Volunteer Lead

1. Mental Fight Club – Ethos & Policy

*To acquaint yourself with, fully understand and work in accordance with both Mental Fight Club (MFC) and The Dragon Café’s (DC) creative and organisational ethos.
*To keep abreast of said ethos as MFC evolves.
*Mental Fight Club has extensive written policies which include Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities, Data Protection, a Complaints Procedure and a Code of Conduct. As a freelancer working for MFC, it is your duty to make sure you have read and fully understood these documents, to keep abreast of any subsequent updates, and to strictly abide by all policies at all times.

2. Overarching Responsibilities

*Recruitment of volunteers including establishing links with external organisations to drive volunteer recruitment
*Management of volunteers throughout their journey with The Dragon Café and other Mental Fight Club events
*To ensure all volunteers are supported in their role
*To communicate volunteer placement and any issues arising with volunteers to the wider MFC team
*To lead the development of volunteers in a shared Mental Fight Club ethos through training and team-building days
*To maintain accurate and keep up to date records of volunteer information, days and hours volunteered
*To take operational responsibility for The Dragon Café reception area and reception team during DC opening hours

2.1 Main Responsibilities

*To ensure The Dragon Café is fully staffed by volunteers each week
*To manage and support volunteers in every aspect of their work with The Dragon Café

2.2 Tasks

*To lead on volunteer recruitment, building links with, and visiting external organisations to recruit new volunteers and promote The Dragon Café
*To meet with new prospective volunteers each Monday at The Dragon Café at 1pm and lead on their induction
*To appropriately place volunteers in roles within The Café, liaising with volunteers and DC staff
*To create and manage volunteer rotas each week
*On Mondays to bring in updated rotas and communicate with staff any last-minute changes
*To liaise with volunteers regarding their ability and availability
*To keep accurate and up-to date records of volunteer information and to process all volunteer forms and data
*To deal with issues such as time-keeping, boundaries and performance improvements as they occur
*Attend the weekly Dragon Café Team meetings identifying key action points regarding any volunteer issues
*Manage any issues and complaints arising amongst Volunteers and/or Patrons from the “Pass it On” procedure
*To arrange regular training for volunteers, liaising with MFC’s trainer, external organisations and MFC staff as appropriate
*To manage and support the Reception volunteer staff and security when the Dragon Café is running, keeping them up to date with programming of activities and expected visitors to the space
*To report on volunteer retention and to facilitate and record exit surveys in order to improve volunteer retention

3. As and When Duties

*It is in the nature of Mental Fight Club and The Dragon Café the tasks and responsibilities, it may be not be possible to predict future work and be varied. All freelancers are expected to work flexibly and responsively when the occasion arises where tasks not specifically covered in this document have to be undertaken.

4. Changes

*This document represents an indicative description of the main tasks you are expected to complete at the date of issue. MFC will periodically review this Task Specification so that it continues to meet its evolving service and organisational needs.

The Dragon Café is Mental Fight Club’s flagship project. The Dragon Café relies on a team of around fifty volunteers to operate each week. Volunteers contribute to every aspect of the running of the Café; from setting up the sound and light of our stage areas, to helping run workshops, baking bread and preparing food in the kitchen, meeting and greeting at reception and helping pack everything away at the end of the day.

Mental Fight Club could not exist without the support it receives from volunteers and is now looking for a friendly, efficient and preferably experienced Volunteer Lead to help recruit and support volunteers throughout their Mental Fight Club journey. You will predominantly be based at The Dragon Café every Monday, occasionally supporting at other Mental Fight Club events as and when necessary. Please note this is a self-employed contractor position.

Mental Fight Club’s focus is to improve mental health through innovative and creative events. Our mission statement is: 'To provide safe, creative spaces - real and virtual - which inspire people onwards through mental struggles of all kinds into a greater sense of their own potential, sparked by connectedness with others".

Mental Fight Club (MFC) is a user led organisation, in that it employs those with lived experience of mental health issues, whether through their own experience or through supporting those close to them.

The Dragon Café is MFC’s flagship project. Opened in October 2012, the Dragon Café is the UK’s first user led creative mental health café. It is open to all, no questions asked about mental health status. The Dragon Café runs as a weekly pop up each Monday from midday until 20.30 from the crypt of St. George the Martyr Church on Borough High Street, with an affordably priced and delicious vegetarian menu, as well as a packed and varied programme of creative and wellbeing activities, which are all provided free. The Dragon Café is an innovative and creative provider of social support for current, past and on-going mental ill health, and an antidote to the current style of mental health services. The Dragon Café is a non-medical model of provision.