Who are we?

Switchboard LGBTQIA+ exists to provide members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as their friends, family and those supporting them, with a listening service that they can contact via phone, instant message and email between the hours of 10am to 10pm every day.

We are happy to talk to service users about any topic they wish. Topics we often talk to service users about include: sexual health, safer sex, relationships, coming-out, gender identity, transitioning, mental health, experiences of hate crimes, support for meeting other LGBTQIA+ people and making friends, and much more.

Our service is staffed by listening volunteers and aims to provide non-judgemental and non-directive support to those contacting us.

What is the role?

When communicating with service users, our listening volunteers may realise that certain references suggest a safeguarding concern is at play. We have a duty and responsibility to keep service users safe wherever possible. As such, we are on the lookout for volunteers to join us as Safeguarding Volunteers, managing cases raised by our listening volunteers, ascertaining the facts to determine whether we have enough information to make a safeguarding referral or not.

Safeguarding volunteers will be expected to check emails regularly between the hours of 10am and 10pm, 1 day per week. We understand you have lives outside of Switchboard so we don’t expect you to be “on-call” for the entire day - just available to regularly check in and see if any cases have been raised. Safeguarding volunteers will respond to emails and the cases they log on our safeguarding system, following up as needed to find out more information and complete a safeguarding assessment.

We have an existing team of volunteers who support us this way and you’ll be joining them, helping to improve our coverage.

It’s important to note that while on some days there will be quite a few cases to respond to, other days will be quite quiet.

As a Switchboard volunteer, there are lots of social events and groups you can join and get involved in. It’s a great way to feel part of a community and meet new people.

Training for Safeguarding Volunteers

We provide a comprehensive onboarding for new volunteers. This provides an overview of the service we deliver, the tools we use to report and manage safeguarding cases, insights into the most frequent cases reported to us and much more. We also use a range of communication tools to stay in touch, ensuring everyone is able to communicate and collaborate effectively.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for volunteers who:

• Have good working knowledge of safeguarding legislation and best practice, ideally with day-to-day involvement in managing safeguarding referrals and cases

• Ideally 1 or more year’s experience working in safeguarding

• Have experience making safeguarding referrals to statutory agencies and bodies

• Are trained to level 2 safeguarding standards as a minimum, ideally to a level 3 standard where possible

• Are able to discuss confidential information and topics sensitively

• Have strong communication skills

• Have a strong attention to detail

• Can commit to volunteering with us for a minimum of 1 year

Background checks:

Please note that as part of our safer recruitment process, we require all volunteers to complete a basic DBS check, as well as an address and identity check. Switchboard will cover the costs associated with these checks.

We also require you to provide the details of one character referee as part of your application (this cannot be a family member or partner). All background checks must be completed by the time your initial onboarding/training has finished.

There is a sensitive application route available for trans applicants and we will work with you to ensure this process is as smooth as possible. Please let us know if this route is something you’d like to explore.

For older members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have spent convictions on their records which are the result of outdated and discriminatory laws, we will work with you to have these removed from your records.

What are the next steps?

If you’d like to join us as a Safeguarding Volunteer, we would love to hear from you!!

The steps to apply for this voluntary role are:

1. Click ‘Apply now’ and answer the questions outlined in the application form to the best of your ability (please write a minimum of 100 words per answer - these answers are assessed and determine whether you move to the next stage so please provide as much detail as possible!), and complete the demographic survey (we cannot progress your application without this)

2. Attend a 1:1 interview with a member of our team

3. Sign up to one of our onboarding courses and book your spot on our rota!

If you have any questions regarding this role, please email volunteering@switchboard.lgbt