Helpline Supervisor (Maternity Cover)

Missing People; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible shift times

Job summary

Missing People is seeking a Helpline Supervisor for maternity cover in South West London, overseeing a team of volunteers while also delivering the service. The role includes supervising volunteers across phone, email, text and live chat, handling sensitive calls and crisis intervention in a 10am-10pm, 7 days a week operation.

The position offers 35 hours per week, with Saturdays 14:00-22:00 and flexible hours, including a fixed term until 15 January 2027.

Qualifications

• Right to work in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Oversee volunteers delivering the helpline services and provide supervision when needed.
• Respond to service users via phone, email, text, and live chat.
• Handle sensitive calls and crisis interventions with calm, supportive support.

Skills

Volunteer supervision

Crisis intervention

Multichannel support

Communication skills

Job description

South West London (Central Office is based in Mortlake – 12 mins from Clapham Junction and 23 mins from Waterloo) Contract: Maternity Leave Cover

Helpline Supervisor (Maternity Cover)

Helpline Supervisor (Maternity Cover) - National Charity

35 hours per week

Saturdays 14:00 pm – 22:00 pm plus 7 hours per week flexible hours (Flexible shift times are 9:30am-17:30pm, 10:00am-18:00pm, 14:30pm-22:30pm and 18:00pm-22:00pm daily)

Fixed term role to 15th January 2027

ABOUT US

Somebody goes missing in the UK every 90 seconds. Missing People exists to ease the heartache experienced by those missing someone, and to help people who are away from home find their way back to safety. Our vision is for every missing child, adult and family left behind to find help, hope and a safe way to reconnect. We are a non-judgemental, highly skilled team of staff and volunteers working for everyone who needs us. We provide free, confidential support, help and advice by phone, email, text and live chat.

THE IMPACT YOU WILL HAVE

As a Helpline Supervisor you will oversee multiple volunteers delivering the service as well as delivering it yourself when no volunteers are on shift. You will supervise volunteers’ delivery of the helpline channels – this will include simultaneous remote supervision of several volunteers across different platforms. You will provide feedback for volunteers to assist with their performance and development. You will respond to service users of Missing People’s helpline via phone, email, text, 1to1 Chat and any other means of contact, and handle sensitive calls, deal with crisis intervention situations

This position is part of an award-winning helpline team providing crisis support to missing children, vulnerable adults - those who have run away or left home - and the families of missing people. The service operates 10am-10pm, 7 days a week, via multiple channels, currently including telephone, text and 1to1 Chat.

ABOUT YOU

You’ll bring strong frontline experience, sound judgement and a calm, supportive approach. You will have:

• Right to work in the UK.
• Experience supporting children, young people and/or vulnerable adults by phone or digital channels;
• Experience and/or understanding of safeguarding vulnerable adults and young people.
• Experience of handling complex and sensitive calls and being able to deal with crisis intervention;
• Experience of providing online or text-based support, information or guidance such as SMS or messenger services
• High IT confidence, with the ability to work across multiple systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to explain and provide guidance on procedures and systems to other people such as volunteers and colleagues
• If appointable, an enhanced DBS check will be conducted.

WHAT WE OFFER

Working for Missing People means living our values. It’s a place where people are encouraged to ‘let fly’ so you can ‘make things happen’. We know you’re more than just a job title, and ‘be human’ is an important value here. Missing People is an independent charity that relies on donations.

For further details, please see attached job description/person specification and letter to applicants.

Closing date: 23:59 on 12th November 2026

Interviews: 19th November 2026

Start date: As soon as possible / January 2027

35 hours per week. 3 week rolling shift pattern - see job description for full details.

Contract type

Maternity Leave Cover

Location

South West London (Central Office is based in Mortlake – 12 mins from Clapham Junction and 23 mins from Waterloo) Contract: Maternity Leave Cover