Volunteering Opportunities
Sometimes listening is enough
Conversing Care provides a range of volunteering opportunities for those living in and around Kent, Medway area.
Most of our volunteers provide free, confidential and caring emotional support for those struggling to cope with loneliness, ongoing mental health issues or life in some way.
What our volunteers do:
- Provide 1-2-1 emotional support digitally or over the phone
- Offer coping strategies and resources to help people better self-manage individual circumstances
- Input your experiences and knowledge to better our services and service user outcomes
Recruitment & Training Process:
- 2 interviews (telephone and video call)
- Introduction and training (see About us page)
- Specialist training (including DBS application)
- Practical experience
- Complete probation period
Skills we’re looking for:
- Social media management
- Fundraising and book taking
- Safeguarding experience
- Policy development
Did you know?
- 1 in 3 of our users will express thoughts of wanting to harm themselves.
- Just under 2/3’s of our callers mention they have a history with self harm and suicide attempts.
- 90% of services users express poor or inadequate social support and medical treatment.
Benefits:
- No prior exposure or qualifications required (training and experience will supplement gaps in knowledge)
- Real life experience supporting those struggling with life and mental health issues
- Flexible working hours (minimum of 4 hours a week)
- Work from home
- Gain fulfilment in making a difference and saving lives
- No expenses (other than a Kitty fund for DBS checks and wellness packages)
Voluntary Roles & their Responsibilities
Urgently Required: Phase 1
Trustees
Sitting on the board, Trustees oversee the day-to-day operations of Conversing Care.
They are accountable to the Charity Commission.
They manage money, people and are accountable for their actions and outcomes.
Along with their personal skill set, Trustees will get actively involved in different areas of the organisation, keeping themselves familiar and grounded with our work.
Reaching out to the public and getting involved in events for charity and cause promotion.
Commitment to the charity’s mission: A genuine passion for the charity’s cause is essential.
Sound judgement: The ability to make informed decisions in the best interests of the charity, not an individual.
Financial acumen: Understanding financial statements and budgeting is beneficial. Trustees are accountable to the Charity Commission in financial monitoring.
Strategic thinking: The capacity to develop and implement long-term plans.
Leadership and communication skills: The ability to guide and inspire others, as well as effectively communicate with stakeholders.
Time management: Trustees need to dedicate sufficient time to fulfil their responsibilities.
Degree or speciality: Displaying long-term commitment through the likes of education and Industry specific certifications.
Seniors
Seniors are long standing volunteers who supervise other volunteers, performing training, monitoring and safeguarding.
Leading this team of 3, Seniors will work together, integrating knowledge and expertise with their team, building individuals confidence in delivering support.
Volunteered: Familiar with the day-to-day workings of Conversing Care.
Guidance: Able to create a work environment where people feel comfortable and valued, providing guidance and consistency.
Final stages of education: Health & Social Care students finishing up their studies tend to have a lot of experience on hand, they can pass across Conversing Care Roles.
Emotional / Wellbeing Support Workers
Support Workers (SWs) are the backbone of Conversing Care, the default voluntary role for anyone starting their journey with us.
SWs provide our services on-call, take care of their casework and work to support their shift team.
All volunteers receive tailored training so they are confident in their ability to provide wellbeing support digitally and over the phone. We will pilot face-to-face support as well.
Individuals may receive additional training and qualifications in their chosen fields of expertise to provide additional skills into Conversing Care.
Strong communication skills: Be able to deliver support through different communication methods as well as knowing when it’s time to listen.
IT Skills: Computer literate and can follow written procedures.
Know what the system is like: Have some sort of experience working in a Health & Social Care setting, or cared for someone with mental health issues. Experiencing what the mental health system is like for a patient is incredibly insightful and changes one’s perception.
Resilience: Ability to cope with challenging situations and emotional demands.
Beginning professional journey: Students within the Health & Social Care industry need valuable work experience and we can provide just that. We will develop internal structures to support this.
Bookkeeper
Manage financial paperwork.
Regularly record monthly and yearly finances required by the Charity Commission.
Lead and direct fundraising efforts.
Able to interpret maths and data, providing accurate sums.
Financial experience: Have professional qualifications and certificates in the financial sector.
Industry knowledge: Have experience in fundraising and charity money.
Essential: Phase 2
Advisory Trustees
Sitting on the board, Advisers are Trustees with an extensive skill set or experience.
This could give us a competitive edge or efficiency savings.
Unlike normal Trustees, Advisers only attend board meetings and do a few hours a month.
Relevant academic degree: business, finance, law, psychology etc.
Professional certifications: Industry specific certifications (e.g. PMP for project management, CFA for financial analysis).
Continuing education and experience: Ongoing learning to stay updated on industry trends and regulations.
Client relationship management: Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust.
Problem-solving & Communication skills: Clear and concise communication is crucial for explaining solutions.
Organisational acumen: Understanding of charity operations and financial functions.
Team Leads
They lead a Department, monitoring goals and achieving outcomes.
Team Leads will manage Seniors, who contribute to the work of the department they’re in.
Team Leads along with their department brief, link the board of Trustees with the reality volunteers are dealing with.
Management qualifications: Certifications in leadership or project management can be valuable.
Volunteer experience: Demonstrates a personal commitment to the charity’s cause.
Fundraising experience: Understanding of fundraising strategies and donor relations.
Grant writing: Ability to secure funding for the department’s initiatives.
Digital literacy: Proficiency in using technology for communication, data management, and fundraising.
Fundraiser
Assist in fundraising efforts for Conserving Care.
Every penny counts in saving lives.
Success in Fundraising: Know what does and doesn’t work in raising funds and adapt appropriately.
Positive and bubbly approach to tasks: A personality which engages and draws people in.
Initiative: Going ahead, completing tasks and fundraising independently.
Human Resources
HR is responsible for recruitment and training.
Look after assigned volunteers and make sure they have the tools they need to provide our services confidently.
People person: Able to get on with people from a variety of backgrounds.
Proactive to problems: To reassure the team that concerns are genuine and problems get addressed straight away, rather than being reactionary.
Finally: Phase 3
Welfare Monitoring
Check in with assigned volunteers routinely, making sure they are well supported in the work they’re doing.
Monitoring and safeguarding measures are in place to assure both service users and SW are receiving the correct support systems at the right time.
Additional training: Have professional safeguarding training and previous experience.
Robust networking: Able to speak to several people within a short space of time, piecing information together.
Reactive and proactive: Able to make decisions and plans quickly, either in a reactive way, or taking time to consider future options of what actions would be needed.
Data Protection
To protect data from internal and external threats.
To monitor IT, data and analysis functions to implement and upgrade security measures.
Strong IT Skills: Able to understand how data flows in, out and between the organisation, and how to implement protections to make sure security is tip- top.
Training in data: Learn and implement data protection procedures.
Admin
Maintain and develop documentation.
Support others in writing and other digital functions.
Incredibly literate: Can read, write and communicate quickly and effectively on a variety of digital platforms and software (email).
Apply to volunteer
Could you offer your time to Converse and Care for those in need? If so, we want to hear from you.
- Please look through our website before applying.
- You must be 18+ to apply.
- Please make a backup of the information you provide. We all know what online forms are like at times. Do not refresh the page until you have submitted your information.