Befriending coordinator jobs
Operations Support Coordinator
Team: Operations Support
Hours: 4 days (30 hours) per week (hours/days by agreement)
Location: Hybrid – minimum 1 day per week in our Holborn, London office. The rest of the week can be worked remotely
Report to: Operations Support Team Manager
Starting salary: £23,809.50 pro-rata
Application Closing Date: 20/07/2025 (23:59)
Interview date: 30 July 2025 – in-person at our Holborn, London office.
Starting date: ASAP
Contract: permanent
About GoodGym:
GoodGym is a multi-award winning social enterprise that connects exercise with volunteering. Across 65 cities and boroughs its members run to help isolated older people and community projects. It’s shown to reduce isolation, improve community cohesion and to improve wellbeing for all involved. It is frequently cited as a leading social innovation by the government, mainstream press and leading think tanks. GoodGym’s impact and activity continues to grow and this role is crucial in enabling GoodGym's sustainable future. For more information, please visit www.goodgym. org
Job Purpose
As part of GoodGym's Operations Support Team, you will play a key role in coordinating volunteers to provide practical and social support for older people across the UK.
The crucial part of this role will involve supporting volunteers and beneficiaries throughout processing and confirming mission requests for practical tasks and monitoring and supporting befriending pairings.
You will also work as part of project teams making changes to improve our processes. And you will collaborate with and support colleagues across the organisation.
The ideal candidate will have experience in digital administration, working with volunteers and vulnerable people, and should be comfortable working on different projects simultaneously.
Responsibilities
Primary Responsibilities
Office Management
- Providing phone and email support to our members, referrers and beneficiaries
Volunteer Support
- Acting as the first point of contact for volunteers, whether over email or over the phone; supporting them on either social visits or missions, troubleshooting and resolving issues where necessary, maintaining complete volunteer records and reporting to the Operations Support Team Manager if any safeguarding issues/allegations are made in line with GoodGym’s Safeguarding Policy
- Providing administrative support for missions, including but not limited to: communicating with referral partners, screening and listing missions on the GoodGym website, confirming missions with beneficiaries on the phone and ensuring best safeguarding practices are upheld
- Supporting volunteers through the process of DBS applications, checking references and making judgement calls on volunteers’ suitability for the volunteer role
- Supporting, in a respectful and trusting manner, a long-standing team of operations support volunteers who work with us
Relationship Management
- Communicating with potential and existing referral partners over the phone and via email, answering questions about GoodGym and providing technical support as and when necessary
Other Responsibilities
- Contributing to the development of the Operations Support Team and respective processes and policies
- Working collaboratively with other internal departments
Person Specification
Knowledge
- An understanding of the needs of older people and volunteers
- Awareness of services available to older people (desirable)
Skills and abilities
- Excellent verbal communication skills, particularly over the phone
- Excellent written communication skills
- Excellent organisational and multitasking skills and ability to prioritise workload
- Excellent attention to detail and problem-solving skills
- Ability to collaborate with team colleagues
- Ability to work with minimum supervision and under own initiative
- Ability to provide information, advice and assistance appropriately, to volunteers and older people who use GoodGym’s services
- Empathetic and able to build supportive relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds
- Proficient with Google Workspace, Google Drive, and able to pick up new systems quickly
- Comfortable using multiple online programs simultaneously
Experience
- Experience of volunteering
- Experience of working with and managing confidential information
- Experience of working with or supervising volunteers (desirable)
- Experience of dealing with a busy or shared inbox (desirable)
- Experience managing relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders (desirable)
- Experience of DBS check process (desirable)
- Knowledge of safeguarding in relation to the protection of vulnerable adults (desirable)
Why join us?
- Be part of our important mission to bring communities together and reduce loneliness and isolation.
- GoodGym is a scalable approach to tackling major social issues and you’ll play a key role in it
- Friendly, positive and supportive team with a genuine purpose
- Growing organisation with national reach at a pivotal point of change
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays
- Central London location;7th Floor, 33 Holborn London, EC1N 2HT,
- Flexible working- minimum 1 day per week in our London office in the Holborn area
- Regular in person socials over the year
How to apply:
We use an application form to ensure that our recruitment process is fair; it allows us to look at all applications in the same format and to remove fields that might lead to bias when we are reviewing applications.
If you have questions before applying, you can email our Operations Support Team Manager
via missioncontrol@goodgym. org
We are looking for the best people to help us provide support to millions of people affected by loneliness in the UK. We want our team to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, offering equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of race, sex, gender identity, disability, age, nationality, religious or philosophical belief, age, sexual orientation, educational attainment, family status, trade union activity or any other factor. We see diversity as strength and want everyone to be able to be their whole selves at work.
We have a code of conduct in place, and are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels safe and respected.
The information collected during our recruitment process is only used for monitoring purposes to assist us in analysing the profile and make up of individuals who apply, are shortlisted for and appointed to each vacancy. In this way, we can check we are complying with the Equality Act 2010 and with our own Equality Opportunities and Diversity policy.
Thank you!
GDWG has an exciting full-time opportunity to join our team working within the casework team, with responsibility for leading our IRC welfare surgeries, volunteer training programme and educational outreach work.
We require blended working from home and from our office in Crawley with Thursday in the office and one other day a week to be agreed. This is a one-year fixed term contract. The role requires an all-rounder who is comfortable giving calm support to people in crisis, can demonstrate a high level of organisational skills in a fast-paced work environment and a passion for educating the public on the issue of immigration detention.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
- Managing a caseload of clients in detention
- Coordinating Detention Centre drop-ins
- Supporting on research projects
- Leading on educational outreach
- Leading on training IRC-related staff
- Supporting Advocacy and Support Volunteers
- Coordinating volunteer training
- Volunteer coordination
Skills and experience required:
Essential
- Attention to detail
- Empathy with GDWG’s values and mission and with the issues facing refugees, people seeking asylum, and those in or with experience of detention
- Ability and willingness to learn and develop in the role
- Initiative, problem-solving, and resourcefulness
- Reliability
- Ability to build strong working relationships with external contacts and volunteers
- Natural empathy and ability to build trust with those we support in detention
- Non-judgmental attitude and ability to work with clients with unconditional positive regard
- Ability to maintain effective professional boundaries with those we support
- Teamwork and self-reliance: ability to work well with others and also use initiative
- Effective time management and ability to juggle and prioritise competing demands on their time
- Understanding of issues faced by migrants with an unstable immigration status
- Experience using databases
- Experience using Microsoft Word and Excel
- Experience receiving and sending emails
Preferred
- Lived experience of detention/the asylum system or experience of work with refugees, migrants, criminal justice, or human rights
- Experience of work/volunteering in the voluntary sector
- Good understanding of mental health and complex needs
- Experience of safeguarding people with vulnerabilities
Equal Opportunities
GDWG is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that isinclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and valuesthe diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds including those with lived experience of detention and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged. We are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people and guarantee an interview to anyone with a disability whose application demonstrates the essential requirements of the role.
Thank you!
Personal Safety Project Customer Service Liaison/Administrator
Salary £10,082.80 pro rata (£25,207 FTE) Part Time / 14 hours per week
Age UK Croydon’s very successful Personal Safety Project (Falls Prevention) for older people in Croydon is recruiting a new Customer Service Liaison/Administrator. If you are an enthusiastic, passionate and organised individual, this could be the role for you.
Our Personal Safety Project (PSP) is a free service which aims to help older people who have fallen or are at risk of falling at home. The service is available to anyone aged 50 and over who lives in the borough of Croydon.
Our trained assessors carry out a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential causes of falls and hazards in the home and can arrange for stair rails, grab handles and other necessary aids to be supplied and/or fitted, free of charge. The project can provide ongoing telephone support for up to six weeks to monitor the risk of further falls post engagement.
If you are passionate about supporting older people to remain safe and independent at home and want to contribute to an organisation which is continuously striving to improve, then we would love to hear from you.
We are committed to providing a flexible and productive working environment for all employees. Evolving technology and communication platforms enable employees to work in new and different ways, where we can meet our stakeholder needs and continue to deliver against our charitable objectives. We recognise the importance of supporting employees to have greater personal choice and maintain a healthier work/life balance.
Full training will be provided; the important qualities we are looking for are:
· Excellent communication and listening skills
· Organised with ability to manage a caseload
· Ability to accurately record and store information
· Excellent organisational and time management skills
· A cheerful, friendly and outgoing personality
Applications sent by post should be marked confidential and for the attention of:
Recruitment, Age UK Croydon, 81 Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 7JH
This post is subject to a disclosure and barring service check.
CVS not accepted.
Closing date for applications: 9am, Tuesday 5th August 2025
Interview Dates: Tuesday, 12th August 2025
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable applicant is found before the advertised closing date.
Registered Charity
51 - 100
Our mission is to reach, involve, support and connect people so they can age well in Croydon.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Shape the Future of Home Care in Rural Perthshire.Lead a forward-thinking social enterprise delivering vital care services in rural communities
We are excited to announce an opportunity to establish and lead Heartland Cares Ltd, a start-up social enterprise, providing home care in rural Perthshire. We are seeking a dynamic Chief Executive Officer / Home Care Manager to shape and drive this innovative initiative. Working with an ambitious Board of Directors, and initially in the Rannoch and Dunkeld and Birnam areas, his role offers the chance to build a new and tranformative model of community-led care, enhancing services in remote rural areas.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the development of a high-quality home care service tailored to rural areas.
- Build, motivate, and manage staff and volunteers, ensuring excellence in care and service delivery.
- Oversee the day-to-day operations and service delivery
- Build and maintain strong partnerships with local trusts, councils, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies.
- Ensure compliance with Care Inspectorate standards and lead the registration process.
- Manage financial operations, including budgeting.
- Act as the spokesperson for the organisation, promoting its services to local communities.
- Report directly to the Board, ensuring alignment with the charity’s mission and governance requirements.
Why Join Us?
- Make a Real Impact: Shape a service that directly improves lives.
- Innovative Approach: Be at the forefront of community-led care solutions.
- Supportive Team: Work with a committed and passionate group of professionals.
- Career Growth: Lead a growing organisation with long-term potential.
- Beautiful Location: Enjoy working in the heart of rural Scotland.
Are you the right fit?
We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual with a passion for making a positive impact in rural, remote communities. The ideal candidate will hold a Level 7 practitioner qualification (meeting SSSC criteria) and have proven leadership experience in care services within community settings. Financial management and exceptional communication skills are essential, along with a good understanding of the unique challenges rural communities face in accessing health and social care services.
If you are committed to building an organisation that ensures people can receive care within their own communities, we would love to hear from you!
Application notes
To apply for this post please send your CV and a cover letter of no more than two sides of A4 outlining your reasons for applying and demonstrating how you meet the requirements set out in the Job Description. Please send this to the email found in the Job Pack (downloadable from this site).
Closing date for applications is midnight on 8th August 2025.
Interviews: To be held at a mutually agreeable time shortly after the closing date.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.