Coordinator – Read Easy Sheffield

Are you an enthusiastic volunteer looking for a new role where you'll be able to use your organisation and people skills to really make a difference? Are you passionate about helping others? Could you be part of someone’s journey towards learning to read?

Read Easy Sheffield is a successful local charity that provides free, confidential, one to-one reading coaching for adults who struggle with reading, affiliated to national charity Read Easy UK. We are currently looking to expand our work and for this we need some more volunteers to join our friendly team, and we excited to be seeking another Coordinator.

This voluntary position would be fantastic for someone who has good organisational and problem-solving skills, as well as great people skills and a friendly, caring nature. If you are the type of person who enjoys solving puzzles and helping others, this could be the perfect role for you!

Being a Coordinator is a vital and interesting role within the Read Easy Sheffield Team. Alongside the other Coordinators (currently three), you will meet adults who want to learn to read and interview volunteer Reading Coaches. You will then pair them up and offer support when needed (alongside our Literacy Specialist), checking in with both your Readers and your Coaches that all is going well. You will play an instrumental part in making sure our group continues to thrive!

You don’t need previous experience, and you don’t need to have volunteered as a Reading Coach first – you will receive training and support from Read Easy UK to develop your skills, and you will work alongside an enthusiastic and supportive team who will show you the ropes.

The role is flexible and can be mostly done from home, however you will need to make occasional visits to see reading pairs in person in their venues across the city, and come to in person meetings.

You can choose your own hours and how many reading pairs you’d like to support – you might expect to spend 3 to 5 hours a week on this. However, most of the coaching happens during the daytime so you will need some daytime availability. To get the most from the role, we expect all Coordinators to support Read Easy Sheffield for at least one year.

What's in it for you?

·       A rewarding role that has a positive impact on people's lives – there is no better feeling than seeing the readers graduate from the course!

·       Opportunity to meet new people and work collaboratively to keep the ship sailing

·       Developing your skills in coordinating projects, or making good use of existing ones!

·       Regular contact with the team, including social events and other face-to-face opportunities

·       Support from a dedicated team leader, as well as comprehensive training in the role

The skills you will need:

·       A passion for supporting others to achieve their goals

·       Good communication and people skills, as well as being organised!

·       Reasonable confidence in using IT (accessing documents, completing electronic forms and records, email, Teams/Zoom meetings)

·       The ability to use initiative and willingness to work independently, as well as part of a team

·       A non-judgemental attitude and respect for others, with a commitment to equality and diversity, so that you can make everyone feel valued and included

·       Energy and enthusiasm to commit to the role for at least a year

·       A willingness to abide by Read Easy policies and procedures.

Please be aware that the reading coaching takes place in venues across the city, mainly in libraries and community centres. Bearing in mind that the role will involve occasional visits to pairs to offer support with their sessions when needed, you will need to be Sheffield-based and ideally able to drive or travel around the city.