Advocate For Sex Workers Volunteer Roles

One25 is a Bristol-based charity, specialising in supporting women to break free from street sex-work, addiction and other life-controlling issues and build new, independent lives. We provide night outreach (7 sessions weekly), a Health Hub and casework, giving person-centred support and advocacy to around 240 women each year.

One25’s outreach service is often how women first make contact with us, meeting us on our fully equipped outreach van.  Three volunteers, one an experienced team leader, go out on the van at night and meet women’s basic needs by providing nutritious food, first aid, warm clothing, condoms, safety alarms etc. They provide the chance to talk and get advice in a safe space and encourage women to get more in-depth help by visiting our Health Hub or seeing a caseworker. 

We are looking for volunteers to join our accelerated pathway to becoming a Van Team Leader. This pilot project will be for people who have professional experience in the following areas: 

• Domestic abuse
• Sexual violence
• Drug and alcohol
• Homelessness
• Social care
• Physical Health
• Mental health
• Prison service 

The project will aim to train volunteers up into Team Leaders within 6 months. This will consist of fortnightly van shifts and monthly training forums, and frequent mentorship from the Volunteer Manager.

Upon completion of the programme Team Leaders will be able to reduce their commitment to monthly van outreach shifts and quarterly training/meetings, with the expectation that Team Leaders will continue as a volunteering for more than 2 – 3 years (24/36 shifts). 

It is an Occupational Requirement that applications for this post are open to women only, as permitted under Schedule 9, Part 1, of the Equality Act 2010. Enhanced DBS disclosure will be required.

Application: April 

Interview: May 

Van induction: Thursday 30th May at 5pm-8:30pm 

Safeguarding and Boundary training: June date tbc

Shift 1 and 2: June

Shift 3 and 4:  July 

Material sent to view beforehand

Training forum: Monday 22nd July 6-7:30pm 

Shift 5 and 6: August

Material sent to view beforehand

Training forum:Monday 2nd September 6-7:30pm 

Shifts 7 and 8: September

Material sent to view beforehand

Training forum:  Monday 7th October 6 -7:30pm

Shifts 9 and 10: October

Probation review: November  

Role title: Chair of the Board of Trustees
Location: Flexible (travel to London will be required at least once a quarter)
Salary: N/A (Volunteer role)
Time commitment: 2-3 days per month
Contract: The Chair is appointed for an initial 3-year term with the option of renewal for up to 3 terms. The maximum term for all trustees (including the Chair) is 9 years.

Purpose of the role: 
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced leader to join a growing, impact-focused and ambitious charity supporting refugees to access meaningful employment and build a new life. 

The Chair leads the board, ensuring that it governs Breaking Barriers effectively, in service of our vision and mission. The Chair leads in an inclusive way, supporting the board to work together well, and providing support and challenge to the Chief Executive. The Chair is also an ambassador for the charity. 

The Chair of Breaking Barriers provides visionary leadership and strategic direction, ensuring that the organisation effectively achieves its mission while adhering to its core values. This pivotal role involves governance oversight, board leadership, executive support, and serving as an ambassador for the organisation.

Key responsibilities:

• Strategic leadership and vision: Guide the organisation with a strategic vision, aligning the board and staff's efforts with the mission. Lead the development and review of long-term strategies to ensure responsiveness to community needs and adaptability to the changing environment.
• Governance and oversight: Ensure effective governance, oversee board operations, and ensure compliance with legal, ethical, and functional responsibilities. Monitor financial performance and adherence to non-profit management best practices.
• Resource mobilisation: Support and participate in fundraising strategies, leveraging networks, and engaging with donors and stakeholders to secure necessary resources for the organisation's work.
• Building and leading the board: Ensure the board comprises members with diverse skills and perspectives. Lead recruitment, orientation, and training of board members and facilitate effective meetings and discussions, ensuring productive governance to advance the purpose and values of the organization.
• CEO support and evaluation: Support and maintain a constructive relationship with the CEO, creating a positive and strong working relationship to jointly set and achieve appropriate targets, staying in regular contact and acting as a sounding board to discuss strategic or staffing issues - coaching, supporting and challenging as necessary. Ensuring accountability for organisational performance.
• Ambassadorship: Act as the primary ambassador, representing and promoting the organisation's mission, values, and interests to external stakeholders, enhancing its reputation, and fostering collaboration, fundraising and promotional opportunities.

To view the full job description and person specification, as well as details on our accessible recruitment process, please view the attached recruitment pack.

Other considerations

• As part of our safeguarding commitment to our clients, we carry out pre-employment checks to ensure that successful applicants are suitable to work with adults at risk. These include basic DBS checks, obtaining references and verifying a candidate’s identity and right to work in the UK.
• Breaking Barriers is committed to protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect and for their views, wishes and beliefs to be fully considered when deciding action.
• We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief.

How to apply

If you are looking for a role where you can make a real difference, we want to hear from you. Please apply via Charity Jobs by submitting a cover letter (up to approximately 2 A4 pages), referencing how you believe you best meet the person specification. You are also welcome to include any reasonable adjustments you require for the interview process. Please view the attached recruitment pack for further essential information for candidates.

Closing date for applications is 11:59pm on Thursday 2nd May. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We belong to the Experts by Experience Employment Initiative, which advocates and supports organisations to employ more people from a refugee background. With this in mind, we particularly welcome applicants with experience of seeking asylum and/or a refugee background. If you are an expert by experience (a refugee or a migrant with direct, first-hand experience of issues and challenges of the UK asylum or immigration system), you can ask for an independent and confidential support for your job application from the Experts by Experience Employment Network. Please reach out to HR Manager Dani Meier for further details (we are unable to include email addresses in this advert, but you can find contact details on the final page of the attached recruitment pack).

Bardet Biedl Syndrome UK: Chair of Trustees 

Location: Remote, UK-based 

Salary: Voluntary 

Empower change: Join us as Chairperson and make a lasting impact 

BBS UK are looking for a new Chairperson, to lead our Board of Trustees and contribute to the development and success of our charity. 

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare, complex condition that causes blindness, learning disabilities, and obesity, along with other symptoms.  BBS UK is the only UK charity dedicated to helping individuals with BBS and their loved ones. Our aim is to offer wraparound support to those impacted by BBS, to empower them to live the lives they choose, as valued members of society. 

BBS UK provides advocacy services, NHS clinic support, up-to-date publications, and events that connect our community members and help them to navigate living with Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Through these projects, we aim to ensure that those who seek our help are supported, connected, and empowered to achieve the best possible outcome. 

We have a team of eight dedicated part-time staff members who facilitate the delivery of these services, and volunteers who assist with our events. We support approximately 550 individuals with BBS each year.

It’s an exciting time to join our work! We aim to expand our team, improve our communication channels, and increase our overarching community benefit, all within the next few years. 

The role: 

We are looking for an experienced, professional and compassionate Chairperson to lead our Board of Trustees, many of whom have lived experience of BBS.

You will support and lead on our strategic planning, deliver on all governance requirements, and be a highly visible member of our BBS UK community. 

We’re looking for someone with: 

• Strong leadership skills 

• Excellent communication skills who can liaise with board members, staff, service users, medical professionals and other stakeholders 

• Experience in charity governance, as a Chair or Vice-Chair

• Passion for making a difference, with a particular interest in empowering persons with disabilities 

• A proven track record in developing strategic initiatives and steering an organisation forward, ensuring continued growth and success 

• Integrity, dedicated to abiding by our charity’s ethos and ethical principles 

For more details, please read our full Chairperson Role description. 

As a BBS UK Trustee, you will have: 

• Induction, training, and reimbursable expenses 

• Opportunities to make strategic decisions and develop new skills 

• Occasions to network with likeminded organisations and professionals

• Influence to shape innovative projects 

• Capability to make a real difference for the wellbeing of our BBS community 

Time commitment: 

The expected time commitment for our Chairperson is a minimum of four Trustee meetings per year via Zoom (lasting approximately three hours for each meeting); in-person attendance at our annual conference and strategy day; occasional overnight stay at a central location may be required.  Regular meetings with our Operations Manager and routine monitoring and response of emails is also required. 

EqualEdge Seeks Passionate Non-Executive Directors to Join its Board

EqualEdge is a for-profit company with a social mission to enable Manchester-based Disabled Peoples Organisation, Breakthrough UK to provide services to disabled people, to increase their opportunities to be employed and to reduce any social isolation. We're passionate about inclusion and diversity in the workplace, and we're expanding our horizons to revolutionise Workplace Personal Assistants, funded by Access to Work and in the future Personal care services in the UK.

The idea of a Workplace Personal Assistant (WPA) agency was conceived by Breakthrough UK, a disabled people’s organisation majority led by disabled people. Breakthrough UK discovered through lived experience that it was extremely difficult to hire and retain WPA’s in the United Kingdom and so the idea of solving the problem through EqualEdge was born.

EqualEdge believes in a world where disabled people have equal access to meaningful employment, thriving in inclusive work environments, and reaching their professional aspirations. Our mission is to bridge the gap between disabled people and their career goals by offering tailored workplace personal assistance services, fostering inclusion, and enhancing professional opportunities.

To achieve this ambitious vision, we're searching for experienced and enthusiastic non-executive directors with expertise across various sectors to join our board and help us shape the future of our company.

About the Role

As a non-executive director, you will play a vital role in providing strategic guidance and oversight to our executive team. You will also be a champion for our mission of fostering a more equitable landscape and launching innovative personal care services within the UK.

We are particularly interested in candidates with strong experience in:

• Recruitment (HR): You have a proven track record of building and leading high-performing teams. You understand the intricacies of talent acquisition, particularly within the recruitment and personal care sector or a similar service industry.
• Marketing: You have a deep understanding of brand development and implementation of successful marketing strategies. You're passionate about reaching new audiences and driving growth in a competitive market.
• Personal Care: You have extensive knowledge of the UK care sector, its regulations, and best practices. You're a visionary leader with a passion for improving the quality of life for those who require personal care services.
• Finance: You have strong financial acumen and experience in overseeing financial performance. You can provide strategic guidance on resource allocation to support both national expansion and the launch of our new service line.

We are also open to applications from experienced professionals in other sectors who share our values of inclusion and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Have a good black book of connections to allow us to build our client base and reach the people who need us most.
• Provide strategic guidance and advice to the executive team on a range of issues, including business development, marketing, and operations, with a specific focus on national expansion and the launch of our personal care services in the UK.
• Oversee the company's financial performance and ensure that we are on track to meet our financial goals, considering the resources needed for national growth and the launch of a new service line.
• Serve as an EqualEdge ambassador and help us build relationships with key stakeholders in new markets and within the UK care sector.
• Attend board meetings and actively participate in discussions, bringing a national perspective and insights relevant to your area of expertise.

You would be a great fit for this role if you have:

• A proven track record of success in a senior leadership role
• A deep understanding of the business landscape, with transferable skills applicable to our areas of focus
• A passion for inclusion and diversity, with a national mindset
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

EqualEdge is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. We recruit, select, train and promote personnel based on their skills and abilities.

We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, religion or belief, sex, marital status or civil partnership, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, age or disability.

We expect to have board meetings every month for the first year, the meeting is expected to last 1 hour. This is a voluntary role however expenses are paid.

We plan to have interviews by the end of April.

Join us and be part of shaping a more inclusive future for workplaces and revolutionising personal care in the UK!