Practitioners’ Conference 2024

Retaining volunteers in the 21st century

Rob Jackson has worked in the volunteering movement for almost 30 years, during which time he has led and managed volunteers and volunteering in education, advice, fundraising and children’s services settings at local, regional and national levels.

Rob worked for Volunteering England for six years, most of which he spent as Director of Development and Innovation. Rob successfully generated over £3million of income, led a merger with Student Volunteering England and oversaw the delivery of a number of strategic development projects in the volunteering field. Rob also provided the secretariat to the ground breaking Volunteer Rights Inquiry. As well as his expertise in volunteerism, Rob has strong links with the fundraising world. He spent six years as a member of the Institute of
Fundraising’s Standards Committee and chaired the Institute’s working party which developed the UK’s first code of good practice on volunteer fundraising.

In 2011, Rob established Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd and now provides consultancy, public speaking and training services on a range of topics, with strategic volunteer engagement remaining at the core of his work. Rob works with clients large and small in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Rob continues to write extensively for the field. He co-authored the 2012 and 2019 editions of The Complete Volunteer Management Handbook, has his own blog and is Editor-In-Chief of the Engage Journal.

In 2015, Rob co-authored “From The Top Down – UK edition” with respected American author and consultant, Susan J Ellis. The book is the only one of its kind aimed at senior managers in Volunteer Involving Organisations to help them understand their key strategic roles in effective volunteer engagement. Rob is an active volunteer, having previously served as chair of governors at a large Lincolnshire primary school and founded UKVPMs, an email networking resource for UK based Volunteer Programme Managers that operated between 1997 and 2020 (and now as a LinkedIn group).

@RobJConsulting

Incident Planning ­– Are You Ready to Respond?
Helen Ball FSLCC, Town Clerk, Shrewsbury Town Council
Kenilworth

Join Helen Ball FSLCC, Clerk to Shrewsbury Town Council, as she shares her personal experiences of managing incidents and how it has changed her views of having the right Emergency Plans in place. Equip yourself with the expertise and strategies essential for steering your council through unforeseen challenges.

Understanding Generation Z – how to recruit, retain and motivate the best of the youngest generation in the workplace.

Gen Z (years of birth 1995-2009) is the most significant generational shift so far. They are different to what has come before, and for good reason. The challenges they have inherited are incredibly difficult, but they are also well placed to overcome them.

In order to recruit, retain and motivate the best leaders and organisations need to learn and adapt, and quickly. Former secondary school headteacher and Gen Z expert Alex Atherton will identify their key characteristics, and the actions which leaders and organisations can take not only to survive but ensure future prosperity.

Alex is an experienced educator, executive coach and leadership team coach. He worked in education for 25 years, over half of which was spent as a secondary school headteacher in large inner-London comprehensives. On appointment he was the youngest secondary school head in the country. He has also led a pupil referral unit, and has worked with both primary schools and further education.

He now runs a leadership development consultancy which supports individual clients and executive teams from a range of industries. He is highly passionate about the value of professional development and in empowering others to overcome their leadership challenges. He specialises in working with senior leaders, supporting them to think big, shatter glass ceilings, achieve beyond their wildest expectations and work together with impact they did not think possible.

@AlexAtherton100

Community Energy in your Parish

This session demonstrates the collaborative efforts of parish communities, leadership, and assets in establishing locally owned energy projects. These initiatives not only empower residents to conserve energy but also reinvest the generated profits back into the community.

@CESouthNRG

Gov-Finance: Enhanced Financial Operations in Local Councils
David Hall, Managing Director, Cloudy IT, Jonathan Smith, Government Finance & Apps Lead, CloudyIT, and Phil Berrill, Head of ERP and Microsoft Trainer 
Hamlet

Join us at SLCC for the insightful presentation ‘Gov-Finance: Enhanced Financial Operations in Local Councils’, a must-attend session for SLCC members. Hosted by CloudyIT, this event introduces Gov-Finance, a bespoke finance solution built on Microsoft 365, tailored for town and parish councils. Experience firsthand how Gov-Finance employs AI to revolutionise financial operations, enhancing efficiency and decision-making in local governance. Additionally, CloudyIT is excited to present our Experience and Innovation Suite, featuring partners like Owl Labs and Microsoft, showcasing the latest in hardware and software. This unique opportunity allows clerks to interact with cutting-edge tools and technologies. For more information and to see how innovative solutions can transform your council’s finance and administration, visit here.

Stop Knife Crime – Together We Can Make a Difference – Educating Young People, Engaging Parents, and Advocating for Change

Patrick joined The Ben Kinsella Trust from Victim Support in 2016, after working for over 20 years in the voluntary sector, leading projects and campaigns on youth justice, social inclusion and community development.

The Ben Kinsella Trust was founded in 2008 after the tragic death of Ben Kinsella, a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed in a senseless act of violence. The trust aims to prevent knife crime by educating young people about the choices and consequences of carrying a knife, and by campaigning for change in the law and society. The trust operates three award-winning exhibitions in London and Nottingham, where young people can learn about the impact of knife crime on themselves, their families and their communities. The trust also provides training and resources for teachers, practitioners and parents.

As the CEO, Patrick has grown The Ben Kinsella Trust from its roots in Islington, North London to one of the country’s leading anti-knife crime charities. He is a regular contributor on TV and in the press campaigning for the adoption of a public health approach to tackling youth violence.

Patrick was a member of the Home Office’s Serious Violence Crime Taskforce, which was chaired by the Home Secretary and the Home Office’s Social Media Action Group. In April 2019, Patrick was invited to No.10 by the Prime Minister as a member of the Serious Youth Violence Summit. He was also chosen to feature in the recent Arsenal FC ‘No More Red’ campaign were the squad wore an all-white kit in their FA Cup 3rd round tie to symbolise ending violence on our streets.

@kinsellatrust

How to use chatGPT. Use AI to do council tasks faster

Becky Walsh is a comedian bringing her humour to subjects of personal development and mental health. Smart, funny and insightful.

Becky presented an agony aunt style phone in radio show on LBC Radio. She is the author of four self help books including ‘You DO Know – Learn to act on intuition instantly’ which is published in four languages, published by Hay House. She is also the author of ‘Intuitive lovers’ published by O books. She presented on BBC Radio for five years and had her own TV show ‘Anything goes with Becky Walsh’.

Becky is a sought-after speaker and has appeared at the world-renowned seminar ‘I can do it’, as well being a senior curator, coach and script editor for TEDx Bristol. Becky has a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and is a qualified life coach.

In her spare time she is a communications and marketing officer for town and parish councils.

@beckywalshcom

Practitioners’ Conference 2024 is generously sponsored by CloudyIT.

For expert advice visit www.cloudyit.co.uk/experience