Volunteer Support Officer - Peer Support

Volunteer Support Officer - Peer Support
Hours: 30 hours - 34.5 hours per week (this post will require some evening and weekend work)
Location: Hybrid working (a mixture of homeworking and a minimum of 40% in the office in Leeds)
Salary: £25,313.82 - £28,490.93 FTE per annum
Contract: Fixed term contract for 12 months with the possibility of extension
DBS: An enhanced DBS check will be required for this role (For more information please read our Policy Statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders or our FAQs)

About us

At Epilepsy Action we are inclusive, supportive, and committed to creating a world without limits for people with epilepsy. As we embark on our new 2024 - 2030 strategy we are excited to welcome you to our passionate, supportive and committed team.

Our Talk and Support Group service provides essential peer support ensuring that no one feels alone with their epilepsy. The service is delivered by volunteers at face to face groups across the country as well as virtually via Zoom. Our Befriending service also provides peer support though regular 1-1 chats via the phone or video call.

Together both services provide a lifeline connecting people together to share experiences and build confidence. We are currently working to expand our group network so we can reach more people across the UK.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to work across both the Groups and Befriending teams supporting volunteers to deliver peer support.

Your main focus will be within the Groups team supporting our existing volunteers and assisting with the projects to expand the service. This will include recruiting training and inducting new virtual group volunteers.

You will also be providing cover for the befriending service when needed to ensure that whichever service someone accesses, they can get the support they need.

At Epilepsy Action we recognise the power of collaboration and teamwork, so our team members with hybrid contracts can expect to work a minimum of 40% at our office in Leeds. On average this is 2 days a week, normally on Mondays and Thursdays, for full-time employees. The expectation to collaborate face-to-face is driven in part by your role and the activities you need to do which may vary from time to time, so you will need to work in a flexible way to help us create a world without limits for people with epilepsy.

Many of our virtual groups and volunteer meet ups run in the evening so there will be regular requirement to open meeting and provide support to volunteers. We expect this to be typically one evening a week.

About you?

Both our volunteers and our service users are scattered across the UK so you need to be a great communicator. You ll also need to be an empathetic and supportive person who wants everyone to be able to access the support they need to live well with epilepsy?

This could be the role for you if you are an enthusiastic individual wanting to be involved at the heart of service delivery and are:

• passionate about supporting volunteers and service users
• a brilliant communicator
• a problem solver with good decision making and organisational skills
• a team player, with the ability to work flexibly.

We are looking for people who have:

• experience of working with volunteers/staff/customers remotely by phone or video call
• experience of service delivery
• excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrable ability to work with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.
• the ability to adapt and thrive in a busy work environment
• a professional work ethic: honest, conscientious, self-motivated, and reliable.

Interested? Click apply and you will be redirected to our recruitment system to complete your application.

Being an Inclusive Organisation

We want everyone in our community regardless of their backgrounds, identities, abilities, or circumstances, to feel valued and respected to participate fully. We know that inclusivity isn t about numbers; it s about embracing diversity and ensuring that everyone's voice is heard, needs are met, and contributions are acknowledged.

We recognise that each person s experiences shape how they think and having diverse representation across the organisation is fundamental to achieving our ambitions.

Despite this we are not as diverse as we would like and we actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Leader, this means we encourage applications from disabled people, and we are committed to interviewing disabled applicants who demonstrate through their application that they meet the essential criteria in the person specification. We want to support you to perform your best so if you require any reasonable adjustments please let us know.

Closing Date: Monday 14th April
Informal chats: Tuesday 29th April 2025
Interviews: Tuesday 6th May 2025
Recruitment process: Panel interview with interview task

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications therefore early applications are advised.