Serving Community Team Grant Giving Coordinator

Please note: The following volunteer role supports serving personnel and families in or around your local military base. 

SSAFA provides grants to individuals and groups within the serving community. The Grant Giving Coordinator ensures that grant applications are processed in a timely manner and in accordance with SSAFA policy. This role also has voting rights on grant giving decisions.

Would you like to make real difference to people and groups in your local serving community? Are you organised with good communication and IT skills? Are fairness and integrity two of your values? If so, we’d love to hear from you! You don’t need an Armed Forces background, just an understanding of the needs of the serving community.

Why do we need you?

Volunteers are the lifeblood of SSAFA. We have been involving volunteers in supporting the Armed Forces community for more than 130 years. Our beneficiaries come from all backgrounds and age groups and the number of people contacting us for help rises each year.

Grant Giving Coordinators play a pivotal role, compiling applications, passing these to the right forum for decision making and communicating with applicants about awards decisions.

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

  • Use your skills, knowledge and life experience to benefit others.

  • Give back to the Armed Forces community.

  • Become part of the SSAFA community and build networks across the serving community and local area.

  • Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.

  • Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support will you receive?

  • On-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep people and their personal information safe.
  • Local induction and support, from other branch volunteers.
  • Access to a range of e-learning courses as well as local opportunities to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.
  • Ongoing support from SSAFA’s volunteering and operations staff.
  • Regular meetings and events to learn and share information 
  • Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.
  • Volunteers will be covered by SSAFA's Public Liability insurance while carrying out their role.

What skills or experience are we looking for?

  • Friendly and approachable people with good leadership, written and verbal communication skills.

  • Empathy regarding the needs and challenges related to the serving community.

  • Ability to accurately record and safely store information including personal data

  • Good IT skills - e.g. ability to use Outlook and Excel – you will receive your own SSAFA email address.

  • Be an effective listener, respectful and non-judgemental approach.

  • Understanding of the importance of confidentiality and boundaries.

  • Depending on the needs of the team, this role would suit someone who would like to volunteer a few hours each week.

Is a disclosure check required?

No.

How to find out more

  • Complete the volunteer application form below.
  • Call our friendly central Volunteer Team on 0800 260 6775. They can answer any general questions about volunteering and put you in touch with your local branch.

How do we use your information?

The information you provide will be used to create a personal record on our database if your application to become a SSAFA volunteer is successful. It will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any other organisation; all data collected from unsuccessful applicants will be destroyed as soon as it is no longer needed. SSAFA complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.  Please read our privacy policy for more information.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support disabled volunteers, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as non-disabled volunteers.

For further details see our equality and diversity policy.

Are references required?

Yes. Two character references from people who know you well (not family members).   You will be asked to provide references after you complete the initial application form below.

Is there a minimum age?

Yes, you will need to be 18 or older due to the sensitive nature of the role.

What you'll do

Key role responsibilities

  • Being a first point of contact: acting as the first point of contact for beneficiaries or other organisations seeking grant assistance from the Serving Community Team.

  • Recording information: ensuring that the details of grant applications are recorded clearly, accurately and factually so that they can be understood by the other members of the Serving Community Team.

  • Coordinating and collaborating: moving applications through the process smoothly, ensuring steps are followed, and bringing together decision-makers to agree on the award in a timely manner. This could involve partnership working with a local SSAFA Branch.

  • Ensuring due diligence: ensuring that each application is processed in line with SSAFA policy and that all relevant documents are stored inline with data protection principles.

  • Signposting: where grant applications do not meet SSAFA’s criteria, where possible, applicants should be signposted to other organisations or charities for assistance.

Application form

Address

Please provide us with your address by using our address lookup or by entering your address manually.

Thank you for trusting us with your data. For extra peace of mind about how we keep your data secure and how we manage your personal data, you can read more information in our Privacy Policy.