in capturing and communicating outcomes from their work.
Through your work gathering and interpreting feedback, survey data and HEAT information, you’ll generate insights that shape future programme development and strengthen the evidence base for the Students’ Union’s volunteering strategy. You’ll help turn data into compelling stories – creating reports, award nominations and impact communications that celebrate student achievements and demonstrate the programme’s value.
You’ll also ensure the smooth running of our volunteering systems by maintaining accurate records of student activity, enabling reliable reporting and ensuring student contributions are formally recognised through the HEAR.
Success in this role requires strong analytical skills, excellent communication, attention to detail, and the ability to present data and insights clearly to a range of audiences.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Wage: £13.45 per hour + holiday pay (the rate of pay has been updated since the role profile was created, this is the latest pay rate)
Contract: Zero Hours, Fixed-Term until 31st July 2026
Hours: approximately 10-15 per week during term time
Eligibility: open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK and a current student at UoM graduating in 2026 or later.
Our Reward Package
You'll get access to our reward package which you can see here.
Recruitment Guide
We have a guide that explains our full recruitment process. We recommend reading through this before beginning an application.
If you are invited to interview with us, we will share our interview questions in advance so you can prepare your responses. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as prepared as possible.
AI Use
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are revolutionising how we approach a whole host of tasks at work. As a future-focused employer, we believe in embracing, not banning, these tools. However, as with all tech, some ways of using it are better than others. You can use GenAI to refine and articulate your ideas. It’s a tool to help structure your thoughts and improve clarity, not to replace your unique voice and experiences. Please don’t just copy and paste what AI tells you to write.
We recommend you read our guide on how to approach the use of AI within our recruitment process:
Inclusivity and Accessibility
We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on skill and values.
We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.
If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Under this scheme, we aim to offer an interview to candidates who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. Minimum criteria are marked with an asterisk on the person specification. However, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or peak recruitment times (i.e. July, August and September), it may not always be possible to guarantee an interview for every eligible candidate. In such cases, we will take steps to ensure that the process remains fair, consistent, and inclusive.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 5th January 2026
Applications close: 18th January 2026 23:59
Interviews: Early Feb 2026
Role Commencing: End of Feb 2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Contact
People Team:
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: jobs.su@manchester.ac.uk
Phone: 0161 306 3279