If you have a question about our application process or volunteer roles, please read through the information below. You can view and apply for our current volunteering roles here.
Want to talk to us about a role or how to apply?
Simply email volunteer@mungos.org or call us on 020 3856 6160 for more information.
During the Covid-19 pandemic
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have postponed recruitment for the majority of our roles so we can focus on recruiting volunteers to support people away from the street and away from homelessness and into local emergency hotels.
Our emergency response volunteer roles are online. We may advertise a limited number of remote volunteering opportunities online too, on the first and third Friday of each month.
We follow Public Health England’s guidance to ensure we manage the risk of spread and to protect our staff, clients, and volunteers. More specifically, we do this by:
- Asking you to complete a Health Risk Assessment so both we and you understand your personal risk with regards to covid-19. Please be advised that if your risk assessment score is in the high risk category, unfortunately we won’t be able to continue with your volunteering at this time.
- · Encouraging you to consider the risks involved in helping out in our services in terms of increased risk of coming into contact with the virus outside of your home. If you are over 70, have an underlying health condition or are living with people or already supporting those in the at-risk category, we ask you to not take on extra risk by volunteering at this time.
- Following a clear procedure for all clients, staff and volunteers exhibiting symptoms. As a volunteer, we do not expect you to be dealing with this. If at any point the site is no longer safe for you to volunteer, we will contact you, inform you of the next steps and shifts cancelled immediately.
- Having appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) available at each site. You will be given guidance by staff about what to wear for each task.
- Reinforcing government guidelines: it is mandatory to wear face coverings on all public transport across England and in public areas of hotels and hostels and, indoor places where social distancing may be difficult and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. According to the latest St. Mungo’s guidance, volunteers should wear face coverings when working inside our emergency hotels at all times.
If you are not able to volunteer due to coronavirus, you can still support us by taking on one of our challenges and fundraising from home.
Applying for a role
We advertise new volunteer roles on the first Friday of every month. Most roles are advertised for two weeks, so don’t forget to get your application in!
As our services are so varied, we have a range of roles that suit a range of skills and experience. If you don't see a role that you’re interested in, please get in touch (volunteer@mungos.org), and we will be able to discuss your preferences in more detail.
We currently have volunteering opportunities in projects in London, Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Oxford and Reading.
Once you have found a role that you are interested in, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button on the top right hand corner of the advert to complete our online application form. If you have trouble completing the form, please get in touch at volunteer@mungos.org.
Please email volunteer@mungos.org with more details about your request. The Volunteer Services team processes each corporate volunteering enquiry individually.
In the first instance we recommend you email studentplacements@mungos.org or volunteer@mungos.org so we can assess whether we are able to accommodate your request.
Interviews and training
We will acknowledge receipt and after a few days, we will get in touch to arrange a good time to get to know you better. This can be a phone chat, a more formal interview or an invitation to attend our Recruitment Sessions. We may also contact you for any information we require clarification on with regards to your application.
A Recruitment Session is your opportunity to get to know St Mungo’s and find out about the role you have applied for in more detail.
The Volunteer Services team hold a number Recruitment Sessions every month, on a variety of days and times to give new volunteers as much opportunity as possible to start their volunteer journey.
The session is split into two parts over two hours:
- Part 1: a central induction presentation where you will learn more about the homelessness sector and the range of support and services that St Mungo’s offers.
- Part 2: a group interview with other volunteers, where we will ask you a few questions to find out more about your interest in volunteering with St Mungo’s and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
Upon successful completion of your interview, we will then invite you attend our mandatory training.
For an up to date list of Recruitment Sessions taking place in your region, please follow this link to see our calendar.
We provide training depending on the role requirements. For example, being a part of our emergency response, our hotel volunteering opportunities only require the completion of a 75’ e-learning course while for other roles some applicants will also attend our 2hr Core Training session. We do, of course, offer further training such as role-specific training and development opportunities.
Any volunteer placements are subject to the successful completion of the interview and training, and satisfactory references and DBS being returned.
Wherever possible we will place you in the specific role you have applied for. However, should there be any delays to completion of the application process, it could be that your preferred role may no longer be available. If this happens, we will communicate with you throughout your volunteer journey and do our best to place you in a similar role and service.
References and DBS checks
Yes, you will need to provide us with the details of two people that we may contact as referees, to comment on your suitability for volunteering. They can be colleagues, tutors, or people who know you in a professional capacity, but not friends or family members.
If you are having trouble finding suitable referees, please get in touch and we can discuss the options in more details.
For some roles we may ask volunteers to do a DBS check (previously called CRB checks). If your role requires a DBS check, we will ask you to disclose any spent and unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or final warnings when we receive your application, except those which are “protected” as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013).
This is due to the vulnerability of our clients, and therefore certain roles are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Having a criminal record will not necessarily prevent you from volunteering with St Mungo’s, but some convictions may require further discussion.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail before submitting an application, please email volunteer@mungos.org or call 020 3856 6160.
This will depend on whether or not you have signed up for the DBS ‘Update Service’ and what type of check you already have. Please speak to us about this and we can confirm whether we will be able to use your existing check or not.
As a volunteer
Volunteering at St Mungo’s is a fantastic way to gain skills and experience, especially if you are looking to enter paid employment in the sector. We offer many ways to support our volunteers to progress within St Mungo’s, including additional training, monthly webinars, application support and interview practice. If you volunteer with us more than 3 months, we also offer professional references.
Yes, volunteers can do more than one role and can volunteer for more than one project, team or service. However, we may suggest starting just one role at a time so you can settle in before adding an additional role.
London volunteers:
You can claim back the cost of your travel up to the cost of a zones 1-6 travel card with a valid receipt. If you are travelling from outside of London to a London-based volunteer role, you will need agreement from Volunteer Services before claiming travel expenses.
Outside of London:
You can be reimbursed reasonable travel expenses by public transport with a valid receipt, and 30p per litre for car journeys (if public transport is not possible). Please ensure you have spoken to Volunteer Services to ensure your claim can be reimbursed before purchasing.
Lunch:
You can claim up to £4 for food if you volunteer for over four hours, with a valid receipt. These expenses can be claimed from your supervisor.
Volunteering at St Mungo’s is a fantastic way to gain skills and experience to enter paid employment in the sector. The organisation has a number of ways to support volunteers to progress within St Mungo’s, including opportunities to apply to the internal locum bank and long-term duty worker roles after three months.
We may be able to provide you with a reference after you have actively volunteered with us for three months. We can provide these references for up to two years after you leave St Mungo’s. Please direct all reference requests to Volunteer Services and references will be completed jointly with the project/service where you volunteered.
