Staff Application: Declaration of Interest - Important Information

Hi everybody,

Please read this post in full to ensure you get all the details of what is being outlined within it.

I just wanted to inform you all of some recent developments regarding EC's staff team. As you may know, the recruitment of staff members has historically been done based on nominations submitted from within the staff circle. This, however, is about to change, and EC will soon be embarking on a new recruitment process that will allow members to submit a declaration of interest for volunteering at Empty Closets Community Services.

EC Staff will still be making nominations privately within the staff forums but, as part of our continuous transition as a non-profit organisation, we will be investing in a more structured nominating process that will allow members to apply for positions by highlighting their interest within a completed declaration form. By completing this form you will be able to select a staff position (Advisor, Chat Mod or Forum Mod) that you're interested in applying for and submit your declaration to be considered for this role. The declaration comprises of around 20 questions that will help staff develop a basic understanding of the skills and qualities that you have, and the information provided combined with your membership history will allow staff to shortlist the nominees that they would like to complete a detailed staff application form for final consideration.

If shortlisted you will be invited to complete an official staff application form for the position specified, and a completion of this form will act as an official application for yourself. If you are successful at this phase you will then undergo a few safeguarding checks, and following no issues there you will ultimately be successful and be invited to the staff team. All positions are strictly voluntary, but these roles do also count as work experience on a CV etc, and the organisation is willing to provide references for staff members when they're applying for jobs in which their support role on here is deemed to be relevant experience.

The reason for this detailed process is due to EC now being recognised as a non-profit organisation, and also as a support community that frequently deals with members who are vulnerable and often underage. As a result, our transitioning to a more formalised organisational application process will help ensure that we are able to recruit nominees who contribute to the stringent safeguarding of the community, as well as develop a staff team that is diverse and representative of the wider EC community. It is vital that candidates are able to work within a multi-disciplinary organisation alongside peer workers, medical health practitioners, social workers, counsellors, attorneys etc so please be mindful of the commitment you would potentially be making when submitting your declaration of interest to the organisation.

Please do not be upset if you complete a declaration of interest form and are unsuccessful in being shortlisted. This is by no means a reflection on the qualities and skills that you have, nor should it be taken as a judgement based on your character or membership. We are aiming to develop a staff team that is as diverse and representative as possible, so not being shortlisted does not mean that we don't think the quality of advice that you give is not on par with what we want on staff. It really is just a case of fitting people in where they are needed.

The Declaration of Interest form is not currently available, but it will be opened up for submissions shortly. The declaration is a short form that will be completed here on EC, and all completed submissions of this form will be sent to the staff forums for vetting and shortlisting. At this point in time I don't have any concrete details on when the process will begin, just that it will be very soon.

In order to be considered for a staff position you must have been a member of EC for a minimum of 4 months (as of when you submit the declaration) and have 300+ posts. During the vetting stage we will monitor the recent posts of candidates to ensure they haven't met this criteria by having a posting binge in Fun and Games etc.

If you have any questions regarding this process please let me know.

Martin.

 

An update.

Best of luck to those submitting a declaration!

Martin.

 

Hi,

The form is really only catered for people who are interested themselves, but if there is anybody in particular who you feel should be considered for a staff position then you're welcome to post that in Ask the Staff for staff to consider, and I would highly recommend you encourage them to submit a declaration of interest form too!

We have to be careful we don't spend too much time looking into somebody who has no interest in having any sort of formal role and responsibility on here, so submitting a declaration will be the best way to ensure that a person is fully considered.

Martin.

 

The deadline for submitting a Declaration of Interest will be Monday 6th May at 10pm (UK time).

For those in different timezones, you have just over 30 hours left (at the time this was posted) to submit your declaration of interest before access to the form will be removed.

Martin.

 

This process has now closed.

Good luck and thankies to everybody who submitted a declaration!