Volunteer Support Assistant

Chapter One is a dynamic, growing charity with a vision of a world in which all children have the literacy skills needed to thrive. Our mission is to close the reading gap by providing children with one-to-one support at the time they need it most. 

Our unique Online Reading Volunteer programme currently supports around 3,000 children a year. It pairs disadvantaged, struggling five to eight-year old (KS1) readers with reading support volunteers who come from over 140 local and national businesses. The volunteer ask is very focused: readers commit 30 minutes a week to read with a child using a bespoke digital platform for an entire academic year. The results are transformative, boosting children's reading confidence and ability. 

Our Volunteer Engagement Department, which the Volunteer Support Assistant role will be part of, ensures that volunteers have everything that they need to make a success of their reading sessions with pupils. 

For more information about our programmes please visit our website. Please also take some time to visit our social media channels and watch our videos.

About the Role:

The Volunteer Support Assistant will work remotely and will need to have access to a reliable internet connection. They will report to a senior member of the Volunteer Support Team, working across both the Volunteer Support Team and the Live Chat Team, which together form the Chapter One Volunteer Engagement Department. 

This is a part-time role of 30 hours per week, working 6 hours per day, Monday to Friday. The set working hours are 08:00–15:00, with a one hour unpaid break from 12:00–13:00. Please note that these hours are fixed in line with business needs and cannot be adjusted.

This role will be primarily based within the Volunteer Support Team with day-to-day responsibilities while also being fully trained to provide urgent or emergency cover for the Live Chat Team during staff absence or business need.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check, and the post-holder must be permanently based in the UK at the time of applying and for the duration of their employment.

The required start date for this role is Friday 1st August 2025.

Applying for the role:

Please do not send any applications or correspondence via the Chapter One website.

If you’d like to apply, please read the attached job description PDF and submit your CV and a covering letter. Your covering letter should:

• Clearly outline your suitability for this specific role, paying attention to the essential qualities listed within the attached job description PDF

• Show your interest and passion for Chapter One, and the work that we do

Any applications without a covering letter will be discarded.

Please note that, due to the high volume of applications we expect to receive, we’re unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback to applicants who are not shortlisted at the first stage

Deadline for applications: 23:30 on Monday 2nd June. No applications will be accepted after this time. We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward if this is deemed necessary.