Volunteer retail assistant

Role description

As a volunteer retail assistant, you’ll help create a welcoming environment for our customers. You’ll do day-to-day tasks that help the shop run smoothly, and serve customers in a friendly, professional way. 

Your tasks 

Your shop manager will match your tasks to your skills, experience, and interests. You may help with some of the following:

• Cash handling: Use accurate and efficient cash management skills.
• Customer service: Provide friendly, respectful service. Treat everyone with dignity and a positive attitude.
• Processing stock: Welcome and thank people for donations. Sort, hang, and ticket items as trained by the shop manager.
• Shop presentation and merchandising: Keep the shop tidy and inviting. This includes cleaning, setting up displays, tidying racks and shelves, and clearing dressing rooms.
• Teamwork: Work well with customers, employees, and other volunteers to ensure the shop runs smoothly and reflects the values of Red Cross.

Everyone at Red Cross is part of one team. We all follow our Fundamental Principles. We have policies to guide the way we work and support our communities.

Location

We have Red Cross Shops across Aotearoa New Zealand from Dargaville to Invercargill. Our shops range in size from smaller shops to large super stores. Please use the dropdowns to find a shop near you.

Volunteer requirements and training 

What makes a great volunteer retail assistant
People who are a good fit for our Red Cross shops:

• Enjoy meeting new people and customer service environments. Being friendly and treating everyone with dignity and respect is especially important in this role.
• Are happy being active and working as part of a team.
• Are comfortable taking directions from the shop manager, and open to learning new skills or ways to do things.
• Are reliable, and good at communicating.
• Enjoy keeping things neat, organised, and running smoothly, and sharing ideas you might have with the shop manager.
• A love for fashion and an eye for design is always a bonus! 

How we support our volunteers
We always want our volunteers to feel confident and supported in your role. We will:

• Match you with tasks that suit your skills and interests whenever possible,
• Provide training for your shop tasks as needed,
• Be available to help solve any problems,
• Listen to any concerns or ideas for improvements you might have, and
• Maintain a supportive and respectful relationship with you.

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and do our best to make a supportive environment for everyone. Sometimes the type of tasks we do, or the layout of the shop means we can’t meet every need.

If you’ll have specific needs or requirements while volunteering, such as:

• Support related to your health, wellbeing, or a disability,
• Help communicating in English as a second language, or
• Conditions to fulfil for community service hours ordered by the court,

Please contact us at volunteer@redcross.org.nz before submitting your application.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW)

We all have a responsibility for our own and others’ Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) when undertaking activities on behalf of Red Cross. Therefore, it is important you: 

• Take reasonable care of your own health and safety, do not adversely affect the HSW of others.
• Complete health, safety and wellbeing induction, training, programmes and activities – as directed.
• Follow all reasonable instructions given to you relating to HSW.
• Cooperate and comply with New Zealand Red Cross policies, standards and procedures related to health, safety, and wellbeing.
• Use personal protective equipment (PPE) if required, to undertake any work activity.
• If you identify a hazard and/or you are involved in an incident or near miss, report this straight away to your people leader.
• Know what to do in an emergency – for example, how to escape during a fire or what to do if an earthquake occurs.
• You must tell someone in charge if you have any health and safety concerns or worried about someone else’s health and safety.