Welcome to our volunteering pages.
We believe Compass offers volunteers an experience which will be truly rewarding. You’ll work with paid staff to help children and young people whatever your role – in a charity that is truly friendly and caring.
Together, we can make a difference.
Our Compass volunteering is all about working together, valuing each other and finding solutions to benefit the communities we work for.
We do not replace paid staff with volunteers – we understand the added value a volunteer brings to our organisation.
Which of our volunteering roles suits you?
We have three roles…
Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) Volunteer
Helping to develop and maintain CYPF health and wellbeing – You can help promote our messaging, including creating resources and helping staff with group work and individual work. Interested? Click here to learn more
Administrative Support
Providing professional administrative support services to different teams to enable the efficient and effective delivery of the business. Interested? Click here to learn more.
Volunteer Peer Advisor
Pitching in with your experience, ideas and wisdom to help us refine what we do support the needs of children and young people. Interested? Click here to learn more
We live by our values and everything we do with our volunteers will reflect our values.
Our Compass Values
Integrity
Treating others with decency, fairness and being honest in all that we do.
Valuing each other
Respecting the needs, skills, diversity and views of each person, irrespective of status.
Being solution focused
Responding flexibly and adapting quickly to current and emerging needs.
Consistent and reliable
Always delivering on our commitments.
Why volunteer at Compass
Volunteering with Compass is a great way to use your existing skills or gain new skills. You’ll be accepted as pat of our compass family. We hope you’ll learn new skills, enjoy working as part of a team. Our organisation is all about promoting and fostering good mental health and wellbeing.
All our work is for children and young people’s wellbeing so you’ll know that whatever you’re supporting with at Compass, you’ll be making a difference.
You’ll meet new people, gain in confidence and it can also be a really great addition to your CV.
Who can volunteer at Compass?
Anyone can volunteer. Just keep checking our vacancies page for opportunities.
How much time do I have to give?
Time commitment is flexible – depending on the role, volunteering can be remote or in person with a local team.
Will I be interviewed?
It’s more of a chat. We want to make it work for you as well as for us, so we need to find out about your own goals and how much time you can give. And we’ll tell you more about the kind of work you may be able to help us with.
What will I get out of it?
The benefits of volunteering with us include a feeling that you are helping and making a difference to the wellbeing of children, young people and families. You will develop greater understanding of work with children, young people and families, learn transferrable skills, gain experience for your CV and work related reference, support your local community, meet new people, increase self-confidence, and perhaps improve your own health and wellbeing.
Will my expenses be paid?
Yes. Out of pocket expenses are agreed in advance.
Will volunteering affect my benefits?
No. Volunteering with us does not affect benefits.
Do I have to go through an induction process?
As a volunteer, you will get an induction to help you settle into the role. This will cover our ethos and how we really do work to our values, as well as practical help and advice to get you started.
What support will I get?
Volunteers will have a link team and colleague for support and keeping in touch. Full induction and supervision. Other training opportunities relevant to the volunteer role are also available.
Access to Compass internal vacancies.
If I don’t like it, can I leave?
Yes! If you’ve had ago and found it’s doesn’t suit you, it;s no problem to stop. We want you to have a positive experience. the support we offer throughout is really important – because we really want you to have a positive experience. We always welcome feedback, too.
Are you using volunteer roles to replace paid members of staff?
Compass has a policy that means volunteer roles are never used in place of paid roles. We want volunteers to add a special kind of value to our charity.
What skills, experience or qualities do I need?
There are some skills, experience or qualities that are common to all our roles. These are respecting privacy and maintaining confidentiality, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of children and young people, being reliable, punctual and trustworthy. Being able to volunteer with our Compass values in mind.
Are all applications welcome?
We positively encourage applications from all members of the community, regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, gender reassignment, age or sexual orientation and encourage applications from people who have experiences in life which enrich skills and empathy. This is part of our commitment to equality and developing a truly inclusive and representative workforce. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments individuals may require in the recruitment process, on commencement, or once in post.
Do I need to have a DBS check?
Yes. We’ll support you in getting that.
Do I need references?
Yes, all our volunteers will need two character references.