Recruiting a Befriending at Home Specialist/Lead

Salary: Over £30,000 negotiable, depending on skills/experience

Hours: Full time, Job share potential

Location: Hexham, hybrid working a possibility

Hols: 26 days a year, a birthday day (if it falls on a working day), 8 bank holidays

Start: From October 2025

Apply: CV with a covering letter telling us why you’re the person to do this job.

 

Introduction: 

Developing and safely managing a home visiting service with dogs for hundreds of older people who benefit enormously from Wag friends in the community was the main reason Wag & Company was founded in 2016. Last year, of the 327 people who had their own Wag Teams regularly visiting them in their own homes, 98% said they felt happier and less lonely and socially isolated! That’s exactly what it’s all about!

The demand for our Wag Teams is significant and growing. We have already supported 300 people in their own homes since April this year, as well as 216 care and medical establishments, with another 210 on our waiting lists!  We currently have 423 Wag volunteers and another 84 applicants in our assessment pipeline! Amazing, but lots and lots of great work is going on in the background. 

 

The role:

Our team are organisers, great communicators, doers, workload jugglers, all happy to work within our safe working protocols and procedures and dedicated to working together to make this important difference right across our region, from behind their computer screens!

You’re a missing link. We need you to focus on our befriending at home placements.  From the initial referral, to the Wag risk assessment, the recruitment of the Wag Teams, matching the right person and dog to make someone’s life feel better, to carrying out regular monitoring reviews during the lifetime of the placement, and generally ensuring everyone has their first visit within 8 weeks and are supported to ensure they are safe as well as happy. The Wag bespoke CRM is the only way we can manage the service effectively and safely, and will be your best friend and the keeper of all information.

Simples! 

 

The person:

You’re a great organiser, you’re used to supporting lots of people with lots of different service requirements, ideally within compliance-focused environments using systems to record all their data securely. 

Exceptional customer service is your middle name, and everyone you deal with, volunteers, older friends, referrers, families, etc, will be grateful for it.

You have the memory of an elephant, you’re a professional multitasker, your friends and family rely on you as ‘the doer’ and the ‘organiser’!  You’re very concerned about getting the details right the first time and ensuring all records are updated and working efficiently to make sure everyone has friends within 8 weeks. 

You are prepared for sad situations to arise. During the lifetime of our placements, our volunteers may lose their beautiful Friendship Dogs, and sadly, they may also lose the friends they’re supporting. We have to take comfort in the difference that our amazing volunteers and dogs make to their older friends during their time with us. 

You will take pride in the work that you do and the difference that your work makes. Your great written and verbal communication skills mean that we will be able to benefit from the way you share lovely stories and testimonials through drafting them into case studies. 

 

How to apply

Send your CV with a covering note to recruitment@wagandcompany.co.uk telling us why this is your job. Over 8 years ago, Leanne did just that, she applied and insisted that this was her perfect job.. and you know what, it was! Could it be yours?