Purpose of role

Our Autism Employment Mentor Volunteers are an integral part of our Leeds Autism AIM service’s National Lottery Community Fund project for 2025. The time, expertise, knowledge, and experience that you give, will help autistic adults to achieve their employment goals.

We require reliable people who have a patient and empowering approach to mentor an autistic adult and work with them to develop strategies for maintaining employment and improving workplace confidence.

We welcome applications from people with experience of autism either personally or professionally. However, we also welcome applications from people with a specific interest in autism and willingness to learn from training.

Through volunteering, you will have the opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people, share your valuable experience, and develop new interests. You need to have the ability to accept people as they are, while bringing creativity, motivation, and determination to help people overcome the barriers to employment and thrive in a role they enjoy.

You must be able to plan effectively and have the confidence to work independently in the community.

Duties/activities

  • You will be matched with an autistic person who requires Mentor support.
  • To meet the autistic person regularly for a period of up to 12 months.
  • Commit to meet your mentee for 2 hours a week, fortnight or month during weekdays 9am–7pm.
  • You will meet your mentee at The Advonet Group Office, or The Autism Hub (Community Wellbeing Hub).
  • Or remotely via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Text or Phone call.
  • Get to know your mentee and help identify goals.
  • Develop a structured plan to achieve identified goals and provide support to overcome any barriers to achieving these goals.
  • Provide information to help your mentee make informed choices and their confidence around reasonable adjustments at work.
  • Use AIM’s self-advocacy guides to help your mentee develop strategies to manage at work.
  • Help to access necessary services and ultimately empower them to reach their work goals.
  • Empower the mentee to understand their employment/disability rights and support the mentee to advocate for themselves.

Volunteering with Leeds Autism AIM

What to expect

As part of your role as a Volunteer Autism Employment Mentor, you will receive an initial induction as well as two days training in autism awareness and mentoring.

We highly value our volunteers and will enable you to develop your skills and share your experiences of employment (whether that is being self-employed, working for a company or you are retired).

After full training and induction, we will support you in initial introductions with the person you will be mentoring, and in developing a structured plan. We will provide ongoing support as you require it and schedule regular supervision support with you.

As well as access to additional training, some expenses are covered by the organisation for costs such as travel, as well as a £5 food allowance, if you work more than 4 hours in one day volunteering with us.

Who do we want to hear from?

We believe our strength comes from the diversity of our volunteers. We welcome applications from people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds.

Whether you’re new to volunteering or bring years of experience, we value your interest in contributing to our work. We have an inclusive volunteering policy and particularly welcome applications from autistic adults; however this is not an essential requirement of the role.

We have successfully worked alongside autistic volunteers across all aspects of The Advonet Group and Autism AIM, who have positively contributed to our service and greatly enhanced the support we provide.

How to apply:

Interested people are invited to complete the Volunteering Enquiry Form, found by clicking on the button below. One of our friendly team will then be in contact with more information.

What happens next?

You will then be invited to an informal meeting where you will meet our Volunteer Coordinator and be issued with a Volunteering Application Pack. The informal meeting can be via phone call, Zoom/Teams or in-person.

Once we receive your completed Volunteer Application form, we will contact your specified Referees for a reference and conduct a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please Note – A DBS check is required for anyone working with vulnerable people – either paid or on a voluntary basis. We ask that you are open and honest with us from the very beginning and talk to us about any concerns you might have. Once these documents are completed, your induction training will begin.

Training sessions:

Our training sessions for volunteers cover the following training courses:

  • Autism Awareness & Working with Autistic Adults (5 hrs)
  • Autism Mentoring Training (5 hrs)
  • Advonet Volunteer Induction Training (4 hrs)

Not what you’re looking for?

If you have lived experience and want to volunteer your time to make a positive difference, but this role isn’t quite for you then we are always happy to talk to you about other opportunities within the organisation.

We have a variety of other volunteering roles within Leeds Autism AIM that may be of interest or fit your skill set better. They include:

  • Peer Support Volunteer
  • Support Group Volunteer
  • Autism Hub Supporter

There are also opportunities to be involved in other areas of The Advonet Group, including our Learning Disability projects.

Contact us:

Danielle Furness, Autism AIM Volunteer Coordinator