Could you be an AFF overseas volunteer?

We currently have vacancies for overseas volunteers in the following locations:

Kenya, Brunei, Gibraltar, Kuwait, Portugal, Turkey, USA, Nepal

Are you due posting or already posted at one of these locations? Would you like to get involved with your community and help AFF to reach as many families as possible?

AFF relies on volunteers to increase our understanding of the needs of Army families, and to help inform families about AFF and its role. For many years, AFF has maintained a team of volunteers at overseas locations where there are no paid AFF staff.

Volunteers help us to increase our footprint on the ground, representing the needs and concerns of army families that live on a patch and publicising the help that AFF can offer.

By telling us of the concerns in their areas, our volunteers add essential evidence to our knowledge of the issues affecting Army families worldwide, and by keeping up to date with the latest developments, they are also able to send valuable information out to more of the population. We could not reach enough families without the contributions of our volunteers.

What kind of things could I get involved in?

The task of overseas volunteer varies from location to location, and as such we don’t have a defined task list or job description. However the things we typically ask of overseas volunteers are as follows:

• Feedback to your AFF point of contact on issues affecting families in your posting location (even if these are associated with a move from/to other postings)
• Provide assistance in dealing with Journal distribution problems in your area, i.e. liaise with local postal services and the AFF Communications Manager to resolve any issues
• Forward enquiries from families onto an AFF point of contact and/or act as a liaison
• Signpost families to the range of support and information available from AFF, in person and using local media
• Display/distribute AFF publicity material

In addition, and if you are comfortable doing so, we might also ask that you:

• Attend local meetings/gatherings to listen to families’ views and represent AFF and feed back on outcomes
• Liaise with the local chain of command (where appropriate/as requested) to facilitate two-way communication with AFF Central Office
• Forward any relevant local information (e.g. newsletters) to your AFF point of contact
• Distribute and collect questionnaires
• Supply text for an article about your area for the Journal

Many of the people who volunteer for AFF find the experience a very rewarding one. We only ask for the time you feel you are able to give, and are always happy to work with individual volunteers to find the specific task or tasks that they would like to be involved in, for their own benefit and development and for the good of their local community.

How do I become an overseas volunteer?

If you would like to know more about the overseas volunteer role or are interested to apply, please contact Becky Valentine on 0044 (0)7775 606485 or at director@afftraining.org.uk.