Volunteer coordinator

Friends of Refugees London offers befriending and advocacy services to refugees and migrants - we are looking for an organised, friendly Volunteer Coordinator to help manage our volunteer programme, ensuring volunteers and clients have a positive experience from their first enquiry through to being matched and beyond. 

About the role 

This is a varied and rewarding coordination role that is pivotal to the charity’s work. You'll help guide volunteers through every stage of their journey with us, from initial enquiry through to them being matched with a client and throughout the befriending relationship. 

Working closely with our small, friendly group of trustees, you will be the main point of contact to keep our volunteer programme running smoothly through a mixture of administration, communication, and coordination. As a small charity, we're flexible and collaborative, and you'll have the opportunity to help shape how we grow. 

Key responsibilities 

• Respond to enquiries from prospective volunteers and help guide them through the application process.
• Assess volunteer applications and shortlist candidates. 
• Co-ordinate volunteer interviews with trustees. 
• Manage the volunteer onboarding process, including DBS checks, references and training invitations.
• Coordinate matches between befrienders and clients, with support from the wider team.
• Maintain accurate volunteer and client records using spreadsheets and online systems.
• Keep in regular contact with volunteers throughout their journey, answering queries, providing updates, and flagging any issues to the trustees. 
• Support the organisation of volunteer training sessions and other events as needed.
• Support the charity’s internal and public-facing communications.
• Help identify ways to improve our volunteer processes as the charity continues to develop.

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail. 
• A warm, reliable communicator who enjoys working with people. 
• Someone who can work independently and manage their own time. 
• Comfortable working remotely as part of a small, collaborative team. 
• An interest in supporting refugees, people seeking asylum, and vulnerable migrants.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

• Confidence using Google Workspace (essential). 
• Experience in administration (essential). 
• Experience of working with vulnerable groups and/or safeguarding awareness (highly desirable).
• Experience using off-the-shelf content management systems (highly desirable). 
• Experience managing data (highly desirable). 
• Experience in public-facing communications such as writing content and managing social media accounts for organisations (desirable). 
• Experience in voluntary organisations or as a volunteer (desirable). 
• Languages: fluent English (essential); Farsi/Dari/Pashto/Arabic/Spanish/French (desirable). 

If you meet most, but not all, of the requirements outlined above, please feel free to apply! You may have other skills and experiences which can make a positive contribution to our work and we are happy to consider your application. 

What you'll gain 

• Practical experience in volunteer coordination and charity operations. 
• The opportunity to shape a small, growing charity. 
• The opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of refugees, people seeking asylum, and vulnerable migrants in London. 
• A flexible volunteering opportunity that fits around work, study, or other commitments.
• Experience working alongside an experienced and supportive trustee team.