Volunteer Referral Line Operator

We're looking for compassionate and reliable volunteers to join our Referral Line team at The Pankhurst Trust (incorporating Manchester Women's Aid). As a Volunteer Referral Line Operator, you'll help ensure that women and professionals can access timely information, guidance and connections to the support they need.

This is a rewarding opportunity to gain experience in a frontline support service, develop your communication skills and contribute to our mission of helping women and children live free from abuse.

About Us

The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women's Aid) supports women, children and wider communities experiencing domestic abuse through a range of specialist services across Manchester.

We are committed to delivering high-quality, trauma-informed support that puts survivors at the centre of everything we do. We are a feminist, women-led organisation and our work is guided by our values of being courageous, affirming, generous and rooted.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Volunteer Referral Line Operator, you'll support our Referral Line team by:

• Answering telephone enquiries from women seeking support and from professionals looking for advice or information
• Providing a welcoming, supportive and professional first response
• Offering information, guidance, triage and signposting to appropriate services
• Responding to email enquiries from service users and professionals
• Recording accurate notes and monitoring information
• Carrying out basic searches on our case management system to check whether someone has previously accessed our services
• Supporting the smooth day-to-day operation of the referral line

You will always be supported by an experienced member of staff and will never be expected to manage complex or high-risk situations alone.

What You'll Gain

We want volunteering to be a positive, meaningful and developmental experience. As a volunteer, you'll receive:

• A structured induction and clear role expectations
• Training in domestic abuse awareness, safeguarding and other relevant areas
• Experience of working within a specialist domestic abuse service
• The opportunity to develop skills in telephone support, communication and professional practice
• Ongoing support, supervision and feedback
• The chance to make a genuine difference to women accessing support
• Reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses

About You

You don't need previous experience of working in domestic abuse services, although experience supporting people through work, volunteering or lived experience would be helpful.

We're looking for someone who is:

• Passionate about supporting women affected by domestic abuse
• A good listener with a calm and professional telephone manner
• Compassionate, non-judgemental and respectful
• Organised and reliable
• Comfortable using email and basic IT systems
• Keen to learn and develop new skills
• Able to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries

Important Boundaries

Volunteers are not expected to:

• Manage high-risk situations
• Undertake intensive support work or casework
• Lead on safeguarding concerns
• Make decisions outside their training and role

A member of staff will always be available to provide guidance and support during shifts.

Time Commitment

• The referral line operates Monday to Friday, 10am–1pm.
• Volunteering takes place in person at the Pankhurst Centre, Manchester.
• We are ideally looking for volunteers who can commit to a regular shift (for example, once a week or once a fortnight).
• We ask volunteers to commit to the full three-hour session where possible.

Expenses

Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed in line with our Volunteer Expenses Policy.