Befriending Coordinator

Befriending Coordinator

Ref: BCJ24

Primary Focus: Befriending

Contract Type: 1 Year fixed term

Hours: Part time, 2 days (15 hours) per week

Salary/benefits: £12,383 pa inclusive; (FTE £30,956) access to pension scheme

Location/Team: The post holder will be required to work at various locations and within different team settings, in line with business needs.

Reports to: Head of Service - Carers & Community

**PURPOSE of the ROLE**

**Background to Befriending Service**:
The vision for Carers and Communities services is that information, guidance and support on maintaining and improving Wellbeing is available to all.

The Befriending service supports the most isolated people in our community by matching them with befriending volunteers who provide a listening ear and companionship. Many of our befriending clients are housebound and isolated.

You will work with the volunteer administrator to help recruit and support our befriending volunteers and support the individuals they work with helping them to improve their wellbeing and to stay as connected with the community as they can.

The aims of befriending service include, but are not limited to:

- decreasing social isolation and/or loneliness
- flexible and capable of escalation/de-escalation to other forms of support as required (both internally within AUKI and externally)
- increasing quality of life and wellbeing
- safe, consistent and highly reliable, generates optimism among users and practitioners.
- providing a positive and trusting relationship
- personalised, is geared towards prevention and early action
- developing self-confidence, emotional growth, and resilience

**Main purpose of the role**

The Befriending Coordinator will have responsibility for ensuring the following:

- developing service policies and procedures
- keeping up to date with relevant legislation
- promoting the service to potential befriended clients, volunteers and referrers
- building relationships with referral agencies
- contribute to own service area and wider organisation communications and promotion.
- recruitment and selection of volunteer befrienders
- volunteers are supported, well engaged, trained, motivated, and committed and that they deliver a professional service to clients.
- processing referrals and assessing the befriended (often in their own homes)
- matching the befriended with befrienders
- provide supervision, coaching, mentoring and practice development support to befrienders
- providing ongoing support to the befriended and reviewing the progress of matches
- supporting befrienders and the befriended at the end of a relationship
- keeping appropriate records
- gathering monitoring data and evaluating the service provided
- reporting to the management committee, funders, referrers and regulatory bodies
- support the Head of Services to develop, sustain and review referral pathways with internal and external services, practitioners and other service leads.

**Key Task & Responsibilities**
- Provide supervision, coaching, mentoring and practice development support to Befriending volunteers.
- Working closely with service users and referrers in ensuring the process runs smoothly and the work we agree is within the service remit.
- Ensure case notes and other relevant records are entered and updated on the Age UK Database system in line with defined system processes and policies.
- Maintain quality assurance processes as appropriate.
- Contribute to identifying requirements and opportunities for improvements in services effectiveness and efficiencies.
- Monitor and coordinate the day to day operational activities of Befriending service volunteers and ensure practice of the team is monitored and any issues are actioned promptly and efficiently.
- Ensure staff and volunteers are compliant with the AUKI’s Policies and Procedures
- Ensure routine and consistent data is collected on service activities and processes for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
- Produce and provide ad hoc reports, feedback and information to internal management as required.
- Ensure a high reputation amongst users and partner agencies.

**Partnership Working**
- Research and share knowledge across the organisation of community services beneficial to a range of client needs.
- Ensure understanding of key working relationships in own area and maintain effective partnership/joint working arrangements.
- Ensure understanding of and close working relationships with wider voluntary sector services providing ongoing support.

**Key working Relationships**
- Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise services and groups (VCSE)
- Clients or patients
- Locality Leads
- General Practitioners
- Islington Adult Social Care
- District Nurses
- London Ambulance Service and paramedics
- Carers and carer organisations
- Local Wellbeing Networks
- Befriending Networks

**Performance Management**
- Ensure services are delivered to a high standard and in line with organisational and service specific