Support Worker Volunteer Roles
At Watford & Three Rivers Refugee Partnership, our objective is to provide practical and emotional support, ultimately helping our clients achieve a sustainable position as full members of our society. Many of our clients are destitute, homeless and have no access to assistance from the government. Our mission is to provide access to advice and essential services until statutory services are in place.
Volunteering at the Drop-In centre provides an opportunity for you to help our refugee clients with any issues they might have. We have sessions running every Tuesday between 11am and 1pm at St Mary’s Church, High Street, Watford. The Drop-In provides an opportunity for refugee clients to come and discuss any issues they have and to be listened to by one of our volunteers. Many of our clients are likely to have lived here for a while but an issue or crisis in their lives means that they need to discuss it and seek some help. They may also be in the process of seeking asylum. We can provide advice and sometimes resolve their issue there and then and at other times we refer them to another agency or invite them to come back once their issue has been looked into.
The Drop-In Centre could not function without our team of committed volunteers, and we are always looking for additional help.
Full training given on starting the role as well as regular training sessions and continual support from more experienced volunteers.
Responsibilities:
· Help with filling in forms and interpreting official documents.
· Liaising with statutory and voluntary agencies.
· Referring clients for follow up action by our Case Review Team and linking them with a befriender.
· Referring clients to our partner solicitor who specialises in immigration law and comes to the Drop-In 4th Tuesday of the month.
· Advice on how to access appropriate housing and free food in the area.
· Access to the charity’s other services, such as free English classes.
Requirements:
· Able to attend at least one Tuesday Drop-In a month.
· Complete training as required and attend bi-monthly volunteer support meetings.
Skills:
· An ability to communicate and empathise with people from a variety of backgrounds and needs.
· Basic IT skills.
· Assist clients in accessing essential services such as legal, housing, financial and food.
· Can work well as part of a team.
· Enthusiasm to help refugee clients.
Desirable experience:
· Previous volunteering experience.
· Previous experience working in a people-facing role.
If you are interested in becoming a Drop-In volunteer please apply via Charity Jobs or contact us and a volunteer coordinator will contact you to discuss this further.
Please send CV to apply.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Care4Calais is a volunteer run charity delivering essential aid and support to refugees living in France and the UK. We believe in a fair and tolerant British society and advocate for a welcoming and inclusive attitude towards refugees.
In northern France we operate year-round from Calais, providing warm clothing, bedding, food and assistance to refugees who live in appalling and dangerous conditions.
Across the UK we collect and distribute clothes, shoes, mobile phones and other essential items, as well as social support and interaction, including language lessons, sport and music workshops. We also help with vital access to legal, medical and educational services.
Due to rapid growth of our UK operations, we are currently looking for volunteers who will help us drive froward UK operations to achieve maximum impact and effectiveness.
Profile:
Strong interest in refugee and asylum work.
Hands on, operational, dynamic and enthusiastic
Team worker with good communication and people skills
Pragmatic with a strong willingness and drive to find solutions and to get things done
Capacity to inspire and sustain volunteer engagement
Organizational skills
Note: Appropriate training and support will be provided.
As a Regional Lead, you will act as a point of contact between volunteers and the Care4Calais UK Operations team. Working mainly via Facebook/Whatsapp groups, Google Drive, and Zoom, your primary function is to motivate, inspire and support volunteers to take actions. These actions include distributions of essential aid to asylum seekers, joining in and organising social activities, and befriending and supporting asylum seekers to access key services. You will be available to answer questions and provide support to volunteers, and to drive the group forward to achieve maximum impact and effectiveness.
In addition, you will represent Care4Calais in your region and support the team to identify and develop local partnerships. You will acquire an in-depth understanding of Care4Calais policies and procedures and ensure they are adhered to for all local operations. You will also be responsible for keeping the UK operations team informed of activities in your area, as well as feeding back to your group any UK-wide information and updates, promoting strong communication, best practice sharing and rapid action.
Our guidance for groups document sets out the key objectives for UK regional groups, explaining the optimum way we should be working together as an organisation to achieve our goals in an organised and effective manner. This guidance was developed based on the experience of our teams on the ground and reflects current best practice. As a regional lead, you should familiarise yourself with this guidance and look to ensure that your group is operating according to its content.
Tasks:
Set-up:
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Request access to the ‘Care4Calais volunteer chat group’ and your regional group on Facebook.
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Ask admin to add you to the main whatsapp groups – Regional Lead Support group (optional) and the UK Hotels group. The former is for issues specific to regional leads and is for support, and the latter for all UK hotel leads.
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We highly recommend using a separate phone and sim card for Care4Calais; this allows you to switch off when you need to. You may also want to set up a specific Care4Calais Facebook account.
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Events, such as upcoming distributions or drop-ins, to keep everyone in the loop and encourage new volunteers to join in.
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Important updates that may affect the group, such as changes in government legislation, or new services that Care4Calais UK are offering.
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Posts to congratulate everyone on their hard work and keep them motivated!
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You should also keep an eye on the ‘Care4Calais volunteer chat group’. Sometimes people may post requests relevant to your area. We also receive requests from areas that don’t have a dedicated C4C group, but there may be an individual volunteer in that area - you can post in the volunteer group in case they can help.
Emails:
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Emails come through from various sources – via the Annie inbox (monitored by admin), from other charities or from other places.
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Emails are often requests for items for individuals in the area. If your group maintains a spreadsheet of requests, add these requests to the spreadsheet, place a post on Facebook (see above) or get in contact with a volunteer if you know someone in their specific area.
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If you are sent an email from the Annie inbox, don’t reply to the Annie email – reply to the email address that sent the original email to the Annie inbox.
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Keep on top of emails daily if possible.
Meetings:
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Host a meeting with the group
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Make sure this is advertised well in advance to increase the amount of people who attend.
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Write an agenda beforehand to ensure you remember to cover everything in the meeting.
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Ask someone to take minutes and post them on the facebook group after the meeting.
General volunteer support:
Another aspect of the regional lead role is ensuring volunteers feel well supported and can reach out to you if they ever need. If you think a volunteer is struggling or doesn’t feel integrated in the group, reach out to them. You need to be there for volunteers when they have questions and just be a friendly supportive face. If you feel a volunteer is dealing with some very sensitive cases that may call for extra support, RLs can, at their discretion, offer volunteers the opportunity to speak to an MSF counsellor.
Remember that the C4C UK Operations Team and Field Operations Coordinators are always here to help, just pop them a message if you have any questions and feel free to reach out to them for support!
Care4Calais is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment and
recognises that this is invaluable to our ability to serve the communities we support.
We therefore welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds including
from Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic communities, people from refugee and migrant
backgrounds, and people with lived experience of the UK immigration system. If you have
any questions about this or need additional support with the application process for any reason, please let us know.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Befrienders offer friendship and practical support to clients who can be isolated or new to the area of Watford and Three Rivers.
We are currently looking for people who have empathy, are good listeners and are non-judgemental. You will need to have an hour or two a week to spare.
Support our clients by:
- Keeping in touch regularly and maybe going for a coffee or a walk.
- Helping clients to understand everyday letters e.g. Utility bills
- Helping to make appointments for free food/clothing/GP.
Benefits for you
- Support from a Case Worker Co-ordinator
- Developing client facing skills
- Learning about issues for asylum seekers, refugees and incomers to UK
- Establishing relationship with clients who appreciate someone walking alongside them
If you are interested in becoming a befriender please forward your CV and someone from the Partnership will contact you.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Responsibilities:
Executive Director Assistance
▪ Provide direct support to Executive Director to ensure IWI meets organisational goals and targets;
▪ Ensure staff reports and assignments are submitted timely & completely;
▪ Day-to-day management of Executive Director’s meeting schedule;
▪ Liaise with potential partners and donors at a high-level on behalf of the Executive Director;
▪ Support Executive Director during preparation of presentations, media interviews;
▪ Keep the Executive Director in on key organisational issues with diplomacy and discretion.
Partner & Donor Management
▪ Assist with preparation of proposals and enquiries;
▪ Assist with preparation and management of contracts/agreements;
▪ Support with the coordination of pipeline and work-flow.
Requirements:
▪ Experience of working at Executive Assistant level with senior management;
▪ Ability to manage complex and highly confidential information;
▪ Comfortable working autonomously and across multiple tasks and reporting into different project working teams and staff members;
▪ Knowledge of advanced MS office applications, including Word, Excel and Outlook;
▪ Excellent social skills, able to operate with diplomacy, tact and empathy;
▪ A high degree of personal organization and self-management;
▪ Comfortable with deadlines;
▪ Ability to think proactively and laterally to maximize opportunities to promote the work of IWI.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Faith to Faithless are launching a brand new helpline for apostates in the summer of 2023, for people leaving high-control religions, and we’re looking for committed, compassionate volunteers to join us.
You will be a motivated, dedicated, and organised person with great communication skills, who is enthusiastic about volunteering your time and skills to support individuals leaving high-control religions (also known as apostates). You will have lived experience or understanding of the issues apostates face, and a kind and empathic approach to working with others.
We’ll train you to handle calls with confidence, and you’ll be getting valuable experience in supporting service users with multifaceted needs. This is a volunteering role where you can develop your interpersonal skills, help members of our community that need it most, and make a real difference in their lives by helping them to get back on track to living happy, purposeful lives without religion.
Key Tasks and Activities
- To respond quickly and efficiently to calls requesting help, providing a listening service, signposting and information to people who have experienced victimisation due to leaving their religion.
- To deliver work which adheres to high service standards, ensuring compliance with all policies and procedures.
- To keep and maintain accurate and confidential records of all work undertaken.
- To identify and maintain appropriate boundaries for all callers and recognise when and where to signpost callers for further help/information as appropriate with appropriate support from the apostate services manager
- To proactively continue to develop appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills through regular reading of information and attending training courses.
- To support the training of helpline volunteers as required.
- To attend supervision, meetings and appraisals.
- To undertake any other appropriate duties as requested by the ASM
- To work at all times within the policies and procedures of Humanists UK.
Download and read the full application pack for more information. To apply, please complete the application form telling us why you’re interested in the role and detailing how you match the person specification on page 4 of the application pack. Then return the completed form with the subject ‘Helpline Volunteer’ to volunteer[at]humanists[dot]UK.
Please complete the application form
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Faith to Faithless, Humanists UK’s support programme for so-called ‘apostates’. We’re expanding our in-person events across England and Wales, and we’re looking for passionate volunteers to help us make a difference. We currently have regular events in Sheffield, Bournemouth and London. We are looking to expand this to the Midlands, Wales and beyond, you can positively impact lives and help create a more inclusive society. Join us today and be part of the change!
As an Apostate Event Organiser, you will:
- Arrange regular social events for people who have left religious groups.
- Find suitable venues like cafes, museums or restaurants.
- Set the date and time that works best for everyone.
- Communicate with the Apostate Services Development Officer via email and online meetings.
- Check social media for updates.
- Welcome guests and ensure their safety (training will be provided).
- Speak with attendees in a warm and empathetic manner while providing event information.
The application pack contains all the information you will need to decide whether the role is right for you.
To apply for the role, please email us, letting us know:
- Who you are, including a little bit about yourself
- Why you are interested in the role
- What you think you’d bring to the role (e,g. your skills and experiences that would be particularly relevant)
- What you’d like to get out of the role
- Any concerns, or extra support you’d need in the role
A copy of our Recruitment and Promotion and Equal Opportunities policies are available to view on our website.