Strategic Support Volunteer (Missing People) – Remote volunteering and occasional visits to police premises

Avon and Somerset Police has a desire for innovation, continual learning and development. We are seeking a member of the public who is willing to share their experience and knowledge gained at a senior level within the public, private or other sectors with our senior leaders in policing.

Avon and Somerset receive 5,000 reports of missing people each year. Every single one of those missing people will have distraught family and friends who are worried about them. We do all we can in collaboration with our partners to prevent people going missing but also to respond appropriately when it does happen. The successful volunteer will be instrumental in helping us to improve current service provision within policing and across partner agencies .

Chief Inspector Yan Georgiou is the force’s lead for Missing People. He would like to identify someone with senior and strategic level experience of multi-agency working and business change, with knowledge in one or more of the following sectors - Children and Young People, dementia, adults in care or asylum seekers. The volunteer will assist with translating national guidance and policy into local service review and improvement plans. The volunteer’s experience within one of the specialist sectors identified will be key to helping Yan and his team better understand the challenges facing other sectors and use this understanding to improve partnership working and service delivery. Yan hopes to find someone who can bring a fresh perspective and who is confident in challenging current ways of thinking.

The volunteer will gain an insight into policing and how policing business develops and will be integral to the research and delivery of strategic business change.

Anticipated tasks:

• First tasks are likely to involve familiarisation with police practices. This may include undertaking a ‘Ride Along’ or shadowing frontline officers and staff to understand the practices and impact of missing people on first responders, individuals, their families and communities.
• Following this the volunteer may be invited to speak with individuals from other organisations to identify opportunities for improved joint working.
• The volunteer will be asked to undertake desk-based research to critically analyse service provision in other parts of the UK to identify best practice and potential opportunities for local change.
• We hope that the volunteer will draw on their own experience of business change to challenge current thinking and practices and suggest innovative ideas or new ways of working.

The ideal volunteer will have experience of successfully designing and implementing multi-agency working and business change at a senior, strategic level. Experience of policing is not required. We are looking for someone who can bring a fresh perspective and is confident to challenge current ways of thinking.

You will have flexibility around how often you wish to volunteer to fit in with your other commitments.  However, we would hope that you would be able to commit to approximately 8 hours per week.

If you would like to know more about this volunteering role before you apply please contact Yan.Georgiou@avonandsomerset.police.uk