Noah's Ark Children's Hospice

Living with a child’s diagnosis can place considerable strain on the whole family and in recognition of this the Home Support Volunteer programme was established in 2008 to help families cope with the demands of providing constant care. Home Support Volunteers provide a range of practical and social support to the families of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in the community. 

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Becoming a Home Support Volunteer is a serious commitment but it provides a rewarding opportunity to directly support children with life-limiting/ life threatening conditions and their families.

The needs of individual families will differ, but each Home Support role will be agreed in advance between the family, Noah’s Ark, and the volunteer.

What the role involves: Depending on the member of the family being supported, a Home Support Volunteer role could involve:

Siblings

• Playing together, sharing hobbies or activities
• Helping with homework or reading
• Going on outings to the local community

Noah’s Ark Children

• Playing together, sharing hobbies
• Doing sensory or developmental play activities
• Helping with homework or reading

Parents/Whole Family

• Supporting them with outings in the community
• Helping with light housework chores such as laundry & ironing
• Driving the family to medical appointments
• Gardening & mowing the lawn

Play and Therapies support

• Structured and guided play activities to Noah’s Ark or their siblings.
• A step-down service from the Play/Therapies team to continue providing children with a safe space to continue developing social, communication or play skills.
• Play/therapies volunteers receive ongoing support from their assigned Play/Therapies team member (Music, Drama or Play).

As well as offering regular support for families, we often receive one-off requests for help in the home: from packing boxes for a house move, to decorating for Christmas, cleaning a home for a child to return from hospital or painting a garden fence. Our Home Support Volunteers sign up to support families on an ad hoc basis when needed most.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not have responsibility for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and will not be expected to undertake any personal care or administer medication.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills.
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

Opportunities of the role:

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with children, young people and their families
• Develop communication sensitivity skills with families in challenging circumstances
• Training and support to build new skills
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Informal Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Home Module Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session; preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Home Support Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session, depending on the schedule, this helps to ensure the safety of our service.

Training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

• Setting up the room 
• Greeting and directing families 
• Running activities for family members 
• Assisting with refreshments

Parent Groups

• Assisting with the crèche by playing and reading with babies and toddlers

Siblings’ Groups - These groups are for the brothers and sisters of the children we support. There are three groups, ages 5-9, ages 10-13, and a youth group for siblings aged 14+.

• Escorting siblings in taxis or on public transport
• Supporting and befriending siblings throughout the activities
• Assisting and encouraging siblings to take part in the activities

Noah’s Ark Children’s Groups - These groups are for the children referred to us with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and are divided based on the children and young people’s ages and conditions. 

• Working 1:1 with a child, alongside our team of Specialist Carers and Nurses, to support them engaging in activities 

• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills. 
• Ability to work well with others
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers

• An opportunity to make a difference and support families within your local community 
• Training and support to build new skills
• Gain experience of supporting families, children and young people directly 
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate 

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Informal Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Family Activities Training (2.5 hours): A weekday evening session; preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Family Activities Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session, depending on the schedule, essential for ensuring the safety of our service.

Living with a child’s diagnosis can place considerable strain on the whole family and in recognition of this the Home Support Volunteer programme was established in 2008 to help families cope with the demands of providing constant care. Home Support Volunteers provide a range of practical and social support to the families of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in the community. 

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Becoming a Home Support Volunteer is a serious commitment but it provides a rewarding opportunity to directly support children with life-limiting/ life threatening conditions and their families.

The needs of individual families will differ, but each Home Support role will be agreed in advance between the family, Noah’s Ark, and the volunteer.

As well as offering regular support for families, we often receive one-off requests for help in the home: from packing boxes for a house move, to decorating for Christmas, cleaning a home for a child to return from hospital or painting a garden fence. Our Home Support Volunteers sign up to support families on an ad hoc basis when needed most.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not have responsibility for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and will not be expected to undertake any personal care or administer medication.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills.
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

Opportunities of the role:

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with children, young people and their families
• Develop communication sensitivity skills with families in challenging circumstances
• Training and support to build new skills
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Informal Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Home Module Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session; preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Home Support Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session, depending on the schedule, this helps to ensure the safety of our service.

Training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

Living with a child’s diagnosis can place considerable strain on the whole family, and coping with the constant demands of care often means parents/carers’ needs get dropped to the bottom of their list.  A good hair cut can raise someone’s self-esteem and could be hugely impactful on their wellbeing.

We're looking for qualified hairdressers to provide ad-hoc hairdressing appointments for Noah's Ark family members in the community. Key activities would include washing, cutting and styling hair.

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

We are looking for volunteers with a range of hairdressing experiences and backgrounds Including; working with a variety of hair types, male & female clients and children.

Becoming a Home Support Volunteer is a serious commitment but it provides a rewarding opportunity to directly support children with life-limiting/ life threatening conditions and their families.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• A minimum Level 2 NVQ in Hairdressing* and 3 years hairdressing experience
• Must have public liability insurance*
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills; an active listener, empathetic and mindful of boundaries
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness
• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills.

*PLEASE NOTE: evidence of qualifications and insurance will be asked for at the interview stage.

Opportunities of the role:

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with children, young people and their families
• Training and support to build new skills
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate

PLEASE NOTE: You will not have responsibility for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and will not be expected to undertake any personal care or administer medication.

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity. They are held monthly on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.
• Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Training: Training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. Held on Saturday or Sunday (full day session).
• Home Module Training: One weekday evening, preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Home Support Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module (3hrs)
• Safeguarding Training : One weekday evening, depending on the schedule, essential for ensuring the safety of our service (3hrs).
• On the job training as appropriate

Training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

To provide safe and reliable transport for families, under the guidance and support of the Home Support Volunteer Manager.

Responding to one-off requests to and from medical appointments, health and social care appointments and local community groups as required.

Supporting the Family Activities Team with transport to and from Noah’s Ark events in the community and in The Ark.

If you love driving and want to use your skills for a great cause, this is the role for you!

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Friendly and outgoing with a good sense of humour
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness
• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity. They are held monthly on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.
• Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Training (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): Held on weekday evening, depending on the schedule, essential for ensuring the safety of our service.

PLEASE NOTE: Proof of some driving documents (e.g. MOT, insurance etc.) have to be renewed every year.

Additional training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

Helping maintain the landscaped gardens and grounds at the hospice supporting with general gardening tasks such as: lawn-mowing, planting, weeding, watering, cutting back, potting, cuttings etc.

If you enjoy gardening, as well as doing something for your local community, this might be the role for you!

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Have a passion for gardening, expertise and knowledge in this area is desirable but not essential
• A friendly personality and willingness to ‘muck-in’ with the team are essential along with the ability to be adaptable in order to respond to the very varying needs of the children and Hospice visitors.
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills.

Opportunities of the role:

• Working as part of a team
• Experience of maintaining gardens which have specific layouts and purposes
• Training and support to build new skills
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity. They are held monthly on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.
• Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Training (3 hours): Training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. Held on different days, some daytimes and some evenings.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): 1 weekday / weekend morning or 1 evening, depending on the schedule, essential for ensuring the safety of our service.
• On the job training as appropriate

With the support of our Home Support Volunteer Manager, you will respond to one-off requests from families for support with general gardening tasks (lawn-mowing, planting, weeding, cutting back, potting, cuttings etc.).

If you enjoy gardening, as well doing something for and with your local community, this might be the role for you!

Qualities/ Experience /Skills needed:

• Have a passion for gardening, expertise and knowledge in this area is desirable but not essential
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

Opportunities of the role:

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with children, young people and their families
• Training and support to build new skills

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Informal Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Home Module Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session; preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Home Support Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session, depending on the schedule, this helps to ensure the safety of our service.

Training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

Have you got an eye for detail and skills in photography? Do you have a good knowledge of eBay and online selling? If so, our eBay Assistant role may be for you. We’re looking for a creative and versatile volunteer who can commit to one of two afternoons a week to help us run our Noah’s Ark eBay shop.

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Main activities/tasks:

• Select suitable items for sale; checking quality, condition and functionality of donated goods
• Researching the value of donated items
• Capturing good quality photos of items
• Listing items for sale on eBay etc.
• Picking and packing sold items
• Answering buyer questions via email or telephone; ensuring all orders are confirmed and customers communicated with effectively

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Basic computer, internet and photography skills
• Experience with selling on eBay or other marketplaces (Vinted, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace) is desirable but not essential
• Willing, friendly and able to work as part of a team
• Good communication and interpersonal skills

Opportunities of the role:

• Experience and developing skills in eCommerce and customer service
• Reward and fulfilment from raising money for the Hospice (all services we provide to our patients and their families are free of charge)
• Become part of a friendly and dedicated volunteer team
• Reimbursement of travel expenses

Interviews, training and assessment process:

At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity.
• Interview: An informal interview giving us the opportunity to get to know you and if this role is a good match to your skills, - this will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time. 
• Safeguarding Module Training: one weekday / weekend morning or one evening, depending on the schedule, essential for ensuring the safety of our service. 3 hours
• On the job training as appropriate

Living with a child’s diagnosis can place considerable strain on the whole family and in recognition of this the Home Support Volunteer programme was established in 2008 to help families cope with the demands of providing constant care. Home Support Volunteers provide a range of practical and social support to the families of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in the community. 

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Application. 2 references are also required.

Becoming a Home Support Volunteer is a serious commitment but it provides a rewarding opportunity to directly support children with life-limiting/ life threatening conditions and their families.

The needs of individual families will differ, but each Home Support role will be agreed in advance between the family, Noah’s Ark, and the volunteer.

What the role involves: Depending on the member of the family being supported, a Home Support Volunteer role could involve:

Siblings

• Playing together, sharing hobbies or activities
• Helping with homework or reading
• Going on outings to the local community

Noah’s Ark Children

• Playing together, sharing hobbies
• Doing sensory or developmental play activities
• Helping with homework or reading

Parents/Whole Family

• Supporting them with outings in the community
• Helping with light housework chores such as laundry & ironing
• Driving the family to medical appointments
• Gardening & mowing the lawn

Play and Therapies support

• Structured and guided play activities to Noah’s Ark or their siblings.
• A step-down service from the Play/Therapies team to continue providing children with a safe space to continue developing social, communication or play skills.
• Play/therapies volunteers receive ongoing support from their assigned Play/Therapies team member (Music, Drama or Play).

As well as offering regular support for families, we often receive one-off requests for help in the home: from packing boxes for a house move, to decorating for Christmas, cleaning a home for a child to return from hospital or painting a garden fence. Our Home Support Volunteers sign up to support families on an ad hoc basis when needed most.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not have responsibility for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and will not be expected to undertake any personal care or administer medication.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills.
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• A good understanding of the role and of Noah’s Ark’s expectations of volunteers
• Good communication skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

Opportunities of the role:

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with children, young people and their families
• Develop communication sensitivity skills with families in challenging circumstances
• Training and support to build new skills
• You are entitled to claim travelling expenses at the current mileage rate

Interviews, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Informal Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Held on a Saturday or a Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
• Home Module Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session; preparing volunteers for the specific requirements of the Home Support Volunteer role. This training takes place immediately after the Core Module.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): A weekday evening or weekend morning session, depending on the schedule, this helps to ensure the safety of our service.

Training programmes are run at regular intervals throughout the year.

We are looking to develop a small team of volunteer photographers to attend various events, in order to provide us with images which can then be used to raise awareness of the work we do and the support we provide.

 The photography team will also allow us to capture precious memories of the babies, children and young people that we support – something that their families will cherish forever. 
Dependent on the event, the volunteer photographer will work in association with the Marketing and Communications, Fundraising and the Care teams. The events include our quarterly family days and monthly parent groups, as well as fundraising events such as golf days and gala dinners. 
This role will allow you to develop your experience, skills and photography portfolio whilst making a real difference to the lives of babies, children and young people who are seriously unwell. 
The photographs will become part of our image library. Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice will own the copyright of the photos.
Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and two references.

Main activities/tasks:

• Take photographs at various events as arranged with Noah’s Ark
• Edit the images as necessary, send the photographs back to Noah’s Ark within 48 hours via wetransfer and deleting the photographs from own devices

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Provide an up to date portfolio of your work
• Own your own digital DSLR camera
• •    Be able to take good quality, high resolution photographs
  •    Be able to interact with a wide variety of people
  •    Have experience of photographing people/events
  •    Have experience of editing digital images
  •    Maintain sensitivity, confidentiality and discretion at all times
  •    Be able to work as part of a team and independently
  •    Maintain a professional approach 
  •    Have good communication skills and be sensitive to the situation and feelings of other people

Interviews, training and assessment process:
At Noah’s Ark, we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, that you are given the correct training for the role and that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:
•    Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity. They are held monthly on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.
•    Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
•    Core Training (full day): Saturday or Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control. 
•    Safeguarding Training (3 hours): 1 weekday evening - essential for ensuring the safety of our service.
•    Brand training (2 hours) 

We are looking to develop a small team of volunteer videographers to attend various events, in order to provide us with video footage which can then be used to raise awareness of the work we do and the support we provide.

Noah’s Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS and two references.

The videography team will also allow us to capture precious memories of the babies, children and young people that we support – something that their families will cherish forever.
The volunteer videographer will work in association with the Marketing and Communications, Fundraising and the Care teams. The events include our quarterly family days and monthly parent groups, as well as fundraising events such as golf days and gala dinners. 
This role will allow you to develop your experience, skills and portfolio whilst making a real difference to the lives of babies, children and young people who are seriously unwell. 
The footage will become part of our media library. Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice will own the copyright of the videos.

Main activities/tasks:
•    Capture footage at various events as arranged with Noah’s Ark
•    Edit the footage if necessary, sending back to Noah’s Ark within 48 hours via wetransfer and deleting the footage from own devices

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Provide examples of recent work
• Own your own camera
• Be able to take good quality, high resolution footage
• Be able to interact with a wide variety of people
• Have experience of capturing people/events on video
• Have experience of editing footage
• Maintain sensitivity, confidentiality and discretion at all times
• Be able to work as part of a team and independently
• Maintain a professional approach
• Have good communication skills and be sensitive to the situation and feelings of other people

Interviews, training and assessment process:

At Noah’s Ark, we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone.  The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, that you are given the correct training for the role and that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.  The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to support Noah’s Ark in any capacity. They are held monthly on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings.
• Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Training (full day): Saturday or Sunday, training topics include Confidentiality and Boundaries, giving excellent customer service, grief loss and bereavement and infection control.
• Safeguarding Training (3 hours): 1 weekday evening - essential for ensuring the safety of our service.
• Brand training (2 hours)

Noah’s Ark offers post-bereavement support to families for up to three years following the death of their child. Post-bereavement support can be practical, emotional, or may simply involve us being there to listen. In more complicated situations we will offer guidance or refer on when this is appropriate. 

There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and our team are here to support families whatever they are feeling. Our approach to bereavement support follows the same principles as all of our services. We are always committed to treating those we support as individuals and focus on providing holistic care to families. 

Noah's Ark takes their responsibility for safeguarding the wellbeing of children seriously. This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service application. Two references are also required.

What the role involves:

Depending on the member of the family being supported, a Bereavement Home Support Volunteer role could involve:

• Playing together, sharing hobbies or activities
• Helping with homework or reading
• Going on outings in the local community

Parents/whole family

• Helping with light housework chores such as laundry & ironing, supporting with meal prep
• Gardening e.g. weeding, mowing the lawn 
• Collecting shopping 

*Please note that this is a varied role and, while some of our families may want regular visits, some may just want a one-off visit to help with a particular task in the home or community.

Qualities/ experience/ skills needed:

• Non-judgemental, compassionate and empathetic
• Experience of working with children, young people or families is desirable but not essential. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds with all sorts of skills
• Understanding of grief and bereavement
• Ability to work well with others and able to follow instructions and be part of a team
• Understanding of confidentiality
• Strong active listening skills
• Reliability, commitment and engagement
• Initiative and problem-solving skills
• A good level of self-awareness

Opportunities of the role: 

• Gain rewarding experience of working directly with bereaved Noah’s Ark families
• Develop communication sensitivity skills
• Access to development opportunities and training
• Reimbursement of travel expenses
• Group peer supervision sessions and regular ongoing support from Noah’s Ark

Interview, training and assessment process: At Noah’s Ark we value volunteer support, but we are also aware that not all roles are suitable for everyone. The interview and training process is in place to ensure that the Noah’s Ark staff get to know more about you, to ensure that you are given the correct training for the role and so that you can find out if this is a role you would like to undertake.
The training process is as follows:

• Volunteer Information Session: All potential volunteers have to attend one of these sessions before they are able to get involved in any capacity.
• Interview: This will take place at the Noah’s Ark Office at a mutually agreeable time.
• Core Module (full day): Any volunteers wanting to work directly with Noah’s Ark families are required to attend a full day covering topics such as: infection prevention, boundaries, confidentiality, and more. 
•  Home Module Training (3 hours): A weekday evening led by the Home Support team 
• Post-bereavement training (3 hours) an evening session led by the Bereavement Coordinator to prepare volunteers for the specific requirements of the Bereavement Home Support Volunteer role. 
•  Safeguarding Training 1 morning or 1 evening, depending on the schedule, this helps to ensure the safety of our service.