Advice volunteer roles in upton park, greater london

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a distinctive and values-driven organisation. We are currently seeking a new Trustee who, after three months of service on our Board, would step into the role of Chair, with the current Chair completing their term after this successful appointment.

The Chair of Headway East London plays a crucial role in providing inclusive leadership and clear direction to the Board of Trustees. They will support the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities for the charity’s ambitious strategy and governance and ensure the effective working of the Board as a collective. A key part of the role will be to both support and hold to account the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team.

The Chair will act as a trusted advisor and critical friend to the Chief Executive and represent Headway East London externally alongside them. They will be a visible and approachable presence within our community, upholding the importance of relationships with our members – people living with brain injury – and ensuring that this insight informs strategic thinking.

We are looking for someone who brings: 

• A strong track record of board-level leadership and a sound understanding of good governance in the charity sector.
• Experience of transformation and organisational development.
• Excellent communication and chairing skills – able to ask thoughtful, challenging questions and facilitate productive Board discussions.
• Extensive understanding of charity finances and risk oversight.
• The ability to work collaboratively with the Chief Executive to shape and monitor organisational goals, policies and performance.
• A natural, down-to-earth style – personable, non-hierarchical and approachable.
• A commitment to community – with lived or professional experience of brain injury, or a clear understanding of its impact.
• A values-led approach and belief in the power of human relationships to drive strategic outcomes.

The Chair will also help foster relationships with partners, funders and supporters, helping to strengthen Headway East London’s reputation and long-term sustainability.

Headway East London is an Equal Opportunities Employer and we are committed to ensuring that all staff are motivated, skilled and rewarded by their work. We welcome applicants regardless of race, religion or belief, colour, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age and other protected status as required by law. We promote and protect human rights; they are the foundation of what we do. We want to be an inclusive place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and contribute their unique strengths and perspectives. We are focused on equality and believe that all the fascinating characteristics that make us different, make us more able to deliver our life-changing work with passion and creativity.

Job Title: Personal Assistant                                                                         

Reports To: Department Manager 

Location: Remote

Employment Type: Volunteer (12 hours/week for 6 months)

About the Project – “Solta o Jogo”
“Solta o Jogo” is a vibrant cultural competition and festival celebrating Brazilian heritage through Capoeira, music, dance, acrobatics, and a Brazilian arts & crafts fair. Hosted at Kingston University Townhouse, the event invites the community to participate in free performances, workshops, and exhibitions promoting cross-cultural understanding.

As part of this initiative, we are seeking a Personal Assistant to support daily coordination, scheduling, and communication tasks across departments. This remote volunteer opportunity is ideal for someone who is detail-oriented, proactive, and looking to gain experience in nonprofit administration while contributing to a meaningful community-driven programme. 

Position Overview:
The Personal Assistant will be responsible for organising meetings, managing calendars, supporting internal communications, and assisting in day-to-day administrative operations. This role plays a vital part in ensuring smooth coordination between teams, and offers autonomy, flexibility, and mentorship opportunities for someone looking to develop or apply their administrative and organisational skills in the Third Sector.

Key Responsibilities:

Administrative Support & Coordination:

• Manage meeting schedules, appointments, and internal calendars.

• Organise virtual events, staff briefings, and team check-ins.

• Support in planning and executing internal conferences or training sessions.

Data & System Management:

• Maintain and update internal databases and contact lists.

• Implement and uphold procedures and administrative systems.

Staff Liaison & Communication:

• Act as a point of contact between managers and teams.

• Assist in internal communications and task follow-ups.

General Administrative Tasks:

• Contribute to internal meetings with updates and suggestions.

• Provide ad hoc administrative support to leadership and teams as needed.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

• No specific degree required, but relevant administrative or office support experience is preferred.

Experience:

• Prior experience as an administrative or personal assistant is an advantage.

• Familiarity with coordinating meetings, managing data, or supporting organisational logistics.

Skills:

• Strong written and verbal communication.

• Excellent organisational and time-management abilities.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel.

• Proactive, professional, and able to work independently or collaboratively.

• Strong team player with attention to detail.

Benefits:

• Gain valuable administrative and coordination experience in the nonprofit sector.

• Receive support and mentorship to build confidence and skills.

• Work flexibly in a fully remote setup with a collaborative team.

• Build your network within a mission-driven cultural organisation.

• Reimbursement of local travel expenses (if in-person support is required for specific events).

Equality Statement

Quilombo UK is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment. We promote equal opportunities in line with the Equality Act 2010. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated, and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds.

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

Terms of appointment:

• Trustees are appointed for a three-year term of office, renewable for one additional three-year term. In special circumstances, trustees may be approved for a third consecutive three-year term, serving a maximum of nine years.
• This is a voluntary position, but reasonable expenses are reimbursed.

Time commitment

• Meetings: Attend four 2-hour Board meetings annually (two remote, two in-person) and quarterly 30-minute catch-ups with the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
• Awayday: Participate in one full-day, in-person Awayday each year.
• Subcommittees: Some trustees are expected to attend subcommittee meetings, which occur prior to the Board meetings. Currently, there are two subcommittees: Finance, Audit, and Risk; and Nomination, Remuneration, and Culture.

Visit our website to learn more about our work and impact.

Role Description:
Our trustees play a vital role in making sure that Women in Prison achieves its core purpose. They oversee the overall management and administration of the charity.

For the full job description, please read the recruiment pack.

Duties:

• Support and provide advice on Women in Prison’ purpose, vision, goals and activities.
• Approve operational strategies and policies and monitor and evaluate their implementation.
• Oversee Women in Prisons’ financial plans and budgets and monitor and evaluate progress.
• Ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation.
• Ensure that key risks are being identified, monitored and controlled effectively.
• Review and approve Women in Prisons’ financial statements.
• Provide support and challenge to Women in Prisons’ CEO in the exercise of their delegated authority and affairs.
• Keep abreast of changes in Women in Prison’s operating environment.
• Contribute to regular reviews of Women in Prisons’ own governance. Attend Board meetings, adequately prepared to contribute to discussions.
• Use independent judgment, acting legally and in good faith to promote and protect Women in Prisons’ interests, to the exclusion of their own personal and/or any third-party interests.

What we are looking for

• We are looking for people willing to bring energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the role, and who will broaden the diversity of thinking on our board.

The Listening Place is a volunteer-led charity aiming to transform how we support people who feel suicidal.  Our trained volunteers are part of a team delivering face-to-face, confidential, ongoing support to thousands of people each year.  They help create the warm and welcoming environment that encourages people struggling with suicidal thoughts and feelings to talk openly without being judged or given advice.   

Helping Volunteers are responsible for welcoming visitors onto our premises, providing a warm and welcoming atmosphere (along with a cup of tea), and supporting our Listening Volunteers to help everything run smoothly.

We are looking for volunteers who have the empathy to greet distressed visitors, the willingness to undertake a variety of admin and other tasks and the resilience to support their team.  Our HVs need to be proactive, self-starters and team players with a basic understanding of IT. We ask for a weekly commitment of four hours for a period of at least six months.

We are primarily recruiting Helping Volunteers for our new site near Liverpool Street. We also have limited vacancies available at our other sites in Hammersmith, Pimlico and Kings Cross.

Home-Start Suffolk is seeking an experienced and committed individual to join our Board of Trustees as Treasurer. This is a rewarding opportunity to play a vital leadership role in a well-established and growing charity that supports families across Suffolk. As Treasurer, you will work closely with the Chair, CEO, Finance Sub Committee and wider Board to ensure strong financial oversight and governance.

You’ll help guide our financial strategy, support budget-setting and risk management, and ensure that financial information is clear and accessible to the Board. We are specifically looking for someone with experience in charity finance, ideally with a background in accountancy or financial management. You will bring a solid understanding of financial governance and charity reporting requirements and be confident in offering strategic insight as well as practical advice.

This Treasurer role is part of our wider trustee recruitment, and we welcome applicants who also bring any of the following:

• Experience or knowledge of the local charity or voluntary sector
• Understanding of family support or volunteer management
• Strong networks and connections within local businesses
• Previous involvement with Home-Start Suffolk as a volunteer or someone who has received support
• A passion for making a difference in your community

Shannon Trust fulfils an unmet need around adult learning, supporting people who’ve fallen through the cracks in formal education.

We know a lot of people have had negative learning experiences in the past, so our programme is designed to be different, with no exams and no classrooms. Our unique, evidence-based Turning Pages reading manuals are used by thousands of learners in prisons and the community to improve reading skills. 

Prison volunteers live near to their local prison so that they can visit about once a month during the working week to nurture the growth of the Shannon Trust in their prison. They help unlock the power of reading by offering advice, guidance, training and support to prison staff and prisoner mentors who help other prisoners to improve their skills 1 to 1.

We are looking for volunteers who are able to work alone, able to give a regular, reliable commitment for ideally two years and able to deliver engaging training to groups of people in prisons.  Due to the nature of the role, prison security vetting will be required.

We provide training for the role via e-learning and 4 training sessions which are a mix of live, online and group training.

Professionals Aid Guild (PAG) is seeking a new Trustee to join a well-established charity based in London to assist with ongoing and future strategic development. A background in Education or Social Welfare would be desirable.

Using your experience, skills and knowledge, as Trustee you will be;

• Contributing actively to the Board of Trustees' role in giving firm strategic direction to the organisation,
• Setting overall policy, defining goals and setting targets and evaluating performance against agreed targets.
• Ensuring the effective and efficient administration of the organisation.
• Ensuring the financial stability of the organisation.
• Protecting and managing the property of the organisation and ensuring the proper investment of the organisation's funds.
• Ensuring that the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction and is focused on achieving these.
• Being responsible for the performance of the charity and for its “corporate” behaviour; ensuring that the charity complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
• Acting as guardians of the charity’s assets, both tangible and intangible, taking all due care over their security, deployment and proper application.
• Ensuring that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard.

We are particularly interested in hearing from anyone with a background in IT, Education or Welfare; however a general interest in the relief of poverty is important. A successful applicant would be decisive, responsible, good at networking and passionate about delivering and developing the aims of the charity. Our Trustees play a vital role in the work of the charity and have a high degree of responsibility. The charity processes confidential information about our applicants and so an awareness of data protection regulation would be useful.

As a Trustee for PAG you will make a difference to professionals throughout UK.  Examples of our beneficiaries could include a family struggling to afford school uniforms for their children, a cancer sufferer who has had to give up work and is struggling to manage financially, a medical student whose funding has failed, or a single parent who has moved to a new home and needs assistance with the cost of furniture – these are all areas in which PAG has assisted and continues to assist.

Some case studies below demonstrate the real impact that the charity has;

1. Mrs B accumulated large debts when she lost her job and was unable to obtain further loan or credit.  She was awarded a one-off gift of £500 towards travel for the final year of her MSc/Diploma from PAG’s Education Committee. Mrs B wrote “I am lost for words to express my gratitude for the received cheque. I would like to say thank you for helping me to every person involved. It will truly make a big difference to my life.”
2. Ms E left the family home due to domestic violence and subsequently divorced, she has one son, who is in employment and who contributes to the household income, and one daughter, who is at school. Mrs E is not currently employed; she has completed a Diploma and hopes to find paid employment soon. She was awarded a grant by the Case Committee and a further award for her daughter’s education from the Education Committee. Ms E wrote “I just wanted to thank you all for helping my family and I. I truly feel grateful and supported by PAG. I really don’t know how I would have coped over the years with so many different events that have happened to in my life. Thank you once again.”

Professionals Aid Guild (PAG) is seeking a new committee member to join a well-established charity on their Case Committee to assist in assessing applications and awarding grants. A background in social welfare would be desirable.

The successful candidate will;

• Attend committee meetings either in person or electronically.
• Assist in assessing applications and advising on awards.
• Determining what awards should be made.
• Be aware of UK social welfare system and use knowledge and skills to contribute effectively to group discussion.
• Ensure the budget for grant awards is used according to the charity rules and objectives.

We are particularly interested in hearing from anyone with a background in social welfare; however, a general interest in the relief of poverty is important. A successful applicant would be decisive, responsible, and passionate about delivering and developing the aims of the charity. Our committee members play a vital role in the work of the charity and the delivery of grants. The charity processes confidential information about our applicants and so an awareness of data protection regulation would also be useful.

As a committee member on the Case Committee you will make a difference to the relief of poverty for professionals throughout the UK.

Some case studies below demonstrate the real impact that the charity has on those who have been awarded a grant towards their studies;

Ms C was made redundant. She was then self-employed but has been unable to work due to ill health. Her daughter was struggling mentally and emotionally with conventional schooling, so she home schooled her. Home-schooling has dramatically improved her daughter’s wellbeing. She is passionate about learning, but a lack of study materials had hindered her. PAG assisted with children’s education grants and a one-off grant towards general living expenses.  

Mrs C wrote “I was completely brought to tears. It has been very difficult for us these past couple of years and seeing your gift lifted a weight off our shoulders. Words cannot express our gratitude and appreciation. This could not have come at a better time. My daughter can now focus on her studies without worrying about the cost of it all. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. We have been truly blessed and are forever grateful.”.

Ms D is a single mother of a son at university. She left her family home due to domestic violence. She is a teacher but had been made redundant due to the recent pandemic. She became bankrupt and was struggling financially. She and her son suffer from long Covid and are currently unable to work. The funds helped her with a one-off grant.

Ms D wrote “It was such fantastic news to receive my award letter and I am so very grateful to you all.  These gifts will make a huge difference to how things are financially and it’s such a relief to know I can stop panicking in the short term and know things are going to be alright.

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is and always will be at the heart of Cats Protection. It is joyful and inclusive. As a charity, working in partnership, together we transform the lives of cats, people and communities.

The difference you will make to cats and people

At Cats Protection we help thousands of cats and kittens each year thanks to our dedicated and passionate volunteer groups. We have branches across the UK, all of which help our cats in different ways. Branches take in stray and abandoned cats and ensure they receive the veterinary care and attention they deserve; help raise funds, promote neutering and help spread cat welfare messages. Our branch team leader volunteers lead their local team by supporting and managing volunteers within their group, maintaining communications with both volunteers and employees, and helping promote a positive and professional image of Cats Protection.

You can expect us to

• Make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• Support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• Cover agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• Provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

What we need from you

You’ll be:

• Supporting your team of volunteers in all aspects of their roles, making sure volunteers are happy and confident
• Making sure the team observes charity best practice and compliance
• Collaborating with your Branch Development Manager (BDM) to plan volunteer activity
• Leading the team to follow Cats Protection policies, procedures and guidelines
• Monitoring expenditure and helping ensure long term financial stability of the volunteer group
• Organising and chairing team meetings
• Acting as an ambassador for Cats Protection

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

Are you a good listener? Are you able to manage group conversations and ensure people feel comfortable together and that groups run smoothly? We need you to facilitate our Talk and Support weekly telephone groups that offer blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to socialise with others when the regular group facilitator is unavailable. This is a telephone-based role that you can do from home. You will need access to a landline or mobile phone We ask you to commit to covering up to 3 groups per week, although this will vary on a week by week basis. Each group you cover will last for one hour.

Home based

• This role is home based

Additional location information

• Home Based: over the telephone (this role requires you to have a landline or mobile telephone)

Who this opportunity will suit

Minimum age

• You must be at least 18 years old to apply

What skills and experience are needed?

• Effective listening skills;
• Good verbal communication skills;
• Work with wide range of people

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

Do you have professional experience in coding and computing? Could you support young people in learning how to code? 

Are you passionate about equipping the next generation with the skills and strategies needed to succeed?

About us: GT Scholars is a social enterprise that tackles educational inequality by giving ambitious young people the support, skills and strategies they need to achieve their aspirations. 

We believe that all young people are gifted and talented, regardless of their background. We run a wide range of programmes that help young people achieve their academic and career aspirations, particularly those from less-privileged backgrounds.

What makes us different? There are many organisations that offer programmes to improve the life chances of young people. However, our programmes use a unique 3:1 model which means that we’re able to sustainably use our profits to provide additional places on our programmes, to young people from low-income homes. 

Our mission is to empower and develop the next generation of leaders and change-makers and we’re looking for workshop facilitators that are passionate about making a difference in young people’s lives!

Responsibilities: Facilitators are responsible for designing creative and interactive workshops for our young people, and delivering these workshops with our young people. We run some of our workshops online and other workshops are held in London. All workshops are held during the school holidays, in the evening and on weekends.

The workshop facilitator role is flexible and as part of your role, you may be involved in:

• Delivering and leading short workshops or courses, on behalf of GT Scholars (Online or offline)

• Designing engaging, interactive and educational workshops and short courses for young people and ensuring that the content is targeted to suit different abilities and capabilities

• Running your own bespoke workshops, eg. workshops in coding and technology

• Managing short activities and Q&A sessions during our workshops

• Working collaboratively with other event coordinators, volunteers, ambassadors, workshop facilitators and speakers at our events

• Following the agreed timings and content for workshops and courses

Person specification: 

As workshop facilitator, you will need to:

• Have passion, knowledge and experience in coding, computing and technology

• Have strong presentation skills

• Have strong communication skills

• Be personable and able to confidently communicate with people from a range of backgrounds and professions.

• Be passionate and committed to tackling educational inequality

• Be punctual and organised

Availability: Workshops will run during the day on school holiday dates, on Saturdays or in the evening (5pm-8pm).

Additional information: We will need to conduct reference checks and you will need an Enhanced DBS for this role as you will be working directly with children. We can process this for you or you may submit one if this is less than 2 years old.

Rate of pay: This is a self-employed role. You must be aged 18 or above. Facilitator sessions range from 2 to 6 hours. The rate of pay will vary based on the budget of the funder.