A safe place where people learn and grow,

that serves our needs and enriches our lives

in a supportive, fun and caring environment

Our organisation

Ozanam House is a community resource centre run by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. It is located on the site of the original clothing and furniture warehouse in a building that has also been used by the Society for a variety of purposes for over 100 years. Since our opening in September 2002 we have continued to develop various programmes and projects aimed at addressing the issue of social exclusion as well as the many needs of the local community in Dublin’s north inner city. The centre now offers over 600 programme places to more than 500 people per week where our youngest member is 3 and our eldest is 94.  We also engage 75 active volunteers who share their time and skills each week for the benefit of others.

Overview of the Volunteer Role

We operate IT systems and infrastructure in the following way –

1. We have an admin server and network that manages an IT system for 9 admin computers in 3 separate locations in the building
2. We have an IT training room with 9 machines (8 training pc’s and one teacher’s pc) linked to the network system (accessing internet and WIFI only) but isolated and run separate to the admin server. This room acts as a standalone network where the 8 training pc’s are networked through the teachers machine in the room.

The role of the volunteer supporting our IT systems is as follows:

Tasks

• Becoming familiar with the IT infrastructure in the centre. A comprehensive plan and details of the system are available and can be made available for review
• Troubleshooting – supporting the centre by offering off site or hands on advice in dealing with day to day problems if and when they arise.
• Networking – supporting the centre in dealing with day to day network problems if and when they arise.
• Software and Hardware Management – advising (off site or hands on – depending on availability) the centre on any hardware of software issues if and when they arise
• Auditing aged equipment – assisting the audit of aged equipment that has been take off the system. We aim to clean the hard drives and to donate these units back to service users who may benefit from them in their learning as they would not be able to afford computers.

Time commitment

The volunteer should commit to at least one evening per month (2-3 hours) to come in to review all areas so that we stay on top of the systems and are then able to deal with possible issues before they arise. This day/time can be arranged locally.

The time commitment for troubleshooting is flexible where the need for assistance can happen at different times and the availability of the volunteer to respond depends on the time, day of the call. There is an understanding that when a call for assistance is made it may be a few hours or days before the volunteer is available to come in to assist us and this is an expected part of the role. The earlier the volunteer is available the better for the centre.

Skills, Experience & Qualities Required

• Knowledge of network systems and associated ICT knowledge and skills
• Willingness to share your computer and technology knowledge
• Good organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• High motivation and engagement to be a volunteer over a longer period of time
• Patience, resilience, tolerance and flexibility
• Understanding of and commitment to the ethos of volunteering, community initiative and the organisation

Training & Induction

• The volunteer will attend an induction/information night in the centre prior to his/her first engagement and will get a general information pack to become familiar with the centre and our procedures
• The volunteer will have an initial meeting with the co-ordinator to receive a role-specific induction and to agree a timetable and schedule of duties in line with the volunteer role description

Support & Supervision

1. The co-ordinator is responsible for the support of our volunteers. Volunteers will meet with the co-ordinator either in one-to-one meetings, or in team meetings to discuss ongoing progress and any issues arising.
2. The volunteer will be a part of the ICT Committee in the centre. The ICT Committee will consist of a small team of ICT experts dedicating their time to support the ICT infrastructure in Ozanam House.
3. The ICT Committee will meet four times per year in January, April, August and November in the evenings.
4. General volunteer meetings, for all volunteers, will take place twice a year, May and November.

Benefits

• Personal and professional development
• Sharing knowledge that can help others enrich other peoples’ lives
• Opportunity to work in and learn about a community resource centre
• Opportunity to build up valuable work experience
• Opportunity to make a great difference – one that is positive and rewarding – to your life and your community
• To be part of a progressive and energetic team supporting others to achieve their goals and to improve their lives.

Contact

Kim Haugh

Phone: 01 8742804

Email: admin@ozanamhouse.ie