Irish Hospice Foundation is a national charity that addresses dying, death and bereavement in Ireland. Our vision is an Ireland where people facing end of life or bereavement, and those who care for them, are provided with the care and support that they need.   

Through advocacy and education, and the provision of services such as Nurses for Night Care and the Bereavement Support Line, Irish Hospice Foundation works to ensure that every person in Ireland can die and grieve well, whatever their age and wherever the place.   

Reporting to: Clinical Development Coordinator 

Contract Type: Permanent 

Job location: IHF offices on Nassau Street, Dublin 2  

Job Purpose: This is a key multi-faceted role within our bereavement team with key responsibility for the smooth operation of our Bereavement Support Line (BSL). This includes administrative support and technological training and ongoing support for the BSL Volunteers. Ensuring timely follow-up for bereaved callers and tracking the range of follow-ups and key call traffic metrics for reporting purposes are key aspects of the role.  The successful applicant will be supported to undertake BSL volunteer training with a view to covering the support line as required.  The role also includes responsibility for stock control and tracking of IHF print materials.  Within the wider bereavement team, the role involves scheduling of meetings and training sessions, and other responsibilities as the need arises.   

Responsibilities: 

Key volunteer support 

• Be the key administrative point of contact for BSL volunteers on a day-to-day basis 
• Resolve technological issues for the BSL volunteers 
• Manage volunteer roster and resolve any rostering issues efficiently, to ensure coverage for the BSL.   
• Monitor volume of calls on each BSL shift. 
• As required, cover the BSL line to provide Level 1 support (training will be provided). 
• Organise links for daily debriefs and manage all administrative follow-ups arising. 

Recruitment and training 

• Co-ordinate recruitment and training of new volunteers as required, including refresher on-going training. 
• Deliver new volunteer training on 'phone software and call logging for the Bereavement Support Line (BSL).  

Ongoing administration and reporting 

• Maintain monthly and quarterly metrics for senior management reporting. 
• Maintain up to date contacts and directories of bereavement supports. 
• Support the clinical coordinator in review of and formatting of Clinical Handbook for BSL. 
• Ensure all policies and records are accurately filed and accessible within GDPR guidelines. 
• Schedule and monitor attendance for monthly supervision for volunteers. 
• Organise social gatherings (at least one annually) to recognise the work of the remote-working volunteers. 
• Schedule governance and partnership meetings, take minutes. 

Information distribution  

• Manage stock control of IHF bereavement leaflets, pins and cards, tracking where they have been distributed in bulk and order prints as necessary. 
• Responsibility for issuing IHF leaflets, pins and other resources as required.   
• Support and attend bereavement events as required. 

Bereavement Team support 

• Provide administrative cover to Grief in the Workplace/Grief Awareness programme 
• Support bereavement administration including a future CRM project. 

Other duties 

• Support the IHF main telephone reception function as required. 
• The above list of duties is not exhaustive, and the post-holder will be required to undertake such other tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post, and as may be determined by the person(s) to whom the post-holder reports. 

Any other tasks as may be assigned by the manager or designated person   

Qualifications and Experience 

IHF is open to applications from candidates who have experience in most but not all of the following areas. The successful candidate will be supported through their induction to increase their knowledge and ability to deliver on the responsibilities outlined here. Further training and ongoing support will be available.  

Essential:  

• Minimum of two years' experience in a similar tole 
• Excellent organisational, administration and data management skills.  
• Excellent attention to detail 
• A heart and understanding of bereavement and loss. 
• Enthusiastic, warm friendly manner.   
• Proven experience in a supportive role, ideally providing support to the public.  
• Strong empathetic and interpersonal skills. 
• Strong communication skills and ability to respond to a small busy team.    
• Proven ability to multi-task, be self-directed and manage time effectively. 
• Good working knowledge of Zoom, MS Office and MS Teams. 

Desirable: 

• Experience of the charity sector.  
• A working knowledge or experience of GDPR.       
• A knowledge of Amazon Connect would also be useful or other telephone interface.  

The above Job Specification is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him / her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.   

Terms and Conditions 

The role will be based at the IHF's offices on Nassau Street, Dublin 2. A hybrid working structure which combines office and home-based work is currently in place in IHF. 

The annual gross salary for this role is €27,000 - €32,000 depending on experience.   

Other benefits include: 

• A 10% employer's contribution to a company contributory pension scheme (subject to a 5% employee contribution) 
• Annual leave of 23 days 
• Closure of the office on Good Friday, half day Christmas Eve and time between Christmas and New Year in addition to annual leave entitlement 
• Life Assurance and Death in Service benefit 
• Further Education & Training support 
• Travel (bike-to-work schemes/tax saver commuter tickets) 
• A range of flexible leave policies 
• Hybrid work arrangements 

A complete list of all the terms and conditions will be made available to the candidate offered the role through IHF's Employee Handbook. IHF is an equal opportunities employer. 

Application Procedure 

Closing date for applications is 11th June 2023 

Applicants should submit a CV (max. 2 pages), detailing relevant experience, along with a covering letter outlining the reasons they believe they are suitable for this role. 

• Applicants will be short-listed on the basis of information supplied. 
• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. 
• Should the person recommended for appointment decline, or having accepted it, relinquish it, or if an additional vacancy arises, IHF may, at its discretion, select and recommend another person for appointment on the results of this selection process. 

 Job link: /irish-hospice-foundation/jobs/26088/bereavement-support-administrator-dublin-2