Outreach & Volunteer Officer

1-year rolling contract

Salary 24,000 + monthly travel card About South London Cares (and North London Cares) South London Cares and its sister charity North London Cares are community networks mobilising young professionals to volunteer to hang out with and help their older neighbours with a little extra time, practical support, social connection and human companionship. Our objective is to tackle the growing plight of isolation and loneliness not just amongst older people but also amongst young Londoners; to help improve the confidence, resilience, skills and connection of all participants so that older and younger neighbours alike can better navigate a rapidly changing modern world; and to bring people together across long-standing social, generational and digital divides. We do this because London is a place of social extremes. The boroughs in which we work Southwark and Lambeth (and Camden and Islington through North London Cares) contain some of the best connected people in Britain high flying graduates working in law, PR, media, finance, etc as well as some of the most isolated, with particular challenges to do with deprivation, depression, loneliness, anxiety and ageing. The Cares model seeks to harness the assets of the local economy and community and mobilise a new generation of volunteers to connect with our older neighbours in a variety of engaging, empowering and involving ways. We speak the language of young professionals and all our participants and seek to make local interaction mutually accessible, fun, sociable and rewarding. On the ground, we achieve this through exciting projects that people can relate to and enjoy. We work with local authorities, voluntary and community groups, businesses and individuals to identify isolation where it occurs and to deliver enthusiastic volunteers to share time with older people who may not have social networks of their own, and who love and look forward to new experiences. We work through three core projects. Our Social Clubs bring people together through group activities to share time, laughs and cultural exchange such as through film and storytelling nights, new tech workshops, dinner parties, games sessions, business visits and themed get-togethers.

Meanwhile, our Love Your Neighbour project matches young professionals and older neighbours to spend time together one-to-one, often in people's homes and community locations, to improve the life experiences of both parties. Our annual Winter Wellbeing project identifies isolation in our communities, and supports older neighbours to stay warm, active, healthy and connected through the toughest time of the year. About the role Working in part from our shared office space in the heart of Brixton, in part from home, and in part in cafes and in situ with various community and business partners, the ideal candidate will have experience speaking to a wide variety of groups across the public, private and community sectors, and of managing and mobilising volunteers. We need someone who understands the demographics and social challenges of Southwark and Lambeth and in particular who is passionate about and can articulate our vision for building close community networks in order to tackle isolation in those boroughs. We are looking for someone who can relate to people from all backgrounds, someone equally comfortable discussing Coronation Street with a 93-year-old on an estate in Peckham as they are presenting to Clinical Commissioning Groups and supporting young professionals to be involved. About you The ideal candidate will have a track record of supporting creative community projects, a great manner with people, and experience at dealing with multiple tasks and challenges at the same time. You will be professional with an organised approach, a clear, authentic communication style and an intrinsic understanding of the power of networks and digital media. The stand out candidate will also have knowledge and a passion for the unique communities and culture of Southwark and Lambeth. We need a real people-person: someone who can build trust, and work as confidently with older people sometimes in very tough circumstances as you can with high-flying professional peers. And we need a self-starter: someone committed, tough, and focused working alone as well as in teams; who is passionate about further developing, improving and sustaining South London Cares over the coming months and years. In return, you will be trusted to work dynamically and independently across this exciting young charity, with a growing profile and backing from major local and national supporters. You will also be provided with the

development opportunities, professional support and networks to play a lasting, transformative role in the development of the Cares vision and family. Logistics For more information or to apply please send a CV and covering letter to alex.smith@southlondoncares.org.uk, showing us why you feel you are right for this role.

Applications should be received no later than 5pm on Friday April 17th 2015.

First round interviews will take place from Monday April 20th, with

callbacks for second interviews from April 22nd and a start as soon as possible thereafter.

A summary of key responsibilities and skills required is below. Please read the full job specification (at the bottom of the page) for further information. Key responsibilities Working with South London Cares' core team consisting of Programme Coordinator, Projects Officer, Income Development Coordinator and Chief Executive, you will:

Be responsible for the charity's outreach, supporting older neighbours and young professional volunteers to be involved in our core activities;

Design and deliver inclusive promotional materials, including monthly programmes, blast emails, diaries, posters and digital media content;

Research and manage relationships with new and existing partners,

including other local community groups, universities, health professionals, businesses, and individual supporters of our work;

Onboard, manage and mobilise volunteers, providing the best

possible experience for some of our key participants;

Administer our customer relationship management and data tools to ensure our records are kept up to date and relevant;

Support the day-to-day delivery of our core activities by hosting Social

Clubs and supporting our one-to-one Love Your Neighbour project;

Support the delivery of our regular volunteer Inductions and Socials, to make our network as inclusive and welcoming as possible.

Specific responsibilities This is a varied and dynamic role, which will develop as South London Cares grows. We are therefore looking for an all-rounder, a task-driven people-person who will support the many functions of the charity. Specifically, you will:

Work closely with our Programme Coordinator and Projects Officer to support the delivery of our core activities;

Communicate on a daily basis with volunteers, by email, telephone, text and other social media, to inspire, enable and organise people to participate in the South London Cares network;

Implement our volunteer onboarding process, applying your

personality to welcome new participants, record important information about them, and describe activities and inspire people to get involved;

Deliver several Social Clubs per month, including during evenings and

weekends;

Support the delivery of our Love Your Neighbour project by working with our Programme Coordinator to make, manage and review suitable matches of volunteers and older neighbours;

Administer our comprehensive and vital records which detail the

number of interactions, relationships and group activities South London Cares creates;

Create our monthly programmes and prepare mail merge distribution

lists to ensure our older neighbours are aware of the various activities available to them;

Work with partners across the public, private and community sectors

receiving referrals from local authorities, health professionals and other sources, communicating with our internal team, and delivering outcomes for neighbours and volunteers;

Research and communicate with possible new partners who may

support South London Cares to expand our geographical reach and to support more older neighbours over the coming year and beyond;

Lead the frontline delivery of our innovative Winter Wellbeing project

which helps local older people stay warm, active, connected and healthy during the isolating winter months;

Create colourful, powerful communications digital content including

blogs, YouTube videos, Instagram images, diary pages, Facebook and

Twitter posts, case studies and blast emails; plus content such as posters, press releases, newsletters, programmes and flyers to facilitate the delivery of our core activities;

Present on South London Cares purpose and core activities to

existing and potential partners in the community including health professionals, community stakeholders and more;

Desirable skills

You are charismatic, fun, warm, approachable, self-starting, confident, outgoing, creative, sensitive, determined, ambitious, flexible, resilient, discreet, organised and professional;

You have experience working in a small or medium sized organisation and are comfortable working alone as well as in a team;

Youre an authentic, high-quality communicator and storyteller with

the ability to build relationships with diverse groups effectively and appropriately, from students and young professionals, to older neighbours, to key local and national partners (through written as well as verbal communication);

You have a good understanding of the culture and socio-economic

challenges facing south London and can relate to and build relationships with people from all backgrounds.

Required

You have high quality written skills, and are confident creating important materials to promote the work of South London Cares externally;

You have the flexibility to work regular evenings and weekends in order to support the delivery of our core activities, with time off provided in lieu;

You are able to obtain a clear CRB/DBS certification (provided);

You are professionally agile, and able to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of a family of small but growing charities.