Office Coordinator Volunteer Roles in Bristol

Could you help to raise vital funds for SSAFA in your local area? You don’t need a military background, just the ability to get on with all kinds of people, some basic I.T skills and good written and spoken English. If you already have some fundraising experience that would be great too but it’s not essential.

What is a Fundraising Coordinator?

As Fundraising Coordinator, you would work with your local SSAFA branch to develop a Fundraising Plan. You would be central to delivering this local plan to raise funds through a range of local sources including grants, trusts, appeals, collections, and events.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

SSAFA branches rely on a regular charitable income to fund all the necessities behind our support for clients. This includes volunteer travel expenses, phone bills, publicity, and grants for clients in urgent needs. A varied programme of fundraising also keeps the SSAFA profile high in the local community. We’d love to hear from you if you could help by coordinating this vital aspect of your local SSAFA branch.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but many volunteers are based at home. You would also be out and about at events and meetings. This role would suit someone looking to give a regular time commitment to SSAFA although when and where would be flexible to suit you.

What would you be doing?

• Developing an ethical fundraising plan based on the needs of the branch and choosing a mix of sources.
• Working with the branch secretary and Regional Fundraising Manager, recruit a team of fundraising volunteers to support events, appeals and collections.
• Working with the Regional Fundraising Manager, support national fundraising campaigns.
• Working with the Branch Publicity Officer, develop opportunities to combine awareness and fundraising.
• Planning and running local appeals, collections, and events
• Identifying and submitting applications to appropriate trusts and grant funding organisations
• Working with Marketing staff at central office check that all fundraising materials meet SSAFA branding style and current key messages.
• Liaise with Regional Fundraising Manager when pursuing opportunities beyond local sources e.g., corporates.
• Evaluate fundraising activities and provide reports and information for the branch.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA including all sections of the community in awareness raising
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA including observing our policies such as the Volunteering policy and data protection policy (these will be covered in your training and local induction.)

The remit of this role may change over the next 12-18 months depending on the outcome of a trial currently being undertaken.

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Give tangible and practical support to your local branch by raising funds used directly to support clients.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role - Fundraising workshops. 
• Access to a range of e-learning courses, fundraising guidance, and marketing materials
• Fundraising Manager (per region)
• Fundraising and Marketing teams based at our central office.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable people with good communication skills including written and spoken English.
• Confident to deal with the public, potential clients, volunteers, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues – face-to-face, by phone, email or via social media.
• Experience of running events and or submitting funding applications would be welcome but not essential.
• Ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address.
• Ability to make enquires about fundraising opportunities by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms
• Reliable attitude, keep appointments, update the branch regarding your availability.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and keep information safely.
• Access to public transport or a car to get to meetings and events.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? No

Parkinson’s changes lives. From the day of diagnosis, people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones need to know we’re by their side.

By 2024 Parkinson’s UK will provide personalised information, services and opportunities, from day one, to many more people affected by the condition. But, we need your help to do this.

If you're looking to meet new people and make a real difference in your local community, this role is for you. Leading the support group in Reigate, you'll help people affected by Parkinson's to draw on invaluable support from their peers.

You'll have a chance to use and develop your administrative, leadership and communication skills - supported by local staff, to develop a programme of activities for your group.

As part of recruitment, you will be asked to provide a reference for this role. Speak to your staff contact for more information.

Why we want you

Support groups across the UK are run by volunteers and offer friendship and support to people living with Parkinson's and their families and friends. These groups need a leader, working with other staff and volunteers, to coordinate and arrange the activities the group will offer - from monthly talks, to yoga.

What you will be doing

• Act as a contact for local and UK office staff
• Arrange the group's programme of activities, including any outings
• Organise room booking and refreshments
• Working with staff and other volunteers to ensure the group runs in line with Parkinson's UK guidelines

The skills you need

• Strong administrative skills, communication and IT skills in order to ensure smooth running of the group
• Collaborative and team focused, as you will need to gather and distribute information to everyone involved
• A positive attitude to making things happen in the local community
• Motivated and reliable, with strong organisational skills in order to support the group
• Enthusiastic and friendly, as you will be representing both the local group and Parkinson's UK

What's in it for you

• You'll help people with Parkinson's in your community get connected to invaluable support from their peers
• Meet new people and make new friends, both in the group and in the local community
• Learn and develop valuable organisational, administrative and people skills

Disclaimer

It's important that people affected by Parkinson’s can trust us with their personal information. You would be handling personal or sensitive data, so by undertaking this role you'll need to complete our Advanced Data Protection training. Your Parkinson’s UK staff contact can help you do this. You will also be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Prison-based volunteers are the backbone of Fine Cell Work (FCW). Supported by the Fine Cell Work programmes team and by other staff at the FCW office, they teach and administer FCW stitching groups in prisons.

Prison volunteers work in teams to organise classes and teach our stitchers, as well as providing information about the group to the prison and to the FCW office. The precise mix of skills will vary from prison to prison.

Volunteering in prison for Fine Cell Work requires ideally a good level of needlework skill (or a willingness to learn), some teaching experience and/or experience of working with socially-excluded groups. Volunteers must be patient and non-judgemental in order to work effectively. As a prison volunteer you will be:

• Developing skills and confidence
• Teaching prisoners to stitch FCW products within the framework of our training programme
• Encouraging and supporting prisoners to volunteer as class coordinators and peer mentors
• Encouraging and helping prisoners who wish to undertake their own creative projects

It is essential for volunteers to support FCW's ethos, believe in rehabilitation, be an excellent teamworker, observe personal boundaries, be reliable and patient to ensure cell groups run smoothly, and have record-keeping skills and have some knowledge of needlework.

Volunteers work in prisons around the UK dependent on where groups are based, therefore it is requred that volunteers will be able to travel to the relevant prisons. Travel expenses will be reimbursed by the charity. 

Please take some time to read the role description to find out more details about the role and what we offer to our volunteers.

At Fine Cell Work, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in FCW’s workforce.

These include applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+, and male identifying applicants as these are currently under-represented in our volunteers groups.

To assist in the provision of a weekly social group for adults aged 18+ with a range of learning disabilities/autism in venues in the Bracknell Forest area and surrounding areas. The Group meet every Tuesday 7pm -9pm. They go to the cinema, pubs, bowling, swimming, pottery painting etc.

Connection Support carries out a wide range of marketing activities internally and externally, overseen by our Marketing Manager. We are looking for volunteers to assist with marketing and communications tasks to help raise our profile and spread the word about what we do. Marketing and Administration Volunteers will also support our team of Volunteer Coordinators with administrative tasks relating to bringing volunteers on board with the organisation.

How You’ll Help

Tasks may include:

· Creating visual and text based content for social media, the Connection Support website and intranet

· Creating content for and updating external websites such as Indeed and Do:It

· Periodically review local media publications to identify relevant content

· Respond to routine queries from volunteer applicants

· Assist with maintaining volunteer records

· Carry out research for volunteer recruitment purposes

· Occasionally assist with mailings to volunteers such as Volunteers Week certificates, Christmas and religious holiday cards

Volunteer Profile

· Ability to communicate confidently in written English

· Ability to use Microsoft packages such as outlook, word, excel and teams

· Ability to work within organisational policies regarding confidentiality and use of data

· Experience with using (or ability to learn) web based graphics software such as canva

· Understanding of social media and ability to use facebook, twitter and linked in for professional purposes

Location

This role is offered on a flexible basis. It is possible to undertake this volunteer role remotely, or volunteers can be based at one of our offices in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire or Milton Keynes. Volunteers will need to use a Connection Support laptop or PC so applicants will need to be located within reasonable collection distance for equipment. Please state your preference for location during your application.

Time Commitment Required

So that the volunteer can work effectively with our Marketing Manager and Volunteer Coordinators, we ask that applicants are available between 9am and 5pm on at least one day per week.

Training Offered

We will provide training and an induction 

NEW VOLUNTEER TEAM NEEDED! A DYNAMIC AND DEVELOPING MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY URGENTLY SEEKING VOLUNTEERS. HELP FORGE THE BEST MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING SERVICE

Evolve Counselling is … changing. Over the next year we have an ambitious programme to meet a large and growing demand for professionally-delivered talking therapies. We have plenty of volunteering opportunities for you. Bring your skills and experience to help us, and in return be part of an empowering community - where you can thrive in a rewarding project. Build your CV! Try something new! Put your spare time to use! Revive your career skills! Do life-enriching work helping others! All roles are flexible hours, working remotely with full IT support.

Exciting and absorbing NEW volunteer job roles

Admin Assistant . Secretarial tasks supporting the Trustee Board: Scheduling meetings, preparing agendas and board papers, taking minutes, keeping records, monitoring compliance  with legal and contractual rules, etc. Admin support for CEO: Arrange external meetings, attend planning sessions and produce notes and minutes, schedule key business events, and keep diaries up to date. General office administration: Keeping records, directing calls and messages, maintaining files and building the business ‘memory’. We are looking for a highly efficient organiser, someone used to routine and fine detail, with good IT skills.

Finance Controller or Finance Assistant. Finance tasks supporting our growing charity, working with our external Book Keeper, outsourced payroll service, and the Board Treasurer. Tasks include producing monthly reports and stats for the Board, for funders and fundraising bids. Monthly financial reporting including monitoring of income and expenditure, variance analysis and cashflow forecasting, monthly management accounts, and annual financial statements - charity income and expenditure, balance sheet, P&L. Supporting annual budget setting, and assisting when data is required for grant submissions. You will ideally be, or have been, a chartered, AAT, or qualified-by-experience accountant, have Third Sector knowledge, and have an interest and passion  for charitable enterprises.

Communications and Media Coordinator or Assistant. We are looking for help to communicate much much better with counselling clients, funders, our own “Counselling Community” of therapists, and the wider voluntary sector across our large area. You’ll be writing news stories, success ‘profiles’, publicising regular and special events, and driving social media and the web  - building the brand for Evolve. This job will be great  for a pro-active social media “story teller”, looking to build their own profile by ‘owning’ this new area of Evolve’s work. You’ll need to be creative, organised, and literate, with a very self-motivated  approach. A background in PR, marketing, social media or news will be great for this role.
 

Marketing and Fundraising Specialist or Assistant. Help us to grow our client numbers, improve the service, generate a development fund for new innovations, and get our name in front of sponsors, donors, and other charity project funders. In this demanding but hugely rewarding new role you will be in at the beginning - creating campaigns, researching and writing bids, and working with our communications and media volunteer to build and promote compelling fundable projects.

About Evolve Counselling. Evolve Counselling is a long-established charitable social enterprise, providing low cost, affordable or funded mental health counselling to adults in Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties. Our counselling community is made up of 50 – 60 qualified self-employed practitioners, working part-time. We deliver talking therapies to adults – online and in person. Our service delivers around 500 counselling sessions per month to a broad range of individuals, many of whom would not otherwise be able to access counselling support. Evolve also provides supervision, reflective practice, critical incident support and mental health awareness and related training to organisations and businesses large and small.

As the vegan community grows, veganism itself becomes better understood. We're finding that more people are looking to The Vegan Society to find out what being vegan is really all about.

Local communities are starting to see the vegan movement as something real and something that’s happening in their area. A greater number of people are embracing a vegan lifestyle, which we welcome. From new businesses, to families, to councillors, many people need support. This could be with a range of topics: going vegan, finding correct information, providing vegan options in their business, MPs listening to vegan constituents, and learning about our work.

Local issues are often unique and more varied than national issues. Our volunteers from local areas are vital! They enable us to share our messages and campaigns in an effective way. Research tells us that people are far more likely to trust information from a peer rather than an outside expert or organisation, so community volunteering vastly increases the impact of our campaigns. 

Our network of committed local vegans across the country is growing! The Vegan Society organises various outreach activities to influence change in every level of society. There are a range of activities going on all the time, from general educational stalls at events to meeting with local policy influencers. 

What does the Organiser role involve? 

Every month, you will be sent a collection of tasks to choose from. We create these from our programme of campaigns. You would be the point of contact for Advocates in your area, sharing these tasks and coordinating activities, such as stalls and lobbying councillors. We will provide you with a campaign toolkit and be in regular contact with you to ensure you have everything you need. You will also be invited to our private Facebook group and WhatsApp chat.

We would expect you to provide any updates from your group and give feedback on each task. It's vital that we measure the impact that we are having, in terms of positive conversations and leaflets handed out. You can also give us ideas you have for future outreach tasks or campaigning. Many Organisers find a huge sense of satisfaction, improvement in self-esteem and enjoy the social side of volunteering in this role.

You will also be responsible for welcoming new Advocates in your area. We will let you know when somebody new applies, and you will help them to get involved with any activities. As the main contact for Advocates, this role does require some awareness of safeguarding and data protection procedures and policy. You'll also be the health and safety contact for your group. There will be full training on your role in this, as well as a handbook and ongoing guidance and support. 

As an Organiser, you will ensure any resources or actions undertaken are in line with our branding and messaging guidelines and make sure that Advocates understand this too.

What training and support is available? 

There will be a full induction to the role, with a gradual introduction of new tasks and responsibilities. To start with, we will provide an initial training session to cover the basics of community organising, communication skills and event planning. This will be done remotely from wherever you are. Along with this, we will provide a full pack of resources that covers a range of work that we do. 

From there, there will be regular conversations and reviews, where we can discuss other training requirements. Staff are always available to Organisers for any questions, via phone or email. 

What skills would be useful in doing this role? 

• Great organisational skills
• Experience of coordinating people
• Experience of working to specific dates and deadlines
• Good time keeping
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to motivate people around the topic of veganism
• Ability to stick to branding
• Ability to read emails in a timely manner and translate tasks into actions quickly
• Ability to report back on activities
• Excellent knowledge of vegan issues

It would be beneficial for this role to have access to a vehicle, as some actions will involve taking resources to events or visiting MPs’ offices. However, this is not mandatory as the campaign toolkit can be carried in a backpack. 

How much time do I need to invest?

This role requires more time than the Advocate role. You should be able to commit around two days a month to carry out actions, and this is usually spread out across the month. We also expect timely responses to emails. When a new Advocate applies to work with you, we would like them to be contacted within seven days.

Who can I contact to find out more?

Enquiries are welcome! Please contact Katy Malkin (Volunteering Coordinator).

  REDR UK CO-HOST  

Job title 

Co-host 

Date reviewed 

September 2023 

Purpose 

To co-host and support the delivery of RedR UKs trainings and projects 

Responsible to 

Programme Coordinator 

Responsible for 

N/A 

Working with 

RedR UK Programmes staff, colleagues in other departments, consultants, 

Associate Trainers and other contacts and stakeholders as necessary 

Location 

Remote – Co-hosts are responsible for providing their own home office 

equipment including appropriate internet connection and laptop/computer 

Period 

Your co-host hours will be depended on the training session schedule, and 

co-hosts are free to support as many sessions as they wish, in agreement with the line manager. The agreement will be valid until December 2023 

Other 

A co-hosts monthly fee/reward is based on the number of training sessions co-hosted. Payment is to be transferred upon the invoice from the volunteer. Training will be paid on the following rate: 

• Set up, co-host and close of a training: £15/hr 

Language 

Please note that we are currently looking for cohosts how can speak Arabic, French and Moroccan Amazighi (Berber) 

ABOUT REDR UK 

Every year, hundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by disasters and conflict. RedR UK is an international NGO and learning provider that trains and supports aid workers, organisations, and communities to prepare for and respond effectively to crises within humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding contexts. Our work builds resilience, primarily in low and lower middle-income countries. 

RedR UK is a HPass Certified Learning Provider, meaning we meet the Humanitarian Learning Standards. RedR UK is committed to the principles of the Humanitarian Charter, the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and the Core Humanitarian Standards. 

RedR is also a Membership organisation, with a global network of over 1,400 Members, all of whom are experienced humanitarian and development professionals. The RedR UK Membership is a mark of quality, enabling aid workers to obtain professional recognition of their skills and experience. 

RedR UK has offices in the UK and Jordan, and works in over 20 countries each year. RedR UK is part of RedR International, an international federation of organisations that share a common vision and mission. RedR UK is committed to a strong, positive culture, with benefits for staff and those with whom we work. 

ABOUT THIS ROLE 

RedR UK coordinates projects and programmes across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. These include facilitating online training modules on a variety of topics, from climate change adaptation to safety and security. These modules are interactive, participative and facilitated by 

a dedicated expert trainer. The main responsibility of this role will be to provide co-hosting support to the trainer before, during, and after the live online modules in collaboration with RedR UK’s Programme staff. 

The co-hosting support entails the following specific tasks: 

• Manage communications with training participants before, during and after the training; 

• Coordinate with trainers and interpreters; 

• Offer support to trainer during the Zoom training sessions (including, but not limited to): 

• Set up interpretation in Zoom; 

• Ensure the polls are established and launched, set up break-out rooms, share documents, instructions and links in the chatbox, etc; 

• Share screen with presentations or videos, if needed; 

• Admit participants and offer technical support, if needed. 

• Any other task that the trainer may require. 

• Update of RedR UK database (Salesforce). 

Training modules range between 60 min to 180 min. It is estimated that the administrative support would take around 30 additional minutes per each iteration of a module. 

RedR UK will provide the co-host with detailed guidance on tasks, training, as well as the opportunity to shadow another co-host before starting. Co-hosts will also get the opportunity to be involved with a wide variety of training, particularly suiting those wishing to enter the humanitarian sector. 

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

 Essential 

• Administrative skills - Systematic and efficient administrative and time management skills 

• Use of technology – Computer literate and competence on Zoom 

• Team player – experience of working successfully within a team environment and of building relationships with others 

• Communication - Good interpersonal communication skills and self-awareness, able to communicate clearly and effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds 

• Language – Fluent in English language (oral & written) 

• Initiative and enthusiasm - Initiative, enthusiasm and a problem-solving approach to new challenges 

 Desirable 

• Interest in the humanitarian sector and/or Learning and Development 

• Event management - Experience of supporting a learning programme and organising learning events and working with consultants. 

• Language – Fluent in at least on language other than English (oral & written): current programmes include training in Spanish, French, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and Ukrainian. 

If you are interested in applying for this position with RedR UK, please send your CV and a short covering letter outlining your motivations and experience by 10th October 2023. 

Come join our volunteering team to help change the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society. Ranked 2023 Q3 by Best Companies as the 6th best charity to work for in the UK, Medaille Trust is one of the UK’s leading charities in the fight against modern slavery. Our innovative model is based on three principles: Prevent, Protect and Pursue.  We are one of the UK’s largest providers of survivor services, with ten safehouses and six outreach hubs, staffed round the clock by specialist staff, working with more than 600 men, women and dependent children each year.  We work to raise awareness in the UK and to provide preventive work in source countries. Our Pursue work helps survivors to engage with police and within the legal  system to seek justice and to secure convictions against their perpetrators.

We are looking for a Prospect Research Volunteer who can aid with researching grant making trusts and foundations to help the wider Fundraising team in their efforts to generate funding for the charity. Tasks will include:

•Identifying suitable grant giving trusts and foundations against a set of criteria

•Reviewing details of registered trusts and foundations in the UK, identifying and working towards funding deadlines

•Extracting and capturing key information to inform application strategies

•Providing support for the preparation of funding proposals

This role will provide an opportunity to gain essential experience and skills in key aspects of fundraising for a charity who supports and empowers survivors of modern slavery and trafficking. The role is focused on prospect research of grant making organisations.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life and have a wide range of experience and motivations. Whatever your reason for deciding to volunteer, we want to make sure you enjoy your time with us and know just how much we value your support.

Volunteers need to:

•Be at least 18 years old

•Have strong research skills with an ability to present information clearly and concisely

•Have your own laptop and use of the internet

•Have the ability to work independently

•Have excellent IT and Microsoft Office skills, knowledge of Word and Excel are essential

•Have the ability to maintain confidentiality

•Have an interest in the Anti-Slavery, Anti-Trafficking and charity sector

•Having fundraising experience is an advantage but not essential 

•Be able to regularly commit on a flexible basic

For full details and how to apply please visit our website and complete an application form.

Do you want to take part in vegan volunteering around your local area?

You can do that – right here at The Vegan Society. 

We have an ever-growing Community Network of vegans just like you, who have a passion to volunteer and promote veganism where they live. 

Every month, our Network choose from a range of outreach tasks. These could include town centre stalls, writing to a councillor or MP, sharing our campaigns on social media or contacting local businesses. You're in control of how much or how little you do. 

We also provide our volunteers with leaflets, banners and workshops so that they are equipped to make the biggest impact possible. 

We are currently looking for volunteers all over the UK. 

Why do we need you to volunteer?

As the vegan community grows, veganism itself becomes better understood. We're finding that more people are looking to The Vegan Society to find out what being vegan is really all about.

Local communities are starting to see the vegan movement as something real and something that’s happening in their area. A greater number of people are embracing a vegan lifestyle, which we welcome. From new businesses, to families, to councillors, many people need support. This could be with a range of topics: going vegan, finding correct information, providing vegan options in their business, MPs listening to vegan constituents, and learning about our work.

Local issues are often unique and more varied than national issues. Our volunteers from local areas are vital! They enable us to share our messages and campaigns in an effective way. Research tells us that people are far more likely to trust information from a peer rather than an outside expert or organisation, so community volunteering vastly increases the impact of our campaigns. 

Our network of committed local vegans across the country is growing! The Vegan Society organises various outreach activities to influence change in every level of society. There are a range of activities going on all the time, from general educational stalls at events to meeting with local policy influencers. 

What does the Organiser role involve? 

Every month, you will be sent a collection of tasks to choose from. We create these from our programme of campaigns. You would be the point of contact for Advocates in your area, sharing these tasks and coordinating activities, such as stalls and lobbying councillors. We will provide you with a campaign toolkit and be in regular contact with you to ensure you have everything you need. You will also be invited to our private Facebook group and WhatsApp chat.

We would expect you to provide any updates from your group and give feedback on each task. It's vital that we measure the impact that we are having, in terms of positive conversations and leaflets handed out. You can also give us ideas you have for future outreach tasks or campaigning. Many Organisers find a huge sense of satisfaction, improvement in self-esteem and enjoy the social side of volunteering in this role.

You will also be responsible for welcoming new Advocates in your area. We will let you know when somebody new applies, and you will help them to get involved with any activities. As the main contact for Advocates, this role does require some awareness of safeguarding and data protection procedures and policy. You'll also be the health and safety contact for your group. There will be full training on your role in this, as well as a handbook and ongoing guidance and support. 

As an Organiser, you will ensure any resources or actions undertaken are in line with our branding and messaging guidelines and make sure that Advocates understand this too.

What training and support is available? 

There will be a full induction to the role, with a gradual introduction of new tasks and responsibilities. To start with, we will provide an initial training session to cover the basics of community organising, communication skills and event planning. This will be done remotely from wherever you are. Along with this, we will provide a full pack of resources that covers a range of work that we do. 

From there, there will be regular conversations and reviews, where we can discuss other training requirements. Staff are always available to Organisers for any questions, via phone or email. 

What skills would be useful in doing this role? 

• Great organisational skills
• Experience of coordinating people
• Experience of working to specific dates and deadlines
• Good time keeping
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to motivate people around the topic of veganism
• Ability to stick to branding
• Ability to read emails in a timely manner and translate tasks into actions quickly
• Ability to report back on activities
• Excellent knowledge of vegan issues

It would be beneficial for this role to have access to a vehicle, as some actions will involve taking resources to events or visiting MPs’ offices. However, this is not mandatory as the campaign toolkit can be carried in a backpack. 

How much time do I need to invest?

You should be able to commit around two days a month to carry out actions, and this is usually spread out across the month. We also expect timely responses to emails. When a new Advocate applies to work with you, we would like them to be contacted within seven days.

Who can I contact to find out more?

Enquiries are welcome! Please contact Katy Malkin (Volunteering Coordinator).

How do I apply?

Interested? Simply fill in our Community Organiser application form. This takes around 5–10 minutes.

Independent Visitors - Shropshire

Voluntary – a few hours per month

Information to candidates

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.

Our Core Purpose

Coram Voice exists to enable and equip children and young people* to hold the system to account, to challenge and support it to do its job properly and to uphold the rights of children and young people to actively participate in shaping their own lives.

Our vision

Coram Voice strives for a society which recognises and willingly accepts its responsibilities to children and young people, where the inequalities and discrimination they currently face have been eradicated. Where those children and young people are fully engaged in all decisions that are made about their lives. Where the views, needs and feelings that they express are at the core of those decisions.

Our Values

• We are child driven, always asking what children would want us to do. By engaging them at all levels of our work, their views and experiences are central to shaping all our plans. We are tenacious and passionate champions of children’s rights and we will not be distracted in our determination to do the right thing for children and young people.

• Second only to our dedication to children is our dedication to each other. Our work is defined and inspired by meaningful, supportive, mutually empowering relationships with and between children and young people, colleagues and partners. These relationships are powerful because they are authentic and human, where every contribution is equally valued and respected.

• We create a friendly and supportive working environment where work can and should be fun. We recognise that happy people perform at their best, and that people performing at their best are happier in their work. We celebrate our successes together and are open about our concerns and mistakes, supporting each other to grow and learn from them. We work flexibly, supporting each other in times of high workload or when life gets difficult.

• We accept personal responsibility for our work and we are accountable for delivering results against those responsibilities. Managers empower their people to take ownership of and make decisions on their areas of responsibility, ensuring that workload is manageable, that people are treated fairly, that they are supported and challenged to succeed. Everyone at Coram Voice is committed to modelling and championing these values, and managers have a particular responsibility for bringing them to life.

*We work with and for a range of children and young people who are potentially vulnerable to harm or exclusion from society, and who have a particular reliance on the state or its agencies for their rights and wellbeing, including children and young people who are looked after by the state, in need or who have severe and complex mental health problems, care leavers and young offenders. This is not an exclusive list.

Our work

Coram Voice is a national independent children’s charity which was established in 1975 and has grown to become one of the leading agencies for children and young people in the UK. Around 60 employed staff, 100 freelance workers and 200 volunteers deliver services to children and agencies through our London headquarters and regional offices. Together they provide Coram Voice with a high degree of specialist expertise in the fields of advocacy, children’s rights, mental health, complaints, secure accommodation and experience of working with children in care, in custody, in need and those who have recently left care.

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.
• A National Helpline to provide access for children and young people to advocacy and advice, with access to legal advice and links with other national helplines such as ChildLine.
• 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 visitors services providing volunteer befrienders to children and young people in care.
• Independent services: Coram Voice is a major national provider of 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 new National Advocacy Qualification.

About the Independent Visitor Service

What is an Independent Visitor?

An Independent Visitor (also known as an IV) is a responsible adult volunteer who befriends and supports a child or young person looked after by a local authority and has little or no contact with his/her parents. The children or young people may need additional support particularly as they are likely to be living in children’s homes, foster homes or independently.

What does an IV do?

An IV will be expected to visit the child/young person they are matched with regularly to demonstrate commitment to them. This could include visiting them at their home, trips out for example to football, sharing the young person’s interests or hobbies or specific activity. During term time most visits will be in the evening or at weekends. An IV can encourage a child/young person to participate in the meetings held to review his/her care plan and therefore be part of the decision making process about his/her life. The IV may also be asked by the child/ young person to speak at the meeting on his/her behalf in order to make his/her wishes, views and feelings known.

General considerations

· Please note that people employed by a local authority cannot work for Coram Voice in the same authority unless the LA gives agreement and the employee does not work in Children’s Services.

· All posts are subjected to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check and successful candidates will not be able to work unsupervised with children or young people until the completion of this process.

· All Coram Voice workers are required to comply with Coram Voice Codes of Practice and Code of Ethics

General consideration for applications:

• DBS checks All volunteers are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check.
• Training All successful candidates are required to complete our compulsory training programme which includes induction training and E learning courses on Safeguarding and Diversity, GDPR etc
  • Conflict of interest The independence of the service is important to Coram Voice. Prospective applicants need to raise any other potential conflicts of interest when initially contacting Coram Voice about this post.

The recruitment process:

• Shortlisting will be undertaken by the IV Coordinators.
• You will have a face to face or virtual home visit.
• The interview process comprises of a panel interview. Successful candidates will have a further one to one interview in accordance within Warner recommendations.
• Returning your application: We cannot accept general CVs.
• Applications must be fully completed.

Please return your application to: Human Resources via Blue Octopus.

If you have the necessary experience, attitudes and skills and a commitment to protecting the rights of young people we would like to hear from you.

Coram Voice is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We actively encourage applicants from Asian, African, Caribbean and other minority ethnic backgrounds to join our teams. Whilst we have a diverse team 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 families we help.

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