Caller Support Officer

Samaritans; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Samaritans as a Caller Support Officer, where you'll play a crucial role in managing calls from vulnerable individuals. This full-time position requires helpline experience, the ability to handle sensitive situations, and collaboration with various agencies. You will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to improving the wellbeing of our callers in a supportive and inclusive environment.

Qualifications

• Experience working in a helpline setting, ideally with emotional/mental health needs.
• Understanding of safeguarding legislation.
• Experience working with external agencies like police and court officials.

Responsibilities

• Provide advice on caller support policies to volunteers.
• Manage support for complex mental health callers.
• Coordinate with external agencies and ensure caller safety.

Skills

Helpline experience

Manage sensitive situations

Emotional resilience

Job description

Do you have experience working with vulnerable callers within a helpline setting? Are you passionate about supporting vulnerable individuals and making a real difference?

Samaritans is looking for a dedicatedCaller Support Officerto join our dynamic Caller Support Team. This is a unique opportunity to play a vital role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our most complex and vulnerable callers.

• 12-month fixed term contract, covering maternity leave
• Full time (35 hours per week) with flexible working
• Hybrid working: Linked to our Ewell (Surrey) office
• You will need to be able to work flexibly to support volunteers which may involve occasional travel or evening/weekend meetings.

About the Role

As a Caller Support Officer, you will:

• Provide expert advice and guidance on caller support policies and procedures to volunteers and staff.
• Work closely with branches, the Caller Support & Safeguarding Hub, and Central Office to ensure consistent, high-quality support.
• Help manage support for callers with complex mental health needs, ensuring appropriate boundaries and reducing dependency on the service.
• Be a key point of contact for police, coroners, court officials, and other external agencies.
• Support the triaging of caller concern forms and work closely with callers to create safe effective support plans that meet their needs within the boundaries of the service.
• Uphold Samaritans’ zero-tolerance approach to any abuse of threatening behaviours towards volunteers and staff

What We’re Looking For

We’re seeking someone who:

• Has experience with working in a helpline setting, to support volunteers to deliver safe and effective emotional support to individuals in distress or with complex emotional/mental health needs, ideally in a helpline setting.
• Understands safeguarding legislation and has experience applying it in practice.
• Is confident managing sensitive and sometimes confrontational situations.
• Can work independently and manage a varied workload effectively.
• Has experience working with external agencies such as police and court officials.
• Is emotionally resilient and able to handle distressing information with professionalism and care.

We take safeguarding seriously at Samaritans and follow safe recruitment practices. As this role has direct contact with children and adults at risk, this role will require an Enhanced DBS check with Adults and Children’s Barred Lists.

At offer stage, as part of the conditional job offer, we will require the candidate to disclose in full, spent and unspent convictions by completing a declaration form. The declaration form will only be seen by those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process.

Why Join Us?

At Samaritans, we believe fewer lives should be lost to suicide. You'll be part of a supportive and inclusive workplace that values innovation, resilience, and collaboration. Enjoy a hybrid working environment, professional development opportunities, and the chance to make a real difference.

Working at Samaritans:

For further information about Samaritans, including our charity structure, values, employee benefits, and application process, please read our recruitment brochure .You can also access it on our careers page.

We recognise the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. Samaritans is wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are. To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from disabled, racialised minority and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented at Samaritans.

Application:

If this sounds like the opportunity for you, please upload your CV and a cover letter (one page), outlining your motivations for applying and why you think you would be a great fit for the role. Applications close at 9 am on Monday 28 th July. Video interviews taking place on the 12 th , 13 th , and 14 th of August.

Whilst we appreciate that the use of generative AI functions like ChatGPT is quickly becoming part of working life for many people, through our recruitment process we want to see your own unique ideas and writing skills. We want your application to stand out from the rest and showcase your own strengths. Therefore, we kindly ask that you don’t rely on AI tools for your application answers, cover letter or to generate interview answers.

Hybrid: Homeworking and Surrey office working

Department

Operations - Quality & Service Improvement