About the role

The County Lead Volunteer plays a pivotal role within local Scouting, providing inspiring leadership and support across all Districts in the County. This role is central to ensuring that Scouting is accessible to every young person - regardless of faith, background, or circumstances - because we believe that Scouting has the power to transform lives.

The County Lead Volunteer achieves this by leading and supporting the team of District Lead Volunteers and other County volunteers, while working closely with the Growth & Communities Teams to ensure there are enough Scouting opportunities to meet local demand. Additionally, the role ensures that every young person enjoys a high-quality, balanced programme that is challenging, rewarding, and relevant to their needs.

Recruited by: Regional Lead Volunteer, via a search group process responsible to the UK Volunteering Services Team.

Responsible to: Regional Lead Volunteer of South East England

Responsible for: District Lead Volunteers, County Leadership Team Members, County Team Leaders, County Youth Lead, and all other County appointments, however it is expected that line management for other roles are delegated to Team Leaders.

Number of Districts: 11

Number of Youth Members: 9399

Number of Adult Volunteers: 3991

Key tasks

• Ensure that every Squirrel Drey, Beaver Scout Colony, Cub Scout Pack, Scout Troop, Explorer Scout Unit, and Scout Network within the County delivers a high-quality, challenging, relevant, and rewarding programme for all young people.
• Provide proactive line management, including coaching, mentoring, and guidance to District Lead Volunteers and other directly reporting adult volunteers. This includes setting objectives, holding regular one-to-one meetings, and conducting performance reviews.
• Foster a strong sense of County team by holding regular meetings with District Lead Volunteers, the County Chair, County team members, and other relevant volunteers to collaborate, share best practice, and provide peer support.
• Promote a safe, open, and transparent culture around safeguarding for both young people and adults, ensuring adherence to the Yellow Card system and other key policies.
• Oversee the timely recruitment and appointment of new District Lead Volunteers, ensuring interim arrangements are in place for any vacant roles.
• Work with District Lead Volunteers to set County priorities and develop a plan to achieve them, in line with The Scout Association’s vision and strategic objectives.
• Support a positive volunteering culture by resolving issues within the County, enabling District Lead Volunteers and Group Lead Volunteers to manage challenges effectively, including complaints, in a timely manner.
• Ensure the County has a well-supported team of adult volunteers working effectively together to meet the needs of local Scouting.
• Act as an ex-officio trustee on the County Trustee Board and as an ex-officio member of the Council of The Scout Association.
• Contribute actively to the Regional Team through MS Teams calls, in-person meetings led by the Regional Lead Volunteer, and biannual gatherings by Team England, supporting the development of Scouting across England.

Person specification

Knowledge & experience

• Essential: Ability to lead, manage, and motivate people in a voluntary environment.
• Desirable: Understanding of the challenges faced in the voluntary sector.
• Desirable: Experience of working with young people and/or community engagement with adult groups.
• Desirable: Experience volunteering in a managerial or supportive role within Scouting (e.g., Group Lead Volunteer, District Lead Volunteer, or other District/County role).

Skills & abilities

• Essential: Excellent ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, including the ability to speak and present publicly in a clear, articulate, and motivating way.
• Essential: Ability to provide advice and guidance effectively to others.
• Essential: Ability to provide inspirational strategic leadership for the County.
• Essential: Ability to contribute to strategy development and identify practical actions to achieve strategic objectives.
• Essential: Ability to effectively chair meetings.
• Essential: Ability to build, maintain, and facilitate effective working relationships with a wide range of people.
• Essential: Ability to enable others to identify issues, clarify objectives, develop achievable goals, and gain the skills and confidence to work as an effective team.
• Essential: Ability to negotiate compromises.
• Essential: Ability to plan, manage, and monitor own tasks and time effectively.
• Essential: Ability to construct and implement long-term plans that improve and expand the Scouting opportunities for young people, identifying training, resources, and other support needs.
• Essential: Ability to use technology effectively, including mobile email and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Personal qualities

• Essential: An understanding of the needs of adult volunteers.
• Essential: Flexible approach to work.
• Essential: Self-motivated.
• Essential: Able to work as part of a team and promote good teamwork.
• Essential: Resourceful, energetic, and enthusiastic about the role.
• Essential: Acceptance of the fundamentals of the Scout Movement.

Being a Team Leader

We’re looking for a County Lead Volunteer - a leadership role focused on supporting, motivating, and guiding our adult volunteers. This role could also be approached as a shared position. County Lead Volunteers provide leadership to District Lead Volunteers, who in turn support the managers of local Scout Groups. At every level, volunteers need encouragement and guidance to stay motivated, inspired, and focused on delivering outstanding Scouting. A great leader acknowledges hard work, fosters a positive environment, and ensures volunteers feel supported week after week. In addition to supporting people, the County Lead Volunteer provides direction for the County, helping others understand the bigger Scouting picture through clear and effective leadership. We believe all Scouting Team Leadeers should combine strong leadership with practical management skills to achieve the best outcomes for young people.

England Team

It is an exciting time to be involved in Scouting, as we reflect & refocus. We look forward to reconnecting with our core purpose as a movement, as we launch our new Strategy. The County Lead Volunteer role is an important UK Headquarters appointment within the England Team, responsible for providing inspirational and effective leadership for one of the 59 English Counties. As County Lead Volunteer you will take the lead for implementing our national strategy with your team of District Lead Volunteers. By motivating and supporting your team, you’ll ensure that the Scout Groups flourish and succeed - enabling more young people to join our adventure in safe spaces with trusted adults. The England Team are talented, focused volunteers who are all passionate about bringing brilliant Scouting to every young person who wants to take part. The role of County Lead Volunteer is a demanding one, but we believe that it is critical to our success as well as being a highly rewarding challenge for the right volunteer. We are looking for individuals who can lead and inspire their team by being a great coach, critical friend and motivator. This is a senior manager role within [Employer hidden] and comes with significant responsibilities. It also offers a unique opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of young people in your county through building, nurturing and leading a team to deliver our shared vision. This role provides the opportunity to be at forefront of our continued success within England Scouting.

Elizabeth Henderson, Chief Volunteer of England

How to apply

Before submitting an application, please ensure you have carefully read the full vacancy information. To help us monitor the effectiveness of our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion policy, we would also be grateful if you could complete the Diversity Monitoring questions on the Application Form.

Questions? If you'd like to discuss this role in more detail, please get in touch with James Palin, Regional Lead Volunteer of South East England, or Katharine Paton-King, Regional Growth Manager: [Employer hidden — sign up to reveal] | [Employer hidden — sign up to reveal]

Next steps: Thank you for your interest. You can apply for the role using the application form provided. A search group has been established to oversee the process. The group will review all applications and nominations and make decisions about who will be invited to the selection stage, subject to standard internal checks. Interview date: Tuesday 7 July 2026.

Know someone who might be a perfect fit? Use the Nomination form: Nominate someone for this role