Volunteering Opportunities at Pembroke House

Volunteering Opportunities at Pembroke House

About Pembroke House
Pembroke House is a centre for the community in Walworth. We work across our
neighbourhood to unite partners like GPs, schools, charities and community
groups in shared action, and to empower local people to make change in their
lives and community.

In normal circumstances, we provide over 30 weekly activities for local people at
Pembroke House and at our new community space, the Walworth Living Room.
Over 500 people come through our doors each week, and across the year we are
supported by around 100 volunteers.

The Covid-19 crisis forced us to pause all our normal in-person activities and, in
a very short space of time, find new ways to deliver these activities and set up
new services and support to meet the needs of local people. We:

1. established the Walworth Community Food Hub
   (www.cutt.ly/foodhubtour) to get vital supplies to vulnerable local people.
   We now deliver six tonnes of food to nearly 1,500 people each week, with
   support from almost 200 volunteers;

2. developed online activities (at www.walworthlivingroom.org) to keep local
   people healthy, active and connected. We now run seven regular groups,
   ranging from children’s dance to a weekly creative writing group; and

3.   set up a neighbourhood website (www.walworthse17.info) to provide
     reliable information about services, activities and opportunities for local
     people.

Who we’re looking for
Before lockdown we had 90 regular volunteers doing anything from helping us
deliver activities for the local community, organising events or helping us in our
office. Since lockdown we’ve welcomed another 200 volunteers, either helping
us to pack or deliver food via the Walworth Community Food Hub. We’ve created
two further roles that we would like to fill asap.

Pembroke Academy of Music (PAM) Assistant – PAM is an open access music
project for children between the ages of 8 and 14. We’re looking for someone
who is available between 3.45pm and 9pm each Wednesday during term times
to assist with music classes, administration and set up. Timings are more flexible
outside of term times.

Data Analysis and IT Assistant – a position requiring specialist knowledge to
help us use data more effectively and maintain our IT system.

Role descriptions containing more information can be found at the end of this
document. You might also be interested in one of the two vacant rooms we have
in our Residency.

The Residency
We were founded in 1885 by students from Pembroke College Cambridge. They
built the Residency so that they could be part of the community they wanted to
serve.

Today the Residency offers student-style accommodation to six people who are
interested in neighbourhood-based working. It is no longer a requirement for
Residents to have connections with Pembroke College, Cambridge or any
university. What is more important is that Residents are good communicators
and have:

   •   a curiosity about what Pembroke House is and how they can be part of it;
   •   a desire to become an active member of the local community; and,
   •   a willingness to learn and re-evaluate pre-conceived ideas / approach

Current Residents are:

   •   Anna-Marie – involved with our music school and the development of our
       new site, the Walworth Living Room
   •   Annick – supports the development of the youth work offer at Pembroke
       House
   •   Anthony – runs our community journalism project
   •   Frances – organises key events such as our street party and winter
       fundraising event

The Residency is a large house and each of the six Residents has their own room,
furnished to a basic standard, and shares the two bathrooms, toilets, living room
and kitchen. The Pembroke House garden, located immediately outside of the
kitchen, is available to use too.

Rent is £100 per week (including Council Tax) and utilities (gas, electricity,
water, broadband) are £45 per calendar month. Both of these charges remain
the same even if fewer than six people are resident. We offer individual short
hold tenancy agreements for one year, with the possibility of extension for a
further year.

Interested?
If you are interested in one of the volunteering roles, email your CV and a
covering letter to grisel.tarifa@pembrokehouse.org.uk by 10am on Tuesday 1
September with the name of the volunteering role in the title line. Please say if
you are also interested in a place in the Residency.

We expect the roles to be popular so we’re going to follow the process below.

 Date              Activity                             What to expect
 1 September, 10am Deadline for receipt of CVs
                   and covering letters
 1-4 September     We’ll read each application to       You’ll be called /
                   decide who to take through to        emailed to discuss the
                   the next stage                       outcome of your
                                                        application
 w/b 7 September      Meeting with members of the       An informal meeting at
                      Senior Management Team            Pembroke House to:
                      (SMT) and current Residents
                                                        •  give you an
                                                           opportunity to see
                                                           our set up;
                                                        • meet the team and
                                                           (some of) the current
                                                           Residents;
                                                        • find out more about
                                                           each other;
                                                        • ask us any questions;
                                                           and
                                                        • decide who to bring
                                                           back for a more
                                                           formal interview
 w/b 14 September     An interview with SMT and a       We’ll discuss the role
                      decision on who to offer each     with you in depth and
                      role to                           ask a standard set of
                                                        questions to ascertain
                                                        how well you match the
                                                        role.

                      If you have indicated that you    An opportunity to look
                      are interested in the             around the Residency,
                      Residency, you’ll be invited to   get to know your
                      meet the current Residents        possible housemates
                      before you are offered a          and decide whether you
                      volunteering role.                all could live with each
                                                        other
 w/b 21 September     Rooms in the Residency are
                      available to move into from
                      this week. We may be able to
                      wait for up to a month if you
                      have to give notice at your
                      current accommodation.

Other Opportunities
Two further rooms are expected to become available in the Residency before the
end of 2020. We have yet to decide if there are specific skills that we will look
for, so if this timescale is more suited to your needs, please contact Grisel on the
email above to be sent information when it becomes available.

We have a 3-bedroom shared house next door to the Residency that will be
available for rent from late September/October 2020. This offers a good
standard of accommodation and is run as a straight let, i.e. there is no need to
volunteer with us – although you would be very welcome to! The monthly rent is
£2,100 per calendar month plus bills. If you are interested, contact Grisel to
arrange a viewing.

Not interested in music or IT? We are looking for volunteers at the Walworth
Community Food Hub. We have spaces for people who can volunteer for a few
hours each week to deliver food parcels by bicycle or to sort and pack food
parcels. If you’re interested visit http://cutt.ly/volunteer-with-us

www.pembrokehouse.org.uk
Twitter: @pembroke1885
Instagram: PembrokeHouse

Pembroke Academy of Music Assistant- Role Description

Responsible to: James Jenkins, Project Lead
Hours: Average of 5 per week

About Pembroke House
Pembroke House is a social action centre serving the people of Walworth, South
London. We're building a Walworth in which people can lead good lives and work
together towards a good society. We do this by bringing people together in a
common endeavour: bridging traditional divides to build a better neighbourhood.

We run numerous activities, including a music school, a gardening club and a lunch
club.

About Pembroke Academy of Music
Pembroke Academy of Music (PAM) is an open access music project for 65 local
children aged 5-14 who face barriers to music-making.

PAM provides high-quality music tuition in a range of musical disciplines
(instruments, music theory, ensemble performance and choir), at heavily subsidised
rates for all participants.

The Role
The PAM Assistant is a vital member of the PAM team and works closely with the
Project Lead, Project Administrator and Tutor Team to deliver weekly sessions across
our Junior and Senior programmes and support the musical and personal
development of our participants.

Key Responsibilities
   • Ensuring the building is set-up and packed away correctly before and after
      weekly sessions (which take place on Wednesday afternoons and evenings
      during term time)*
   • Assisting in music classes (either vocal, woodwind, brass, strings, percussion,
      or musicianship) where appropriate
   • Being a point-of-contact for participants, parents and carers during sessions
      and ensuring participants are punctual
   • Ensuring all student records are kept up to date (including weekly registers
      and term fee collections) and supporting the PAM Administrator with ad hoc
      tasks
   • Leading on testing how different approaches to class environment can
      positively impact participants’ engagement and focus

   *during the Covid-19 crisis PAM sessions have been taking place online to ensure the safety of
   participants, staff and volunteers. The PAM Volunteer will play a vital role in supporting online
   sessions and transitioning back to in-person delivery when it is safe to do so.

Other information
   • The PAM Assistant is required to be available from 3:45-9pm on Wednesdays
       during term time, as well as for other occasional duties at evenings and
       weekends (e.g. trips and concerts)
   • Volunteers should abide by organisational policies including Pembroke
       House’s Equal opportunities and Health and Safety policies.

Qualities needed
   • A passion for music and an interest in inclusive musical practice. While
       formal musical training would be an advantage it is not a requirement
   • Strong inter-personal skills, particularly an ability to connect with a diverse
       community

What would you gain?
This role is ideally suited to an individual looking to develop a broad-ranging skillset;
from building strong relationships and problem solving to teaching and working with
children.

The volunteer receives ‘on the job’ training and support from the PAM Project Lead
and will have the chance to learn from and contribute to the project’s work
developing a high-quality, inclusive teaching practice.

Visit our website for more information http://pembrokehouse.org.uk/pam/

Data Analysis and IT Assistant - Role Description

Responsible to: James Jenkins -Projects Officer
Hours: Average of 5 per week

About Pembroke House
Pembroke House is a social action centre serving the people of Walworth, South
London. We're building a Walworth in which people can lead good lives and work
together towards a good society. We do this by bringing people together in a
common endeavour: bridging traditional divides to build a better neighbourhood.

We run numerous activities, including a music school, a gardening club and a lunch
club.

The Role
The Data Analysis and IT Assistant will assist with developing an approach to using
data effectively that informs and adapts our work. In addition, the post-holder will
offer IT support possibly with the assistance of an IT support organisation (tbc).

Key Responsibilities
   • Assist the Executive Director to utilise data analysis tools such as Airtable
   • Supporting the maintenance of Pembroke House’s IT systems and resources
      (including routinely ensuring devices are secure and data is backed-up)
   • Providing team members with ad hoc IT support, including troubleshooting
      problems

Other information
   • Volunteers should abide by organisational policies including Pembroke
       House’s Equal opportunities and Health and Safety policies.

Qualities needed
   • Outstanding IT skills
   • A passion for understanding how capturing high-quality data can improve the
       reach, quality and impact of projects and activities

What would you gain?
This role is ideally suited to an individual looking to develop a broad-ranging skillset,
including;
    • hands-on experience of a community organisation in a diverse community
    • developing a wide range of communication skills
    • making a difference to people’s lives in an area of significant urban
    deprivation