Volunteering Opportunity: Remote Volunteer Family Support Worker – Live Chat with Family Lives

Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reach crisis point.

We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference. Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling.


Organisational values:


Mission: We build better family lives together.


Vision: Families should have access to active support and understanding.


Values: Trustworthy, Compassionate and Collaborative

Opportunity Type: Long-term Commitment

District: Bedford, Broxbourne, Central Bedfordshire, Dacorum, East Herts, Epping Forest, Harlow, Hertsmere, Luton, Milton Keynes, North Herts, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Uttlesford, Watford, Welwyn/Hatfield

Start Date: 04/11/2024
End Date: 31/07/2027

Location: From home

Time of day: Weekday Mornings, Weekday Afternoons, Weekday Evenings

Practical Considerations: Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reach crisis point.
Remote Family Support Volunteer – Live Chat


We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference. Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling.


Organisational values:

Mission: We build better family lives together.

Vision: Families should have access to active support and understanding.

Values: Trustworthy, Compassionate and Collaborative


Purpose of the role: To be part of a flexible team providing empathic, caring and informed support to families, carers and others who use our services.

Live chat: is a free confidential service that is accessed via our website. Service users are offered emotional support, information and advice and guidance on a broad range of family issues.

Supervised by: The Shift Supervisor

Activities: The volunteer will be fully supervised, supported and trained to provide the following activities:


· Provide emotional support to family members via our live chat service

· Use the Family Lives support model and tools to provide an empathic responses

· Ensure that all service users receive a high quality experience

· Sign post users to other agencies for information and additional support

· Complete conversation data records

· Alert the shift supervisor to any difficult situations



General: Volunteers should be willing to:

· Attend the relevant volunteer training

· Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the other policies and procedures of the organisation

· Participate in regular support, supervision meetings and learning sessions as agreed



For home based volunteers only:

· Volunteers will need a Laptop/PC, plug in headset with microphone, fast broadband and a private place to work from home

· Volunteers need to be IT/PC literate and confident troubleshooting should they have technical difficulties



Time: We would be looking for volunteers to commit to one four-hour shift per week, plus attending training and supervision.



Location: working remotely from home

You need to be a UK resident.

Supervision and Support:

· Supervision during shifts

· Debrief after every shift

· 1 to 1 supervision every 6 months

· Staff available outside of shift within office hours

· Annual review



The Benefits of Volunteering:

· Satisfaction in making a real and lasting difference to families who are struggling

· An opportunity to develop experience for CV and references. Family Lives is committed to helping volunteers develop their own learning and development, gaining new skills, knowledge or work experience

· Being part of a team of Family Lives volunteers and staff

· Personal development

· Opportunities to meet and interact with a wide range of people

· Out of pocket expenses reimbursed to a maximum of £10 per session if working from a centre

· Flexible hours



Volunteer Person Specification. We are looking for individuals who:

· Have experience of parenting/being in a parenting role or demonstrable experience of working with parents or children e.g. in their work, previous volunteering or a previous role

· Have an ability to respond empathically to emotional content

· Good written and verbal communication

· Have good keyboard skills and IT skills, with a minimum of 50 wpm

· Can demonstrate a willingness to question their own attitudes e.g. toward different forms of parenting

· Have a fluent, descriptive and expressive use of English

· Can remain open minded and non-judgemental

· Willing to commit to work within Family Lives’ policies, in particular our Confidentiality Policy and Risk of Harm Procedures

· Willing to commit to attending regular supervision and support sessions

· Willing to work as part of a team

· Willing to commit to a mutually agreed period or ideally a 12 months commitment to the organisation.



Typing Task Prior to Application for Live Chat

Prior to you submitting your application for a Live Chat Volunteer, we will require you to do a speed test, we ask for a minimum speed of 50 words per minute.

Please take a screen shot and send it across with your application

You can have up to 3 attempts and decide which result you would like to forward as part of your application

Typing task

Go to the website typingtest

You are required to take the one minute typing test recording all of the results (speed, number of errors and adjusted speed).



We have remote voluntary call taker training groups taking place on:

Remote Call Taker Training Dates:

September training dates:
Module 1 – Monday 23rd September
Module 2 – Wednesday 25th September
Module 3 – Monday 30th September
Module 4 – Wednesday 2nd October
Module 5 – Monday 7th October

10am to 2pm

September Saturday training dates:

Module 1 – Saturday 28th September
Module 2 – Saturday 12th October
Module 3 – Saturday 19th October
Module 4 – Saturday 26th October
Module 5 – Saturday 2nd November

10am to 2pm

Requirements: Will require a criminal record check (DBS)

Suitable for: 18 – 25 year olds, Aged 26 and over, University students, Older People

Suitable for volunteers interested in: Children, Families & Family Support

Does this opportunity provide wheelchair access?: No

Full Description:
Live chat: is a free confidential service that is accessed via our website. Service users are offered emotional support, information and advice and guidance on a broad range of family issues.





Supervised by: The Shift Supervisor



Activities: The volunteer will be fully supervised, supported and trained to provide the following activities:



· Provide emotional support to family members via our live chat service

· Use the Family Lives support model and tools to provide an empathic responses

· Ensure that all service users receive a high quality experience

· Sign post users to other agencies for information and additional support

· Complete conversation data records

· Alert the shift supervisor to any difficult situations



General: Volunteers should be willing to:

· Attend the relevant volunteer training

· Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the other policies and procedures of the organisation

· Participate in regular support, supervision meetings and learning sessions as agreed



For home based volunteers only:

· Volunteers will need a Laptop/PC, plug in headset with microphone, fast broadband and a private place to work from home

· Volunteers need to be IT/PC literate and confident troubleshooting should they have technical difficulties



Time: We would be looking for volunteers to commit to one four-hour shift per week, plus attending training and supervision.



Location: working remotely from home

You need to be a UK resident.

Supervision and Support:

· Supervision during shifts

· Debrief after every shift

· 1 to 1 supervision every 6 months

· Staff available outside of shift within office hours

· Annual review



The Benefits of Volunteering:

· Satisfaction in making a real and lasting difference to families who are struggling

· An opportunity to develop experience for CV and references. Family Lives is committed to helping volunteers develop their own learning and development, gaining new skills, knowledge or work experience

· Being part of a team of Family Lives volunteers and staff

· Personal development

· Opportunities to meet and interact with a wide range of people

· Out of pocket expenses reimbursed to a maximum of £10 per session if working from a centre

· Flexible hours



Volunteer Person Specification. We are looking for individuals who:

· Have experience of parenting/being in a parenting role or demonstrable experience of working with parents or children e.g. in their work, previous volunteering or a previous role

· Have an ability to respond empathically to emotional content

· Good written and verbal communication

· Have good keyboard skills and IT skills, with a minimum of 50 wpm

· Can demonstrate a willingness to question their own attitudes e.g. toward different forms of parenting

· Have a fluent, descriptive and expressive use of English

· Can remain open minded and non-judgemental

· Willing to commit to work within Family Lives’ policies, in particular our Confidentiality Policy and Risk of Harm Procedures

· Willing to commit to attending regular supervision and support sessions

· Willing to work as part of a team

· Willing to commit to a mutually agreed period or ideally a 12 months commitment to the organisation.



Typing Task Prior to Application for Live Chat

Prior to you submitting your application for a Live Chat Volunteer, we will require you to do a speed test, we ask for a minimum speed of 50 words per minute.

Please take a screen shot and send it across with your application

You can have up to 3 attempts and decide which result you would like to forward as part of your application

Typing task

Go to the website typingtest

You are required to take the one minute typing test recording all of the results (speed, number of errors and adjusted speed).



We have remote voluntary call taker training groups taking place on:

Remote Call Taker Training Dates:

November training dates:

Module 1 – Monday 4th November
Module 2 – Wednesday 6th November
Module 3 – Monday 11th November
Module 4 – Wednesday 13th November
Module 5 – Monday 18th November

10am to 2pm