Driver (for people with sight loss and their guide dog)

Guide Dogs are here to help people with sight loss live the life they choose. Our expert staff, dedicated volunteers and life-changing dogs are here to help people with a vision impairment live actively, independently, and well.

As a volunteer driver for Guide Dogs, you’ll be helping people with sight loss to live the life they choose by providing safe and friendly transport that enables service users or fellow volunteers to engage in Guide Dogs activities. The main requests for this role would be to transport adults with sight loss to and from our residential partnership training venues, this could be without the dog when they start their programme, and with their new dog when they are on their way home. Training venues are in Kilmarnock and Dumfries, and guide dog owners could live anywhere around the West of Scotland.

There may be times when there are more requests than others, so this wouldn't necessarily be a weekly volunteer opportunity, more as and when the opportunities arise. There may be the occasional request to transport a dog itself - this can be discussed during the application process.

On a typical day volunteering in this role, you can expect to:
• Provide safe and friendly transport to our volunteers, our service users and potentially their dogs, in your own vehicle or Guide Dogs’ vehicle. (Guide Dogs vehicle is located at Hamilton office, ML3 6JT).
• Follow Guide Dogs’ guidelines on transporting dogs.
• Maintain professional boundaries with all passengers and adhere to safeguarding policies.
• Sighted guide service users in and out of vehicles and premises.
• Check equipment is in working order.
However, you won’t be expected to:
• Transport others for non-Guide Dogs purposes e.g. for personal journeys.
• Transport anyone under the age of 18.