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INDEX

1. Our aims
2. Who we work with & who we don·t
3. How we source Volunteers
4. The role of the Volunteer
5. The role of the Monitor
6. Your Rights & Obligations
7. Issues and escalation
8. A typical project
9. Documents for reference
10. Contacts
WHAT IS SKILLSHARE?
Our aim is to:

1. To provide an avenue for Oxfam Australia supporters

and other like-minded people to become involved in
community development and activities aimed at
achieving social justice, welfare and environmental
benefits.

2. To support local grass roots organisations working in

areas to which Oxfam Australia is philosophically linked.

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WHO DO WE WORK WITH?
: Any not-for-profit organisation in or around
Melbourne can apply to Oxfam Australia
SkillShare for a volunteer or volunteers to assist
with a specific project that they have. There is no
need for the organisation to have deductible gift
recipient (DGR) status.

: The community organisation is required to fill in

a form specifying who they are and the assistance
that is required. If the project meets our
guidelines then, ordinarily, it will be taken on.
WHAT DON·T WE DO?
It is important to be aware of the types of engagement we support, for
example:

1. Work which is clearly part of the day-to-day operations of an organisation

(e.g. providing management committee members or administration staff)
2. Any direct lobbying for or to, governments or other organisations
3. Providing assistance to profit making organisations;
4. Acting directly as a fundraiser
5. Advancing an organisation·s religious beliefs
6. Providing performance evaluation on specific individuals
7. Where the intention is to simply use the Oxfam name to lend weight to
decisions already made or to advance the reputation of the organisation
8. Where Oxfam Australia·s reputation or integrity may be placed in
jeopardy.
9. Where staff and/or board members are not in agreement with the project
objectives
HOW DO WE SOURCE VOLUNTEERS?
: Volunteers must have 5 years professional experience and are
sourced via registration on the SkillShare website.

: Candidates with the right level of experience are then

telephone-interviewed by the SkillShare Volunteer
Coordinator.

: Successful candidates are then invited to complete the

SkillShare Induction and once complete, are updated to
¶Available to Volunteer· on the SkillShare Volunteer database.

: New Projects are added to the SkillShare website continuously

and as a successful Volunteer, you can apply for all those that
match your skills and availability online.

: Some Volunteers with Project Management skills may also be

asked if they are interested in Monitoring projects ² more on
that later!
THE ROLE OF VOLUNTEERS
The Volunteer is the person with the ¶expertise· who will help
the client achieve their objective, bearing in mind the
overarching principle of ¶capacity building· rather than
providing operational assistance, examples of our
Volunteers inputs are:

: Providing facilitators for strategic planning to a variety of

different organisations;
: Legal advice to the Richmond Fellowship of Victoria in
relation to a range of contracts and corporate governance.
: Providing seminars to members of VCOSS as to
management structures in not-for-profit organisations.
: Developing a Volunteer training program for Positive
Women Victoria.
: Training people working in a community organisation
dealing with family violence to write funding submissions.
THE ROLE OF PROJECT MONITORS
: The role of monitor is to ensure that the project runs as smoothly as
possible and that the expectations of all parties are met. The monitor
represents the face of SkillShare and (along with the management
team) is responsible for upholding the standards of the scheme.

: The monitor is the point of co-ordination between the volunteer, the

organisation and Oxfam Australia SkillShare. If there is more than
one volunteer assigned to a project then the monitor must co-ordinate
between the volunteers as well.

: Monitors are particularly aware of the need to maintain consistency

with Oxfam Australia principles and practices. Monitors assist
volunteers to contribute to the overall capacity of the organisation.

: Note: we place Volunteers & Monitors who have not

undergone the selection and induction process. However there have
been limited occasions where a non SkillShare volunteer has joined a
project as a direct volunteer to the organisation in question.
YOUR RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS
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ISSUES & ESCALATION
: There will be times when, for whatever reason,
either you cannot complete a project, or the client
cancels the project.

: If you ever have questions, concerns or issues

that can·t be resolved between yourselves (as
Monitors and Volunteers) then please do not
hesitate to contact:
4 The SkillShare Volunteer Coordinator
4 The SkillShare Client Coordinator
4 The SkillShare Project Coordinator
4 The SkillShare Team Leader
EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL ISSUES
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PROJECT INITIATION
:
 The relevant community organisation will
ordinarily contact a member of the management team. The
management team member and the organisation will
discuss their needs and, if it appears that there is a matter
on which SkillShare can assist, the community
organisation will be asked to register on the SkillShare
website.

: ! The Client Coordinator, a member of the

management team will then help the community
organisation to create a project proposal on the SkillShare
website.

: " The Project

Coordinators will then contact Volunteers and ensure that
there is someone available and appropriately qualified to
take on the engagement and also someone to Monitor the
project.
PROJECT KICK-OFF
:
" A pre-commencement meeting
is arranged by the Project Coordinator with the Monitor and
the Volunteer, this will usually be fairly brief and by
telephone. The purpose is simply to touch base and provide
some background so that the Monitor and the Volunteer are
introduced to each other and provided with some background
on the project.

:
# An initial meeting will then be held

between the Monitor, Volunteer and community organisation
to finalise the scope of the project, whether the parties are
comfortable with each other and to agree suitable timeframes.

: ! The Monitor will then complete the

contract that the Volunteer, community organisation, Monitor
and SkillShare will enter into. The agreement confirms the
scope of the projects and the rights and responsibilities of each
of the participants. Each of the parties is then asked to sign it
before the engagement formally commences.
THINGS TO COVER IN THE CLIENT KICK-
OFF MEETING ...
WHEN THE PROJECT IS IN PROGRESS
: $ The Volunteer should report to the
Monitor regularly on how the project is
progressing. This will typically be done via
telephone or email on a weekly basis. The
Monitor in return reports to the Project
Coordinator on progress. Reporting by the
Monitor should be fortnightly and may be more
frequent if the project is of a short duration (this
will be agreed in your initial meetings).

: †%&'$" On a quarterly basis, the

Monitors will attend a face-to-face catch-up with
the Project Coordinators to talk about any
challenges or issues and discuss areas for
improvement.
PROJECT COMPLETION
: !$ On completion of the project an
evaluation form will be completed by the organisation, the
Volunteer and the Monitor. It is the Monitor·s
responsibility to ensure the forms are completed and
provided to the Project Coordinator.

: #""%: the Marketing coordinator will often use your

evaluation forms and details of the project to produce case
studies for the website, you may be contacted to provide a
quote or further assistance with this at the end of your
project.

:
&('% After the project is complete it is important
for us all to acknowledge everyone·s efforts. The Client
Coordinator will send a thank you to the Client for giving
us the opportunity to help and the Project Coordinator will
thank the Volunteer(s) and the Monitor for the work they
have done.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Templates for each of these documents can be
found on our website:
: Sample project agreement

: Sample client evaluation

: Sample volunteer evaluation

: Sample monitor evaluation

CONTACTS
Remember, if you have any questions at all, contact your fellow team
members, or the Volunteer or Client Coordinator ² we are all here to
help each other and you should never feel under too much pressure
because you are juggling your support of the SkillShare programme
with your day-to-day commitments!

 ) 

Team Leader Narelle Sheahan narelle@shareyourskills.org
Project Coordinator Silvia Carbone silvia@shareyourskills.org
Volunteer Coordinator Allannah Smith allannah@shareyourskills.or
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Client Coordinator George Smith george@shareyourskills.org
Marketing Coordinator Narelle Sheahan narelle@shareyourskills.org