Volunteer Operations Assistant - Lifeguard Services - Hastings - Temporary

About us

For us, being passionate about the RNLI means so much. It's what gets our volunteer crews out of bed in the middle of the night. It's also what inspires our Lifeguards who make a significant difference to safety on our beaches by providing an integrated rescue service from the beach to the open sea.

The RNLI has been operating a lifeguard service in the UK since 2001 and it's now an integral part of our commitment to saving lives at sea.  The expansion of our service continues, and in 2025 the RNLI will be patrolling over 230 beaches around the coast of the UK and Channel Islands.

What you will be doing 

RNLI Lifeguards in Hastings have an opportunity for a Volunteer Operations Assistant who will provide administrative support and perform logistical tasks from our Hastings Support Centre, to support the efficient management of the local lifeguard service, for up to 3 months, ideally starting 1st July.

In this role, you will:

• Collate and input data, including incident forms, daily logs, and lifeguard timesheets
• Edit and maintain a database of photographs and footage of operational personnel and beaches, maintaining a filing system in accordance with GDPR
• Record and report defective equipment and order parts for maintenance and repair
• Assist with the recording and processing of vehicle mileage and employee expenses
• Assist with the administration of lifeguard recruitment and onboarding, updating records and recording lifeguard training, and help facilitate lifeguards leaving at the end of season
• Support the team with travel bookings and arrangements
• Provide general logistic support for pre-season operations, education programmes, and end of season pack down
• Liaise with the local RNLI Media Team to identify local and national media opportunities, and support the promotion of the local lifeguard team through social media platforms

What you need for this role

Our Lifeguard Support Centres are highly dynamic environments that sees spells of both high and low operational pressure. This role requires an individual comfortable in high pressure situations, while remaining self-motivated with other tasks outside these times.

You will need to be IT literate, used to working as part of a team, have good communication skills and be willing to travel within the UK and Northern Ireland for training if required.

We would welcome applications from individuals who are interested in fulfilling parts of this role, as well as the full range of duties.

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.

This is a volunteer opportunity within the RNLI.  RNLI volunteers are people who, unpaid and of their own free will, contribute their time, energy and skills to support the purposes of the RNLI.  RNLI volunteers may perform a variety of tasks and duties, under direction and guidance, using their skills, knowledge and time to help the RNLI best achieve its objectives.

We respect and honour our volunteers by building trust and understanding.  Such a partnership is not intended to be a legally binding contract or to have mutuality of obligation, but instead express a voluntary two-way commitment where everyone gains satisfaction from being part of our organisation.