Family Services Volunteer (HMP Exeter)

Volunteering for Pact’s Family Services

Working as a member of the Family Services team, across all areas of the service, you’ll be offering information, guidance and support to families and loved ones of those in prison. The role will involve supporting one or more of the following family support services: a welcoming visitor centre facility; play and children’s services, and refreshment services.

Why volunteer with Pact?

Pact was founded more than 125 years ago by volunteers. True to our roots, volunteers continue to play a key role in helping us provide our services in courts, prisons and communities across England and Wales.

We hope that you make the decision to come join us and help us get one step closer to a society that understands justice as a process of restoration and healing for all.

At Pact we believe in the unique dignity of every human being. We are an inclusive, welcoming organisation, with a diverse workforce of people who share our core values. We welcome applications from people from all sectors of our diverse communities and all backgrounds, including people who have been affected by imprisonment (appointment to post may be subject to a risk assessment).

What happens next?

After you’ve filled in an application, we will invite you for an initial interview at the earliest convenient date for you and your prospective manager. This is an opportunity for us to find out a bit more about you and your motivations for volunteering and for you to find out more about Pact and the role you’ve applied for to make sure it’s what you expected! Where possible, we will conduct these interviews on site and in person, so you can get a feeling of the working environment and the commute.

If successful at interview, you will be required to complete our background checks, which will include references, an enhanced DBS check and prison vetting. You will also be required to complete our mandatory online training (approx. 10-12 hours) before being able to start the role (please see the role profile for more information about the training).

Once all the checks and training have been completed, you will have a check-in meeting with your manager to check you have understood everything and give you a final chance to ask any questions before you start!

Suggested Involvement

Because of the recruitment process which can take several weeks, Pact hopes you will commit to volunteering for a minimum of 1 shift a week (approx. 3-4 hours) for at least 6 months from when you start.

For students looking for work experience/placement, please drop us a message to discuss whether we will be able to fulfil your needs before applying.

For more information about this role, please download the full role profile on the right-hand side of this page.