Infant Feeding Support Volunteer - Various Family Centres across Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire’s Family Centre Service brings children’s centres, health visiting and school nursing together, to provide a more joined-up service for children, young people, and their families.

The centres deliver a range of support groups and activities for children and their families to help them be healthy, grow and develop. To make it easy for families to fit sessions and services around their busy lives, access is available from any Hertfordshire Family centre. We have locations across the entire county so please do enquire ensuring you have provided your postcode. 

Main Tasks/ Responsibilities/ Activities

To support qualified staff in creating a welcoming environment for families attending breastfeeding and infant feeding sessions.

Key Responsibilities:

·        Welcome parents and carers to infant feeding sessions, making them feel at ease.

·        Offer encouragement, reassurance, and a listening ear to families, providing peer support under staff guidance.

·        Support with preparing and tidying away resources used during sessions.

·        Model sensitivity, respect, and inclusivity when discussing feeding choices.

·        Promote the benefits of breastfeeding and infant feeding best practices (Hertfordshire Family Centres are Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accredited through UNICEF)

Skills / Abilities / Experience / Qualities

·       Friendly, approachable and empathetic.

·       Good listening and communication skills.

·       Respectful and non-judgemental attitude towards different feeding choices

·       Reliable, punctual, and able to work as part of a team.

·       Experience of infant feeding (personal or professional)

Training / Support

·        A full induction to the service and specific site will be provided.

·        Requirement to undertake One YMCA online training courses

·        To understand and implement One YMCA’s policies.

·        Ongoing support and regular 1:1 meetings

·        Access to organisational events throughout the year including Socials, Conferences and Training opportunities. 

Additional Information

·        Undergo enhanced DBS check

·        X2 References required

·        Undertake additional training as and when required

·        We offer to pay volunteers’ “out of pocket” expenses within agreed guidelines