Peer Volunteer Co-Ordinator - Part Time - Temporary

Information

The people who use our services tell us we’ve changed their lives.  Our employees tell us they’re supported, enthusiastic and have opportunities to develop meaningful careers.

 

Our staff have come from all walks of life; some have a faith and some don’t.  We don’t want you to be a cog in a wheel.  We want you to bring your skills and experience either from the care sector or gained elsewhere – we know they are transferrable.  Your journey won’t stop there though as, using the strengths of a large diverse organisation, we’ll support you to develop new skills and qualifications and give you the opportunities to put them into practice.

There’s space to be creative and find ways to help the people who use our services achieve their goals so when you see a problem you’ll need to have the heart to fix it.

Consideration will be given to flexible working or job sharing and either option can be discussed further at interview.

This is a temporary post for two years.

Interviews are scheduled to take place week beginning 30 August 2021.

Salary is pro rata of 38.5 hours per week.

Main Function

Primary delivery focus in the West of Scotland with additional secondary remit to support peer volunteer development elsewhere in Scotland, as required.

• To co-ordinate the development of Peer Volunteering and in particular the application process for the Training Programme.
• To work with and energise service managers to co-ordinate placements for the Training Programme in a range of CrossReach services.
• To personally support Volunteers as they progress through training and in work or experience placements and to guide them as they consider next steps towards employability. To maintain contact through telephone, online meetings and emails to maintain engagement.
• To produce reports on outcomes and general service activity for people who are volunteering
• To assist in the wider delivery and ongoing development of the course whilst at all times being an internal and external ambassador for the CrossReach Peer Volunteer Training Programme.
• To manage administration and resources to improve effectiveness.

Main Duties

PROMOTION OF SERVICE

1. To promote the benefits of the Peer Volunteer programme to services and people who have used or are currently using services.
2. Raising Aspiration: meeting with Service Users individually or collectively to promote the training programme, drawing on the experiences of past participants.  Encouraging people to use their “Lived Experiences” in a positive way to help others.
3. Actively capturing the experiences of others eg in video clips to inspire others, anonymised accounts.
4. To work with the Tutor and Service Managers to co-ordinate recruitment to the programme and ensure that suitable placements are in place with mentor oversight.

SUPPORT

5. Guide people through the application process (forms, PVG application, documentation etc), helping them overcome barriers such as previous convictions, lack of documentation, references.
6. Keeping in touch with people as they go through the training programme, ensuring they have appropriate support to progress through and complete the programme.
7. Promoting the range of placements and guiding people to placements that suit their experience and aspirations. This could involve taster sessions in different service areas.
8. Support services in hosting placements, ensuring that the placement is benefiting the individual and the service. Develop new volunteer opportunities in tandem with services.
9. Helping Volunteers to grow in confidence as they reflect on their development, and guiding them to access employability resources.

OTHER

10. To work alongside the Training Programme Tutor to deliver sections of the Volunteer Training Programme.
11. To contribute to the ongoing development of the course taking into account feedback from participants and other stakeholders.
12. To provide guidance and support for Service Mentors.
13. Support services in communicating with volunteers during recruitment and throughout their time with CrossReach, including the use of formal acknowledgement schemes and CrossReach’s annual awards.
14. To monitor and evaluate peer volunteer experiences and share findings with services.
15. To provide up to date management information relating to Volunteers and outcomes achieved, including reporting requirements of the funder.
16. To be responsible for budgets relating to volunteer training course expenses.

Personal

Have respect for all aspects of Christian worship.

This post requires you to either complete a Disclosure or be a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and undertake the necessary vetting checks.

A warm and friendly manner is essential as well as a professional attitude as the post holder will have contact with service users, their carers and other professionals.

Skills and Abilities

Essential:

• Postholder must possess basic computer literacy skills including use of Microsoft Office and the internet.

• Experience of co-ordinating substance use services or recovery communities, gained through employment or in a specific voluntary role.
• A developed understanding of the role that people with lived experience can bring to this setting.
• Experience in being able to work alongside people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to achieve an outcome – in this case, to support them into volunteering with purpose.
• A confident and inspiring communicator.
• Good organisational skills.
• Ability to work on own initiative and work within agreed deadlines.

Desirable:

• Lived Experience (in Care/Support Services/Recovery)