Family befriending volunteer volunteer jobs

The  Operations and Volunteer Coordinator is a flexible, part time role and if you are highly organised, enjoy working as part of a small team and making a difference in the local community then this role may be for you. We have three services that we deliver in and around the Winchester area, and this role underpins them all to support and coordinate the charity’s activity.

Friends of the Family Services

• Mum and Young Children's Group which offers group counselling and peer support to mums, whilst their babies and preschoolers are looked after by a team of volunteers.
• 5s to 13s Befriending in which a child aged between 5 and 13 years old is matched with a volunteer who meets them weekly for a year. Time away from chaotic homelives with a positive role model, boosts wellbeing and confidence. Our team provides tailored support to the family. 
• Support for dads - counselling and peer support for dads. 

What you'll be doing

In this role you will be the first point of contact with all of our wonderful volunteers, who are critical to the success of our work.  You will work closely to support the 5s to 13s Befriending Manager and other service leads to ensure smooth delivery of event and training activities. You will also support the wider charitable activity with your strong administrative and operational skills, including organising events, managing our database and general office management. We are continuing to evolve our services within the community, and for the right candidate there is also potential for increased hours in the future.

For further information please refer to our website where you will find a detailed role description and application form.

Role Information

This role reports to the Operations Director, and is part time for 16 hours per week. We offer 28 days annual leave (including bank holidays) plus 3 days over Christmas. The salary is a FTE equivalent of around £27,300. We are a small, flexible team who are passionate about what we do. Hybrid working is available with weekly attendance in the office.

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Job Title: Independent Visitor Co-ordinator

Service: Warrington and Stockport

Reporting to: Children’s Rights Manager

Salary: £17,352.52 per annum (£24,293.53 FTE)

Location: Home based (with travel across the region)

Hours: 25 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

About Coram

Coram is committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.

We support children and young people from birth to independence, creating a change that lasts a lifetime.

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

Our work

Coram Voice is a national independent children’s charity established in 1975 and has grown to become one of the leading organisations for children and young people in the UK.

Coram Voice is a leading children’s rights organisation. We champion the rights of children. We get young voices heard in decisions that matter to them and work to improve the lives of children in care, care leavers and others who depend upon the help of the state.

We provide:

• Advocacy services direct to children and young people in care, in need, in custody and to care leavers and children and young people with severe and complex mental health problems. Advocates around the country support children and young people to get their voice heard in decisions about their lives. This may be through the telephone helpline or through an advocate working directly with a child, for instance, to support them at a review meeting or to help them make a complaint about their care. Coram Voice provides visiting advocacy services to most of the secure units nationally, to Secure Training Centres, Juvenile Young Offender Institutions, psychiatric hospitals, residential special schools and children’s homes.
• Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) to advocate for young people as qualifying patients under the Mental Health Act, in order to fully support them to get their views heard in matters relating to their mental health.
• Independent Visitor services offers a child or young person in care an adult volunteer who provides independent, one-to-one visiting, advice and befriending support. Our independent visitors can become the only long-term, consistent source of support throughout a young person's time in care.
• Independent services provide independent person services for complaints by children and for reviewing whether children should be locked up in secure units on welfare grounds.
• Policy and campaigning to create a better system for all children and young people looked after by the state, for their care to be more child-centred and to give young people a greater say in decisions about their lives.
• Participation services to ensure children and young people have a voice in the development and delivery of services and campaigns, and through the process, provide the opportunity to develop relevant skills which will be of benefit to them in their future lives.
• Training, development and information for young people, advocates and child care workers, offering courses in advocacy, children’s rights and child-centred practice across a range of areas including the National Advocacy Qualification.

Job Introduction

• Are you passionate about supporting and developing volunteers?

• Are you looking for an opportunity to help make positive differences to the lives of children and young people who are looked after or care leavers of the local authority?

• Do you want to work with a leading national independent children’s charity?

Then come join us here at Coram Voice. We have an exciting opportunity for you to become a co-ordinator of our independent visiting service in The North West.

We are seeking candidates who are committed to our objectives for children and young people and equally committed to the organisation and the development of our services. We recognise we are a predominantly white workforce and are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from diverse communities in order to improve the services to the children and young people we help.

About the Role

You will co-ordinate and deliver a statutory independent visitor service to children and young people in care or care leavers of Warrington and Stockport.

You will recruit, assess and train volunteers to become independent visitors, who are volunteer befrienders to children and young people looked after or care leavers. You will manage a cash flow to fund suitable activities for independent visitors to enjoy with the young person. You will manage data and reporting for this statutory service so that service leads and other stakeholders can understand the activity in the service.

We are a child led service, you will not act outside of the young person’s instructions (except in matters of child protection and safety). You will build strong relationships with the child or young person, independent visitors and other significant adults, you will support Independent Visitors to develop long term, meaningful friendships with the young person.

You will work in partnership with other parts of the service, organisation and external agencies and professionals. This is to ensure there are pathways to attract and retain Independent Visitors in the area and sometimes out of area.

What you will receive

We wish to reward and recognise the valuable contributions our staff make to the organisation and offer an attractive benefits package to do so. Coram Voice benefits package includes a competitive salary, a matched pension scheme up to 5% of salary, generous leave entitlements of up to 25 days’ annual leave plus an additional 3 days paid leave between Christmas and New Year. A supportive work environment fostering a good work/home life balance and a suite of family friendly policies, which promote employee wellbeing.

You will get a genuine opportunity to make a difference every day.

Recruitment process

Shortlisting will be undertaken by Children’s Rights Manager. Successful candidates will then be invited for interview. The interview process comprises of a written exercise and a panel interview. Successful candidates will have a further one to one interview in accordance within Warner recommendations. Internal candidates will need to notify HR of their interest in the post and they will provide further information on the internal application process.

Returning your application:

• We cannot accept general CVs. When completing your application form, you need to address each point of the person specification and demonstrate how you meet it.
• Applications must be fully completed.
• If you are a current Coram Voice employee you may submit a supporting statement only addressing the person specification requirements for the post.

Closing date: Monday 16th February 2026 @ 9:00am

Proposed Interview date: 23rd February 2026

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from global majority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.

Job Title: Independent Visitor Co-ordinator

Service: Manchester

Reporting to: Children’s Rights Manager

Salary: £19,434.82 (£24,293.53 FTE) per annum

Location: Home based (with travel across the region)

Hours: 28 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

About Coram

Coram is committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.

We support children and young people from birth to independence, creating a change that lasts a lifetime.

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

Our work

Coram Voice is a national independent children’s charity established in 1975 and has grown to become one of the leading organisations for children and young people in the UK.

Coram Voice is a leading children’s rights organisation. We champion the rights of children. We get young voices heard in decisions that matter to them and work to improve the lives of children in care, care leavers and others who depend upon the help of the state.

We provide:

• Advocacy services direct to children and young people in care, in need, in custody and to care leavers and children and young people with severe and complex mental health problems. Advocates around the country support children and young people to get their voice heard in decisions about their lives.This may be through the telephone helpline or through an advocate working directly with a child, for instance, to support them at a review meeting or to help them make a complaint about their care. Coram Voice provides visiting advocacy services to most of the secure units nationally, to Secure Training Centres, Juvenile Young Offender Institutions, psychiatric hospitals, residential special schools and children’s homes.
• Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) to advocate for young people as qualifying patients under the Mental Health Act, in order to fully support them to get their views heard in matters relating to their mental health.
• Independent Visitor services offers a child or young person in care an adult volunteer who provides independent, one-to-one visiting, advice and befriending support. Our independent visitors can become the only long-term, consistent source of support throughout a young person's time in care.
• Independent services provide independent person services for complaints by children and for reviewing whether children should be locked up in secure units on welfare grounds.
• Policy and campaigning to create a better system for all children and young people looked after by the state, for their care to be more child-centred and to give young people a greater say in decisions about their lives.
• Participation services to ensure children and young people have a voice in the development and delivery of services and campaigns, and through the process, provide the opportunity to develop relevant skills which will be of benefit to them in their future lives.
• Training, development and information for young people, advocates and child care workers, offering courses in advocacy, children’s rights and child-centred practice across a range of areas including the National Advocacy Qualification.

Job Introduction

• Are you passionate about supporting and developing volunteers?

• Are you looking for an opportunity to help make positive differences to the lives of children and young people who are looked after or care leavers of the local authority?

• Do you want to work with a leading national independent children’s charity?

Then come join us here at Coram Voice. We have an exciting opportunity for you to become a co-ordinator of our independent visiting service in Manchester.

We are seeking candidates who are committed to our objectives for children and young people and equally committed to the organisation and the development of our services. We recognise we are a predominantly white workforce and are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from diverse communities in order to improve the services to the children and young people we help.

About the Role

You will co-ordinate and deliver a statutory independent visitor service to children and young people in care or care leavers of Manchester.

You will recruit, assess and train volunteers to become independent visitors, who are volunteer befrienders to children and young people looked after or care leavers. You will manage a cash flow to fund suitable activities for independent visitors to enjoy with the young person. You will manage data and reporting for this statutory service so that service leads and other stakeholders can understand the activity in the service.

We are a child led service, you will not act outside of the young person’s instructions (except in matters of child protection and safety.)You will build strong relationships with the child or young person, independent visitors and other significant adults, you will support Independent Visitors to develop long term, meaningful friendships with the young person.

You will work in partnership with other parts of the service, organisation and external agencies and professionals. This is to ensure there are pathways to attract and retain Independent Visitors in the area and sometimes out of area.

What you will receive

We wish to reward and recognise the valuable contributions our staff make to the organisation and offer an attractive benefits package to do so. Coram Voice benefits package includes a competitive salary, a matched pension scheme up to 5% of salary, generous leave entitlements of up to 25 days’ annual leave plus an additional 3 days paid leave between Christmas and New Year. A supportive work environment fostering a good work/home life balance and a suite of family friendly policies, which promote employee wellbeing.

You will get a genuine opportunity to make a difference every day.

Recruitment process

Shortlisting will be undertaken by Emma Keen, Children’s Rights Manager and Sarah Gabriel, Children’s Rights Manager. Successful candidates will then be invited for interview.The interview process comprises of a written exercise and a panel interview.Successful candidates will have a further one to one interview in accordance within Warner recommendations. Internal candidates will need to notify HR of their interest in the post and they will provide further information on the internal application process.

Returning your application:

• We cannot accept general CVs. When completing your application form, you need to address each point of the person specification and demonstrate how you meet it.
• Applications must be fully completed.
• If you are a current Coram Voice employee you may submit a supporting statement only addressing the person specification requirements for the post.

Closing date: Monday 2nd February 2026 at 9am

Interview date: Thursday 5th February 2026

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from global majority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.