Restructuring at umbrella body means the loss of jobs

Twelve staff are to lose their jobs at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

after it announced the closure of its volunteering and development department.

The umbrella body made the decision to restructure after government and Lottery funding for a number of projects run came to an end, including its Big Assist programme.

NCVO took on all 19 staff from Volunteering England on 1 January 2013 when the two bodies merged, taking its total staff numbers from 112 to 131 people.

However after a consultation these posts were reduced to 113.

The new structure means volunteering will still be part of NCVO’s remit but that it will only now operate three departments: public policy and volunteering, enterprise and development, and planning and resources.

The structure reflects a complete integration of volunteering policy

NCVO will have 101 staff after the redundancies, equivalent to 95.2 full-time equivalent posts.

“The structure reflects a complete integration of volunteering policy and support into NCVO, following the merger with Volunteering England three years ago,” an NCVO spokesman said.

“This will allow NCVO to put its full weight behind volunteering policy and support, building further on its investment over the last three years.”

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: “NCVO is in a healthy financial position but we must act prudently so we can continue our work representing voluntary organisations and volunteering for years to come.

"We are undergoing what is an increasingly common fact of life in the sector – acting ahead of time to adapt quickly and effectively to changing funding circumstances. The new structure ensures that all our frontline policy and support work will continue and indeed be strengthened.”