Community Veterans Support Centre Coordinator

Organisation Background

At CVS, we believe in meeting veterans at their point of need. What began over a decade ago as a transition service has flourished into a full-time, five-day-a-week 360 support hub. We don’t simply provide services; we provide a holistic support system designed to treat the whole person, not just their symptoms.

We offer a broad spectrum of support for veterans & their families at point of need. Common issues relate to mental & physical health, inequalities, poverty, housing & homelessness or risk of, addiction issues, criminal justice including domestic abuse, familial difficulties, pensions, benefits support, employment & training. CVS also provides a diverse programme of activities based upon our veterans ideas. The centre provides free hot lunches daily, laundry facilities and emergency food parcels when required.

Overview of position

The Centre Co-ordinator will provide support to the Operations Manager and deliver direct day to day support to our veterans, new clients and visitors.

The focus of the team moving forward from 2026 is to consolidate our position in supporting the needs of our service users including our exceptional person-centred support and to seek out new opportunities and partnerships to enhance our services and activities.

The Centre Co-ordinator should have supervisory experience, with a reasonable baseline understanding of service delivery in the context of armed forces veterans, client support, volunteer supervision, data gathering, client evaluations and case-studies and budget management.

The Centre Co-ordinator will:

Provide support, supervision to volunteers as required. Review budgetary income and expenditure, and support the Operations Manager with funders compliance reporting and project expenditure.

Where required, stand in for the Operations Manager at stakeholders’ forums/network events and support member/client referrals to other partners organisations as appropriate.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the gathering of data and case studies relating to challenges and vulnerabilities experienced by service users;

• Where appropriate, assist the Operations Manager where specialist support referrals may be required. This may involve attending first meetings with the client to a referral body;

• Attend and /or support training, workshops, events and networking meetings / opportunities relevant CVS’ services and programme of activities;

• Support the Operations Manager in the on-going process of policy and practice development;

Volunteers

Deliver Volunteer inductions. Provide day to day support, coordination and guidance for volunteers, conduct biannual appraisals with volunteers; use experiences gained to help develop or enhance existing volunteer resources and policy.

External Relationships

Identify new opportunities for relationship development with new and existing partners including military charities, community organisations and DWP. Engagement with local services to promote collaboration and coproduction; and promote CVS to businesses to encourage corporate donations, opportunities and partnerships as opportunities arise.

Training

Support for the ongoing development of an Operations Manual for staff team and volunteer, and highlight external training opportunities as they arise.

Marketing

Seek out opportunities for collaborative marketing via social media channels (including those of other organisations) and local media outlets; and support the collection of case studies and service evaluations whenever possible;

Personal

Undertake relevant training and development as directed by the Operations Manager; and manage risks and to escalate issues as appropriate at the earliest opportunity.

In addition

You may be asked to carry out other tasks deemed appropriate/necessary for your role.

Skills/ Knowledge/Experience/Behaviours

Skills

• The ability to work independently and know when to escalate on key issues;

• The ability to spot risks, issues and opportunities;

• The ability to supervise and function as part of a team;

• The ability to lead by example when supporting volunteers, members and clients

• The ability to communicate well with stakeholders, possessing good interpersonal skills;

• The ability to manage challenging behaviours and situations, using the Dignity and Respect Policy as a point of reference; and

• The ability to develop and promote activities and services, manage change and mitigate risk;

Knowledge

• Good awareness, empathy and understanding of issues affecting veterans and their families;

• Reasonable understanding and awareness of issues around poverty and inequality; and

• Maintain safe practices when working with vulnerable people/groups (desirable).

• Must have a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Experience

• Support project delivery, demonstrating ability to delegate to volunteers as appropriate and support them effectively;

• Conducting and reviewing basic risk assessments;

• Experience of budget review/management; and

• Support with Operations Manager where required in disciplinary processes relating to volunteers, veterans and clients.

• Must have a clean driving licence and be willing to drive the Centre minibus as required.

Behaviours

• Demonstrate a ‘can do’ positive attitude and approach;

• Approachable and demonstrate trust, openness and respect in dealings with volunteers, veterans, clients, partners and visitors;

• Flexible approach to supervision, tasks and workload; and

• Able to demonstrate empathy and commitment to CVS’ values and cause;

Accountability

The post holder is accountable to the Operations Manager who is responsible for delegation, supervision, support and advice. The post holder will receive 1 to 1 supervision as appropriate and an annual appraisal.

Responding to need is important to us and the postholder will become a champion of the veterans community, with the curiosity, vision, and confidence to search out and nurture new opportunities.

Support the Operations Manager in conducting investigations into concerns or complaints, and liaising with relevant stakeholders when required