Equality diversity and inclusion volunteers

Recruiting EDI volunteers

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Centre is looking to recruit Staff Harassment Support Contacts.

A‌ccessible versions of these role description documents are available below.

This role does not replace the remit of the Consuls or the trades unions. Consuls will continue to be available for advice on academic staff matters. The College trades unions (UCU, Unite and UNISON) will continue to provide information, advice, and an advocate service for their members.

Application process

Before applying please ensure you have line manager approval and that you are not already holding any other volunteer roles in the College.

To apply, please complete this online application form by Wednesday 7 December.

After the deadline, applicants will be contacted by a member of the EDI Centre with a decision regarding their application. For applications that have been accepted, they will be invited to two full-day training sessions.

If you have any questions, please email the EDI Centre.

EDI volunteer role descriptions

Staff Harassment Support Contacts

Job Title: Staff Harassment Support Contacts
Campus/Location: All campuses
Responsible to: The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Centre
Contract type: Volunteer

Purpose of the Post

Staff Harassment Support Contacts (HSCs) are an award-winning scheme that helps support individuals who are feeling bullied, harassed, or intimidated at work. We are proud of having created a confidential network of volunteers who will listen impartially and believe the individual with no judgement. This includes providing support to individuals to encourage members of staff to feel confident to use the College’s Report and Support tool.

Our aim is to provide a safe environment where someone can get immediate support and information on the various options as they think about what has happened and how they want to deal with it. This might include talking about how they want the behaviour to stop, getting some help with dealing with the aftermath, helping rebuild a relationship (if appropriate), or understanding the College’s policy and procedures if they decide to use the formal procedure for complaints.

Key Responsibilities

Harassment Support Contacts (HSCs) play a key role in the promotion of equal opportunities at Imperial College London. They provide an impartial listening and information service to any person concerned about discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and bullying, including the provision of support to individuals who make a complaint or have had a complaint made against them.

The HSC role provides an opportunity to utilise existing skills and will require the application of specialist knowledge, for which training will be given. HSCs will need to possess a high level of interpersonal skills and be able to communicate comfortably with different people at all levels within the College.

The network will operate in line with the following principles:

  • HSCs will be as representative of the College community as is practical and possible.
  • HSCs will offer a confidential listening service in line with College policies and are supported in this role by College.
  • Confidentiality will be respected wherever possible (unless someone is at risk of harm – HSCs will be trained how to manage this).
  • HSCs will be well informed on harassment issues and will take individual responsibility for updating their knowledge and working with the EDI Centre to access further development as needed.
  • HSCs will be encouraged to be mutually supportive and to share learning and skills.
  • Individual HSCs will be taught how to recognise their personal limitations in offering specialist advice and will redirect or refer individuals to other appropriate departments and agencies.
  • Any support given will be offered objectively and in a non-judgemental way with respect for individual boundaries.
  • The HSC scheme will be widely publicised with the name of contacts highly visible to help staff access the service easily.


Person Specification

Volunteers will be expected to demonstrate the following:

Experience

Experience of supervising or managing staff - Desirable
Experience of volunteer helplines - Desirable

Knowledge

Good basic knowledge of working at Imperial - Desirable

Skills & Abilities

An interest in and commitment to matters of equal opportunities - Essential
Ability to listen to staff at all levels, who may approach them with a complaint - Essential
Ability to maintain utmost confidentiality - Essential
Ability to remain calm and impartial - Essential
Ability to deal with difficult situations - Essential
The advisor will be able to spare some time at relatively short notice to see people - Essential
Acting as a sounding board, listening to the complainant - Essential
Putting people in touch with others who may be able to advise e.g., HR managers who can give further advice on procedures - Essential
Attending network catch-up meetings and yearly CPD/supervision - Essential
Record keeping - Desirable
Willingness to model Imperial Values - Essential
Able to build rapport - Essential
The following courses should have been completed in the last three years: EDI online course, Unconscious bias online course, Harassment: confronting inappropriate behaviour - Desirable

[23 September 2022]