Volunteer Software Engineer Developer Volunteer - Ad Hoc. Occasional (e.g. per project)

What will you be doing?

This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of Cocoon Kids - Creative Counselling and Play Therapy CIC. Our vital not-for-profit therapeutic service for priority children and young people, and their families depends on our financial resilience. By volunteering as Software Engineer or Developer Volunteer you can help our CIC grow and develop to our next stage by ensuring that we have the funds to sustain and develop the service, and help us to realise our ambition of being a service for our community and beyond.   We’re urgently looking for a Software Engineering or Developer Volunteer, responsible for contributing to software design and software development of our web based mental health and wellbeing app. We need help on a one-off and/or per project basis (or more regular if preferred) with:  

Creating secure and reliable software solutions Collaborate with our team to develop our current Minimum Viable Product  Updating and maintaining our website Developing applications (coding, programming) Debugging and testing code Documenting and testing new software applications Researching, investigating and fixing a wide range of technical issues Collaborating with our team to meet a brief Approaching problems and creating solutions Proactively learning about any new technologies that may be useful for the web app, and/or, other areas we can develop in Potential to supervise less experienced Volunteers and Interns (depending on time commitment)

  Make this role your own - we're a responsive organisation, we'll be glad to listen to your great ideas

What are we looking for?

What are we looking for in a volunteer? We would love a volunteer who:

Has the ability to quickly understand the needs and challenges faced by our organisation Can quickly understand our children, young people and families’ main concerns Has accurate and up to date knowledge and experience of a range of software, e.g. GitHub, Vercel, AWS Is aware of/is willing to inform themself of the latest software packages and coding developments Can help us get to grips with relevant options, approaches and strategies, and discuss next steps Can collaborate well with other Volunteers and Interns in the role Will follow up with any further questions or outcomes You may already have established key relationships with others in this field.

  Skills

Computer Science, Software Engineering, DevOp or related area background  Experience with various programming languages Able to work on your own initiative Self-motivated and results-oriented Strong communication and presentation skills Strong problem-solving abilities and organisational skills

  Specific skills and experience  We expect all of our team to have knowledge and experience in the following areas: 

Mental health and wellbeing challenges and its impact

Living with or have experience of socio-economic deprivation and/or marginalised communities

Understanding of the impact that housing insecurity may bring to a child, young person and their family’s mental health and wellbeing.

What difference will you make?

You’ll have the opportunity to make a real and tangible difference to the lives of priority children, young people and families. You’ll make sure families can access fully-funded and appropriate longer-term sessions- for as long as is therapeutically right for them, providing long-term positive mental health equity and outcomes and improved social mobility. Ultimately, you'll be ensuring our long-term sustainability beyond the challenges of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, growing our service from local, to regional and beyond.   We'll also acknowledge your support  and champion you and your service on our social media and website (provided you'd like us to do this).   Why apply? Join us, and you’ll be part of our small, friendly team. You’ll be able to organise your time around your own schedule, whilst making a real and immediate difference to children, young people and families in difficult times.