Befriending Assistant

Befriending is a service aimed at reducing loneliness and isolation amongst people in our community. This is done through volunteer befrienders who regularly visit or phone our members.

The role of a befriending assistant is to coordinate and supervise the matches between volunteer coordinators, volunteer befrienders and service users. The Befriending Assistant also offers support, training and guidance to our volunteers and clients on an ongoing basis.

**Working an average of 36.25 hours per week Monday to Friday for up to a 12-month fixed term contract to cover maternity leave. This post is anticipated to have a start date around mid-July to ensure continuity of services.**

**What you will be doing**:

- Day-to-day coordination of befriending services
- Collaborating with line manager to regularly supervise and review overall effectiveness of befriending services and the suitability of ongoing referrals and “matches”
- Delivering effective recruitment, training and management of volunteer coordinators and volunteers upon induction and throughout the volunteer’s role in befriending
- Maintaining regular contact with volunteer coordinators and provide formal supervision, supporting the volunteers to resolve issues and escalate to line manager where required
- Delivering effective use of Dynamics, the organisations membership database; Better Impact, the organisations volunteer database
- Maintaining, supporting and ensuring that the systems for befriending are regularly updated.

**What you will need**:

- Experience working in a counselling role or with older and/or disabled people.
- Experience leading a team of volunteers.
- Knowledge of the Jewish community.
- Be a warm, dignified, and inclusive communicator.
- Exceptional customer service skills, with the ability to deliver a consistently high-quality customer experience.
- Good IT Skills

Jewish Care is the largest provider of health and social care services for the Jewish community in the UK. Every week, we touch the lives of 10,000 people. We provide services to a range of people including older people, people with mental health needs and people living with dementia.

Our five values are at the heart of the way we work. They drive how we act as individuals and as an organisation and shape our culture. We value Excellence, Integrity, Innovation, Compassion, and Inclusivity.