The following opportunities are currently available with the Trust. If you are interested in any of the vacancies please contact Mike Coleman in the Canal Centre (99 Church Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1JD) or phone: 01923 778382 or email: michael@rwt.org.uk

Volunteer Manager/Coordinator

This is a key position within the volunteering framework of Rickmansworth Waterways Trust. The role will be focused on the operation of the Canal Centre and its activities in conjunction with the Centre Warden but not on our education programmes or the Festival - these are organised separately.

The Canal Centre is the hub of the Trust's work and it acts as a point of information for boaters, walkers and cyclists. It offers details of local facilities/ walks etc. as well as selling books, gifts and ice creams. At the moment the Centre is open at weekends throughout the period April to October inclusive. The Trustees would like to open the Centre on a more regular basis throughout the summer months as well as during winter weekends. However, this requires more volunteers and the appropriate management of them.

We seek to appoint a person enthusiastic about the canals and their value, and happy to use their own initiative yet be part of a team. Much of the administrative work can be done at home. The following will be key to the success of this post:

• Managing the volunteers and organising the appropriate rotas.
• Organising the training of volunteers in conjunction with the Canal Centre Warden
• Recruiting more volunteers
• Co-ordinating the volunteers responsible for specific activities
• Keeping appropriate contact details of volunteers
• Informing volunteers of events and news on a regular basis
• Working with the Trustees and other key members, and advising the Trustees on attracting and supporting the volunteers.
• Working closely with Rickmansworth Centre for Voluntary Service
• The Volunteer Manager will be invited to join the Executive Management Team that meets every two weeks.

Volunteer Archivist

We wish to appoint a Volunteer Archivist to collate and organise the records of Rickmansworth Waterways Trust and to help store them in a suitable place so that they are available to Trustees, volunteers and other interested parties.

This is a wide role, for an organised and motivated person who could use the Trust's resources for current publicity material as well as mounting exhibitions and creating a variety of written publications.

You will need to have an interest in the Canal Environment and its history. You will be willing to work on your own initiative yet be happy to be part of a wider team of volunteers. The Volunteer Manager will coordinate your work and there will be every opportunity to get involved in the wider activities of the Trust and to benefit from the training schemes that we offer.

Canal Centre Volunteers

All our volunteers give their time within the Trust's volunteering framework. The Canal Centre at Batchworth is the hub of the Trust's activities. It serves as an information point and Visitor Centre to boaters, cyclists, walkers and families as well as selling gifts and ice creams. The Centre is open at weekends from the start of April to the end of October. The Trustees would like to extend the opening of the Centre to weekdays during this period and to weekends during the winter months. To do this we need to increase our pool of volunteers.

Volunteers work on a rota and usually commit to either a morning or an afternoon session on the number of days that suits them.

We are looking for people who would be happy to:

• Be a welcoming face to visitors
• Be knowledgeable about what is available in the Centre
• Be able to handle money and follow our accounting procedures
• Promote the work of the Trust
• Enjoy being in the canal environment and meeting people
• Enjoy being part of a team and being with other volunteers

You will gain experience of meeting, and helping, a great range of people who come looking for information and advice.

Full training will be provided and the Volunteer Manager will coordinate your rota and keep you informed about the various activities of the Trust. Of course, if you join as a Friend as well you will be even more involved in the workings of the Trust.

Fundraisers

Opportunities exist to join our team of fundraisers. Experience in fundraising for a charity would be welcome but we would be pleased to consider you if you have enthusiasm and motivation along with some good administrative skills. We can provide training ourselves as well as through the Three Rivers Centre for Voluntary Service. The ability to work independently yet be part of a team would be a strong recommendation.

Grants are required for the various activities of the Trust. These include:

• Learning at the Lock Education programme for children up to the age of 11.
• Waterworks Education programme for young people between the ages of 14 and 19.
• The maintenance of our boats Pride of Batchworth and Roger
• The Rickmansworth Festival held in May each year.

A willingness to specialise in a particular area or to take responsibility for coordinating all our fundraising efforts would be warmly welcomed.

An interested person could also join the Board of Trustees and assist in the wider strategic development and management of the charity.

Learning at the Lock Volunteers

The Learning at the Lock programme is for Key Stage 1 and 2 children and is delivered to school groups during term time week days between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Some activities take place in the Mill, courtesy of Veolia, and others take place in the canal environment at Batchworth.

The children are accompanied by their own teachers who are responsible for their behaviour at all times. Many of the activities are 'hands on' for the children.

Volunteers from the Trust either supervise or assist with a number of activities within the programme:

• A short history lesson
• Dressing as Victorian children
• Washing clothes Victorian style
• Understanding the diet of Victorian boat families
• Brass rubbing and Bridge building
• Seeing how a lock works
• A trip through a lock on the trip boat Pride of Batchworth
• Being inside the cabin of the Roger

New volunteers often 'shadow' experienced volunteers and see all the activities in progress. Only when they feel comfortable are new volunteers assigned specific roles. All volunteers are required to undertake a CRB check before they are allowed to participate fully in the programme.

The programme won a National Award in 2007.

We are looking for volunteers who enjoy working with children and are willing to be part of a team in what is a positive and happy programme. You will receive the appropriate training and guidance and have access to further training in such areas as First Aid. The outcome, as the children come to appreciate what they have seen and done, is very satisfying.

Manager of the Little Union Canal

An exciting voluntary opportunity exists to manage the Little Union Canal (LUC) at Batchworth. We believe that the LUC is the only working model canal in the country, possibly the only one in the world! It was designed and built by RWT volunteers.

We would like the LUC to be open and available for families and children to use for as many weekends as possible between the start of April and the end of October. The LUC could also be open for special occasions by prior arrangement with the LUC Manager. Other volunteers under the management of the Volunteer Manager will assist you. We would expect the LUC to be open by volunteers operating on a rota.

The LUC is set in recently landscaped gardens and the LUC Manager will be responsible for the upkeep of the grounds and the maintenance of the canal structures, pumps and boats together with their security.

Full training and support will be given to the successful applicant who will also have access to the Trust's other facilities and activities. The person we are seeking will be well motivated and organised and enjoy being part of an extensive volunteer team as well as being part of the canal environment at Batchworth. The Manager will have control over a unique asset.

The LUC Manager will be required to undertake a CRB check.

Trustees

The present Trustees would like to expand the existing Board in order to assist with the strategic planning and management of RWT. We seek individuals from any background who have an interest in our work and who would like to contribute their skills to our future.

The Trustees are responsible for the financial and safety management, fund raising, training and policy-making processes of RWT. The Board meets every two months in the evening but an Executive Committee that meets every two weeks manages much of the day-to-day work. The Trust has one paid employee, our full time Educational Programme Leader and Canal Centre Warden.

The Trust has four main objectives:

• To maintain and develop our education programme Learning at the Lock for Key Stage 1 and 2 children and to devise Waterworks, an education programme for 14-19 year olds
• To maintain our two boats Pride of Batchworth and Roger
• To maintain and develop the amenities in the Batchworth Lock area
• To organise and develop the Rickmansworth Festival which is held each May in the Aquadrome and on the Grand Union Canal

The current Board have established sound links with British Waterways, Three Rivers District Council, Veolia Water, Rickmansworth CVS and a range of other agencies and businesses. We believe that RWT is on the edge of an exciting future with happy, positive and well-managed opportunities for volunteers in a variety of different activities.

Currently the Trustees are looking at all areas of our work and establishing efficient financial practices and up to date policies to meet the obligations of running a charity in the present economic and political climate. We have been fortunate to attract a talented team of volunteers both in the management and the activities of the Trust. We would like to add to this team to ensure that RWT has a strong and secure future.

Festival Team Members

The Trust organises the annual Rickmansworth Festival in May of each year with the support of Three Rivers District Council. The Festival takes place in Batchworth, along the Grand Union Canal and inside the Aquadrome – the weekend attracts some twenty thousand visitors from the local area and beyond together with canal boats from different parts of the country. It is the largest community event in the Three Rivers District.

The Trust organises the Festival as part of our service to the community and also to raise funds for its Educational and Training work with young people.

The Festival organisation is made up of several different teams with defined responsibilities for the event. These include entertainment, site services and support, stage, PA and communications, water space, publicity and many others. The teams work on an annual cycle.

We are looking for more people to join each team, and whatever your skills and ability to help there will be a role for you somewhere in the organisation. Your assistance would be welcome in the planning and preparation processes or just over the Festival Weekend, either at Batchworth or in the Aquadrome.

If you would like to join the Festival Team please contact the Festival Director, David Montague, on 01923 225456 or email: david.montague@btinternet.com