Phone Line Support Volunteer

Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance was formed to eliminate hunger using a coordinated approach, with voluntary and community organisations supported by different council departments, statutory & business sector to form a genuine partnership within the city working together.

Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance is about getting to the root causes of people’s needs and recognises that the solution is about more than just food - people have no money to buy food because of a range of wider issues, including, debt, homelessness, benefits, health issues. Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance aims to offer a holistic approach and help people break out of the cycle of food poverty by offering information, advice and guidance. Where appropriate signpost to external agencies who will offer free tailored support.

What you’ll actually be doing

To be the first point of contact for incoming telephone calls and taking referrals from the general public, agencies and organisations and forwarding on to fellow food partners.
Receiving and processing enquiries and requests for food parcels, ensuring that the customer is offered a complete service.
Ensuring consistently high standards of customer care and accuracy of information taken.
Along with answering the telephone, there will be some general administration support duties including word processing, data input, photocopying, shredding and similar duties.
Undertaking any necessary training to keep your knowledge up to date to give customers the correct information.
You will assist in the training of new volunteers by allowing them to buddy up with you and offer guidance within the role.
Feed in to Food 4 Thought decisions and keep up to date with developments by attending regular team meetings and engaging in training.

Time commitment

Time commitment, we are looking for 4 hours a day time slots are as follows Mon – Fri 10am till 1pm or 1pm till 4pm. If you wish to do cover a full day or more than one shift, this can be discussed.
We operate between 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
The volunteering opportunity is ongoing and not time limited.
We will arrange a suitable time for you to come in so we can check that staff are around to support you.

Skills and experience required

Friendly personality and approachable.
Good communication and people skills.
We are looking for someone with good literacy and communication skills and a basic level of IT experience as you will be using a database, using the internet, recording information and sending emails.
Show empathy towards people and their different situations and be non-judgemental.
Good people skills are important – not just for engaging with customers and providing a great service, but also for building good relationships with all staff and volunteers.
The ability to keep, amend and maintain accurate records is an essential part of this role.
You will be meeting a wide range of people from different backgrounds, to ensure that they all receive the same level of service we ask that you comply with our Equal Opportunities policy.
You may having access to personal information from other volunteers and service users, it is important that you recognise and respect the need for confidentiality. We will ask you to comply with our confidentiality and data protection policies.
This role is suitable for people aged 18yrs+
Experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds would be useful but not essential.

Getting support

You will receive a full induction and training to give you the skills to do this role. You will then get a buddy from our team of experienced volunteers to support you in the role and offer guidance.
There will be a member of staff available to provide you with ongoing support while you are in the role. You will also be given regular opportunities to give and receive feedback on a more formal basis. At no point will you be expected to provide a service without the support of a trained member of staff.

We will provide

You with any equipment needed for the role.
Out of pocket expenses for travel will be paid on a reimbursement basis; if this causes difficulties we will make alternative arrangements.

Getting it right

We hope volunteering is a positive experience for you. We’ll review this task description with you after a three-month trial period. There may be some changes we can make together to make the role more suitable. If we can’t do this, or if we think you’re not suited to the role, we’ll discuss this with you and offer other opportunities either within the Food 4 Thought Alliance or signpost you to Community Action to look for alternative roles with other organisations.

Download the role description (78.50 KB)