Support Circles Volunteer Facilitator

Volunteer Facilitator Role Description

Title:                        Volunteer Facilitator

Responsible to:         Project Lead

Location:                  Within local community; occasionally at Head Office

Time:                        Around 12 hours per month.  (2 hr session per week plus preparation/ training as needed)

Flexibility:                Some flexibility on time may be possible.

Duration:                  As you will be working with a group of people with additional needs, we ask for a three-month commitment.

We can often make changes to a volunteer role to suit the skills and availability of the volunteer, and can sometimes create new roles to make the most of particular volunteers’ skills. If this role isn’t quite right for you please contact us to discuss.

What are Support Circles?

Support circles are small groups of 6-8 people with additional needs within a local community.  They will come together as peer-support volunteers each week.  They build on their own strengths and work together towards shared goals, developing skills and confidence and enhancing their wellbeing. Goals will vary but may include building friendships, doing more in the community, having fun, using public transport etc.

Each group will be led by our Project Lead, and the volunteer facilitator will support the project lead to support and facilitate the group.

What’s in it for you?

• Apply your skills and knowledge to gain practical experience in a working with a group of people with additional needs.
• Learn about strengths based practice and asset-based approaches.
• Learn about volunteer support and training, approaches to group support and partnership working.
• Bring fresh ideas to influence the volunteering program at Ategi.
• Join a friendly team who are passionate about making a difference for adults with additional needs.
• Get to know new people in your community, and see the world through a different lens.
• Access training around working with people with support needs.

What’s involved?

You will be responsible for working with the Project Lead to facilitate a weekly meeting of a volunteer circle for adults with additional needs.  The Project Lead will lead facilitation of the group.

Each week you will volunteer for around 2 hours to support the group meeting. You will also have some additional volunteering tasks:

• in planning or reflecting on sessions with the project lead,
• monitoring the groups’ WhatsApp group, and if necessary commenting or taking action (such as sending a message to the group, or altering the project lead to a concern).
• Your training or supervision with your volunteer supervisor.

As volunteer facilitator, you will assist the Project Lead and the group to establish their own group name, agreements, priorities and group goals, identify strengths, community assets/resources and develop a group strengths based plan.   

For example, this could include:

• helping to notice and record people’s strengths etc and helping them plan and work towards achieving agreed goals.
• support the group to establish how they wish to communicate with each other between meetings. 
• participating in a WhatsApp group to support group members to engage with each other appropriately between sessions.
• taking pictures and videos to document their experience
• staying with and supporting the group and/or an individual, if one person needs to leave, for example to have some space, and requires some support.
• liaising with the Project Lead around your reflections, concerns, ideas and planning for the group.

Who is the role suitable for?

Someone with:

• Good communication skills and listening skills who enjoys social interaction.
• An interest in social care or community work and inclusion.
• An interest in bringing and sharing ideas, and working as part of a team.
• Good knowledge of your local community resources (café’s, shops, parks etc)
• A positive attitude and belief that everyone has strengths and abilities.
• An interest in co-production, strengths-based practice, and/or person-centred support.

You will not be expected to offer social care support to people – if an individual needs personal care or other specific support to participate, this will be through a paid support worker who will assist their participation.

Training

• General Ategi induction, and IT induction
• Basic on-line training around social care (e.g. Safeguarding, GDPR)
• Training specific to the role and tools used as needed including strengths based planning.

Support

If you have specific support or other needs, please discuss these with the Project Lead so we can do our best to make any adaptations or provide necessary support. Volunteers will receive ongoing support from the Project Lead, including regular one to one meetings. The frequency of these will be determined by the needs of the person, likely to be monthly, or as required. Support will be available through our operations team for any concerns around peer support volunteers, including through our Designated Safeguarding Lead.  If you have any concerns please discuss these with your supervisor or the project lead.

Resources

Volunteers will be provided with the resources they need for the role. This could include access to a computer, telephone or other devices; etc. as required. Your supervisor can explain what you will need for the role.

Expenses

Ategi appreciates the time and contribution of all its volunteers and offers to reimburse volunteers for reasonable out of pocket expenses occurred in connection with the volunteering activity.

This could include travel costs for driving, car parking fees, bus or train fares. It might also include provision for lunch or meals.

Ategi will cover reasonable travel costs from home to the place of volunteering. Taxi fares may not be considered reasonable unless these are approved in advanced.

Mileage is paid at the HRMC rate of 0.45p per mile. We will typically base the claim on the shortest journey distance, but we understand that the shortest journey may not always be the best one.

Where possible, volunteers are encouraged to bring or buy their own food for meal times. However, Ategi may consider reimbursement for meal costs if that is not possible and the volunteer is undertaking a volunteer activity around mealtime or for at least 6 hours.

For more information , or to request an application form, please contact Angharad Rogers  - on 07887 418975 or email us at SupportCircles@ategi.co.uk