{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"Sam Morris, Chief Volunteering Officer","standfirst":"Following a successful search process across Northern Ireland, UK Chief Volunteer Carl Hankinson is delighted to announce the appointment of Stephen Bell as the new Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/zz5lyk0q/stephen-bell.jpg","width":2582,"height":3100,"altText":"Stephen Bell stood outside with a green scout scarf around his neck","caption":"Stephen Bell, Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland (designate)","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWe welcome Stephen to our UK Leadership Team as he takes up this important leadership role for UK Scouts and Scouts NI. As Chief Volunteer, Stephen will provide leadership and support to our Northern Ireland Team, comprised of our County and District Lead Volunteers and wider Northern Ireland support team, working in partnership with Scouts NI HQ staff colleagues and Trustees to ensure that our 7 Northern Irish Counties are well led and empowered to deliver our Skills For Life Strategy, and in particular as we transition the Districts to our four new Northern Ireland Regions. \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.scoutsni.org/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Scouts Northern Ireland\u0022\u003ERead more about Scouts in Northern Ireland here\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/fazdcl33/scouts-ni-team.jpg","width":2448,"height":1714,"altText":"Five members of the Scout NI Team standing outside together with scout scarfs round their necks","caption":"Stephen Bell, Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland (designate) pictured (from left to right) with Jonathan Gracey, Chief Executive of Scouts NI, Kayleigh Finlay, Northern Ireland Youth Lead, Stephen Donaldson, outgoing Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland and Henry Brown, Chair of Scouts NI","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EStephen will spend the next few months working with Stephen Donaldson, Kayleigh Finlay (NI Youth Lead), Henry Brown (Chair of Scouts NI) and Jonathan Gracey (Chief Executive of of Scouts NI) preparing to take on the role and completing various induction and transitionary activities ahead of a formal handover with Stephen Donaldson at the Scouts NI AGM on 25 September.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EStephen\u2019s Scouts journey\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStephen has been involved as a volunteer in Scouts for over 12 years. He has held a variety of roles, most recently Chair of Northern Ireland\u2019s Strategy \u0026amp; Delivery Committee and District Lead Volunteer of South East Antrim, whilst holding various roles behind the scenes championing youth-led Scouting.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStephen has had various sectional roles across Cubs, Scouts, Explorer Scouts and Scout Network, which have given him an understanding of the hard work and dedication it takes to run Scouts locally. Above all, he is a local Scout and Explorer Scout Leader in 1st Cloughfern and enjoys getting outdoors and seeing young people maximise their opportunities on a weekly basis.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThroughout his Scouting journey he has achieved the Queen\u2019s Scout Award and successfully took part in an Explorer Belt expedition to the Netherlands. Through obtaining these awards Stephen has become an advocate for engagement, top awards and international experiences.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EOutside of Scouts\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his professional life, Stephen is the Head of Operations of a Scientific Research Organisation, based in Northern Ireland.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"\u201CScouting has a life changing impact on young people, adult volunteers and the wider community. This passion for who we are and what we do, drives me as a volunteer every day. I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead Northern Ireland into its next chapter of growth and development and look forward to the challenge ahead.\u201D","attribution":"Stephen Bell, Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland (designate)","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"\u201CI\u2019m delighted to welcome Stephen Bell to our UK Leadership Team as Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland, building on Stephen Donaldson\u2019s achievements over the past eight years. Stephen Bell\u2019s experience chairing the NI Strategy \u0026 Delivery Committee and his passion for leading successful teams give me great confidence in what Scouting in Northern Ireland can achieve in the future\u201D","attribution":"Carl Hankinson, UK Chief Volunteer","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"24 May 2024","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Discover the UK Leadership Team","url":"/volunteer/uk-scouts-volunteering/uk-leadership-team/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":79871,"nodeName":"Welcoming our New Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland, Stephen Bell","title":"Welcoming our New Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland, Stephen Bell","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/zz5lyk0q/stephen-bell.jpg?cc=0,0.060009116446219965,0,0.47148281903765094\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dac76677a45160","caption":"Stephen Bell","type":"jpg","size":1132118,"width":2582,"height":3100,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Welcoming our New Chief Volunteer of Northern Ireland, Stephen Bell","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83OTg3MSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2024/may/welcoming-our-new-chief-volunteer-of-northern-ireland-stephen-bell/"}