Volunteer Caseworker

This role covers Sunderland and surrounding areas.

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear form you.

**What is a caseworker?**

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

**Why do we need you?**

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

**When would you be needed and where would you be based?**

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

**What would you be doing?**
- Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
- Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
- Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
- Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
- Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
- Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
- Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
- Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
- Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
- Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.

**What can you gain from this volunteering role?**
- Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
- Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
- Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
- Better physical and mental health - studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression

**What training and support would you receive?**
- Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role - confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
- Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
- Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
- Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact**.**:

- Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
- Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
- Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
- Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

**What are we looking for?**
- Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
- Good communication skills both written and verbally.
- Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
- Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to fr