Children support volunteer volunteer volunteer roles in Hampton, greater london

Enthusiastic, hands-on volunteers needed to help provide food to the community. A key role, you will work at the main hub of the food bank and help the food service run as smoothly as possible. An exciting opportunity to make a real, immediate impact to those in need of support. 

Hours: Thursdays, a range of shifts from 9:30am - 6pm

Book shifts to suit your own schedule!

Location: St Michaels Church Hall, 37 Bounds Green Rd, London, N22 8SD

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 1,500 children and adults in the community. We are committed to improving lives by providing food and essential household items to build a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow. We strive to promote social inclusion by supporting people who find themselves in a crisis situation where they need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

The role: 

• Help with setting up the food service and replenishing goods when needed, including decanting and repacking items.

• Warmly welcome guests, serving them the appropriate number of items depending on their household size and needs.

• Follow food bank policies including Health and Safety procedures e.g. wearing gloves when handling fresh food and lifting boxes safely. 

• Keep the hall tidy throughout the food service e.g. tidying away boxes and neatly restocking items. 

Person specification: 

• Patient and flexible

• A team player 

• Understands and is sensitive to the challenges and difficulties faced by guests accessing the food bank e.g. food and fuel poverty, feelings of shame and embarrassment, language barriers.

Benefits:

• Flexible - book shifts to suit your own schedule!

• Give back to the community - one of the NHS’ 5 Ways to Wellbeing!

• Gain access to free workshops for volunteers and upskill on a range of topics (conflict resolution, mental health first aid, arts and crafts, and more)

• Join free social events for volunteers (such as picnics, walks, games nights and celebration events)

• Gain a sense of community and meet the huge team of volunteers

Our Gardener Volunteers support our homes by helping to maintain their outdoor spaces through weeding, pruning and planting, so that the people we support can enjoy spending time in a beautiful environment. 

We are currently looking for volunteer gardeners for one of our services, who can support with the following tasks:

• Create planters

• Provide general maintenance of our gardens

• Watering, planting, weeding and pruning

• Maintaining flower beds

• Creating/improving/maintaining our sensory garden spaces

Skills required 

In order to become one of our gardener volunteers you will be:

• Knowledgeable about plants

• Confident using gardening equipment

• Punctual and reliable

• Friendly and approachable.

Training required for this role (all delivered vis e-learning)

• Safeguarding

• H&S

• Manual Handling

• How to be Eye Care Aware

• Fire Safety

• Infection Control

• Data Security and Confidentiality

• First Aid

All these courses will take approximately 40-60 minutes, apart from the First Aid which is 2 hours.

Benefits

This is a fantastic opportunity to give something positive back to society and have a direct impact on people’s lives.

Gardening is a great way to get out and about, stay fit and meet new people.

Volunteers can claim travel expenses

About us

Registered as The Royal School for the Blind, SeeAbility is one of the oldest disability charities in the UK. This year we are celebrating our 225th anniversary, having pioneered specialist support across multiple generations since 1799!

We specialise in supporting people who have learning disabilities, autism, complex needs, who may also have sight loss. Our support ranges from providing person-centred support across our many supported-living and residential care provisions. Furthermore, we provide specialist eye-care services to children and adults alike and assists people to find paid employment for the very first time.

SeeAbility provides the resources and expertise that make this possible, we support people to live ambitious lives and achieve things they never thought possible.

We are currently developing an open-source website and internal systems, and we are looking for a UX/UI Designer to lead the design of a platform that is: 

• Emotionally safe
• Intuitive and accessible
• Scalable across multiple services
• Built with survivors in mind
• clean lines and top quailty

This is not just a design role — this is an opportunity to shape a digital experience that will impact thousands of lives. 

Key Responsibilities

User Experience (UX)

Design user journeys for:

• Survivors sharing their stories
• Volunteers and staff interacting with the system
• Students accessing training and opportunities
• Conduct user research (where appropriate and ethical)
• Create wireframes, user flows, and prototypes
• Ensure trauma-informed and emotionally sensitive design decisions

User Interface (UI)

• Design clean, modern, and accessible interfaces
• Develop a consistent design system (colours, typography, components)
• Ensure mobile-first and responsive design
• Collaborate with developers to bring designs to life

Platform & Systems Design

• Contribute to the UX of:
• Internal dashboards
• Learning platforms
• Community spaces (forums, content hubs, bookclub ,etc.)
• Help simplify complex systems into intuitive experiences

Collaboration

• Work closely with:
• Founder and leadership team
• Developers (open-source contributors)
• Content creators and marketing team
• Translate vision into practical, user-centred design

Essential Skills & Experience

• Experience in UX/UI design (portfolio required)
• Proficiency in tools such as: Figma (preferred), Adobe XD / Sketch (optional)
• Strong understanding of:
• User journeys and information architecture
• Accessibility (WCAG standards)
• Mobile-first design principles

• Ability to think both creatively and strategically

Desirable (Not Essential)

• Experience designing for:
• Non-profits or social impact organisations
• Mental health or trauma-informed platforms
• Understanding of open-source collaboration
• Basic knowledge of front-end (HTML/CSS)
• Experience with community platforms (e.g., forums, learning systems)

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Empathetic and emotionally intelligent
• Passionate about social impact
• Reliable and committed
• Able to work independently and take initiative
• Open to feedback and collaboration

What You’ll Gain

• The opportunity to build a meaningful, real-world platform from the ground up
• A strong portfolio project with social impact
• Experience working within a growing organisation
• Future paid opportunities as the organisation scales
• A chance to directly contribute to changing lives and communities

Safeguarding Note

Due to the nature of our work, all team members must approach the role with sensitivity, confidentiality, and respect. Exposure to sensitive topics may occur. 

We are looking for the 'practical hands' to help our families reclaim their childhood. Use music to help families regulate, bond and feel joy again. Whether you sing, drum, strum or play something unique, you’ll help create soothing, expressive sessions that support emotional wellbeing.

We are seeking a diverse, proactive team of volunteers to support a 6-week summer programme (July 20 – Aug 28) across three refuge houses. Our mission is to rebuild parent-child bonds and bring joy back into childhood for families recovering from domestic abuse. You will be volunteering alongside Children Family workers throughout the summer, and will be invited to join an end of summer party.

The Widening Participation Officer tries to recruit, engage and support as many 16-18 year old volunteers as possible across all of our chapters, with particular focus on those that’d benefit the most from additional WP volunteers, often those
chapters doing the most events.

Due to the sizable scope of the role, the WP Subcommittee is there to help as needed. This is primarily through admin work. You should ensure that you have a suitable number of keen volunteers within the subcommittee that you can delegate tasks to, ensuring that they were well informed, supported and any tasks followed up. This is likely to involve plenty of messaging and occasional meetings.

A primary part of the role that you can delegate is to conceptualise and write the policy for managing 16-18 year old volunteers. This should have a focus on appropriate safeguarding and you can get input from the subcommittee and other Trustees/Officers but should include things like recruitment methods, required paperwork, risk assessments, management at events etc. These policies need to then be communicated effectively to committee and volunteers. 

There are several ways that WP volunteers should be recruited. Schools/6th Forms should be proactively reached out to and a long-term connection formed, ideally through a named person such as a head of year, head of medicine applications or career progression advisor. They can then pass the information on to their students using a range of methods ranging from email to sending a video to, if the local chapter is keen or a member of the subcommittee is nearby, an  in-person visit to an assembly or lunchtime/after-school training session.  

Efforts should be made to build relationships with National bodies that provide volunteering or work experience to 16-18 year olds such as In2MedSchool and Medic Mentor, working closely with them to advertise our volunteering to their
students. 

Once students are interested, they should be able to register as volunteers and attend an Introduction Training session. This can be a WP-specific session with particular focus on benefits and support for WP volunteers such as Duke of Edinburgh hours.

Once volunteers are involved, they should be supported through their time with us including email updates, check-ins, social media posts and training sessions around key times such as university applications.

Finally, of particular note, you should work with the Conference Officer to ensure that WP volunteers are supported in attending the Annual National Conference, in a safe way and have talks of interest to them.
 

Job Description

We are looking for a Volunteer Email Marketing & Retention Manager to help manage email communications that keep our supporters, volunteers and donors informed and engaged.

You will help design and manage email campaigns and supporter journeys that build trust and encourage people to stay connected with our work. This role involves working with the Digital Marketing Director and Digital Marketing teams to send updates, campaign messages and fundraising emails.

The role focuses on building structured email communication, maintaining supporter relationships and monitoring engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and manage email campaigns for supporters, volunteers and donors
• Develop simple email journeys such as welcome emails, updates and campaign messages
• Segment audiences to send relevant and respectful communications
• Support fundraising, campaigns and community engagement through email
• Monitor performance such as open rates, clicks and engagement
• Maintain mailing lists and ensure data protection and GDPR compliance
• Work with content writers and campaign teams to align messaging
• Help build simple systems for long-term supporter communication

What We’re Looking For

• Experience or interest in email marketing or digital communications
• Familiarity with tools such as Mailchimp, MailerLite or similar email platforms
• Understanding of basic email metrics such as open rates and click rates
• Ability to organise communication journeys and supporter lists
• Comfort collaborating with a remote volunteer team
• Interest in social impact, community engagement or nonprofit work
• Experience in nonprofit communications or supporter engagement is helpful but not required

What You’ll Gain

• Experience managing email campaigns for a social impact organisation
• Opportunity to help build communication systems from the ground up
• Hands-on experience working with digital marketing and campaign teams
• Priority consideration for future paid roles when funding becomes available

Volunteer Assistant Tutor – Rotherhithe Saturday School

Empowering Young Minds, Boosting Core Skills
Maths & English Every Saturday 10am-12pm for Kids Aged 7-11

Skills Development Training is a 10+ year established Southwark charity running a new Rotherhithe Saturday School for children aged 7-11 (Years 3–6). We are looking for a committed Volunteer Assistant Tutor to support our small-group Maths & English sessions.

Role Overview

• Support the lead tutor every Saturday, 10am–12pm (term time).

• Help deliver 1 hour Maths + 1 hour English with a short break.

• Work with a small group of up to 10 pupils, focusing on: number fluency, reading comprehension and writing skills.

• Help with setting up the classroom, supporting individual pupils, and maintaining a positive learning environment.

What We Offer

• Travel expenses covered.

• Experience in a structured, professional education setting.

• Opportunity to develop teaching, classroom management and mentoring skills.

• A reference after a period of consistent volunteering.

What We’re Looking For

• Reliable and able to commit to most Saturdays, 10am–12pm.

• Enjoy working with children aged 7–11 and supporting their learning.

• Patient, encouraging and confident with basic Maths and English.

• Willing to complete a DBS check and follow safeguarding policies (training provided).

Location

The Business Centre, St. Olav's Court
Lower Road, London, SE16 2XB (Rotherhithe area)

HEAD OF HR & VOLUNTEERING (REMOTE VOLUNTEER ROLE)

Build the backbone. Shape the culture. Power the movement.

Urban Youth is a start-up fast-moving, street‑level start‑up charity bringing high‑impact, urban-style youth work to London. We don’t sit in offices waiting for young people to come to us — we drop into the heart of the city, transforming unused spaces into hubs of creativity, connection, and opportunity.

But every movement needs structure. Every crew needs a culture. Every launch needs someone who can build the scaffolding behind the scenes.

We’re looking for a Head of HR & Volunteering — a founding volunteer leader who can design our systems, shape our people experience, and build the volunteer-powered engine that makes Urban Youth unstoppable.

Your Mission

You’ll be the architect of Urban Youth’s internal world — the person who builds the infrastructure that allows our street-level work to thrive.

You will:

• Design and implement our HR systems, processes, and policies from the ground up

• Build a volunteer programme that feels energising, inclusive, and purpose-driven

• Lead our volunteer recruitment strategy, working with our Volunteer Coordinator

• Shape a culture rooted in positivity, continuous improvement, team spirit, and belonging

• Develop onboarding, training, and support pathways for all volunteers

• Create simple, effective frameworks that help a start-up charity move fast without losing heart

• Work closely with the leadership team to prepare Urban Youth for launch and long-term growth

This is a rare chance to build the foundations of a charity before it takes off.

Who You Are

You don’t need to be a traditional HR professional — though you can be. What matters most is your ability to build systems, nurture people, and create culture.

You might be:

• Someone who loves structure, clarity, and good organisation

• A natural community-builder who believes in people-first leadership

• A champion of positivity, fairness, and continuous improvement

• A creative thinker who enjoys designing processes that actually work

• Someone excited by the idea of shaping a charity’s DNA from day one

Above all, you believe that people are the heart of everything — and you want to build a place where volunteers feel valued, supported, and part of a family.

Why This Role Matters

Urban Youth is volunteer-powered at its core. The systems you build will shape:

• How volunteers join

• How they’re supported

• How they grow

• How they feel

• How we deliver high-impact youth work across London

You’ll be setting the tone for an organisation that moves at the speed of the street — bold, agile, and full of heart.

This is a founding leadership role. A legacy role. A chance to build something that will outlast all of us.

If you want to help build a charity’s entire people ecosystem — and shape a culture rooted in hope, energy, and community — we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now and become the backbone of Urban Youth.

We're looking for a trustee with experience or knowledge of working within the criminal justice system. This is an important area of our work that isn't currently represented on our board.

Step Together Volunteering is a small but mighty charity. Through our unique, person-centred approach we support people to build the confidence and skills they need to look towards a positive future.

We work with young people, people in contact with the justice system, and the Armed Forces community, through 1-1 support, coaching and volunteering placements in the community. Our support doesn't have a time limit, we work with our clients until they have the confidence and skills they need to look forward to a more positive future.

We work nationally, our Head Office is Bristol, and our frontline staff are home-based in the regions they cover.

As a trustee, alongside your fellow board members you'll be responsible for the strategic leadership and administration of Step Together, and we're keen for you to contribute your perspectives and experiences to discussion. Alongside this, we'd specifically like you to:

• Provide expertise relating to the criminal justice system, and support to the rest of the Board and senior staff to ensure the charity operates a best practice model.
• Help identify opportunities for the charity to expand its work and impact within the criminal justice sector, including those funded by statutory and voluntary funders.
• Remain abreast of key developments within the criminal justice sector, ensuring these are brought to the attention of the rest of the Board and senior staff.
• Leverage support for the charity’s work (financial or otherwise) from your own networks and contacts where possible.
• Advise on implications of any current or planned projects within the criminal justice sector to aid good decision-making at board level.

What are we looking for?

Your experience will ideally have been gained through professional work in the Criminal Justice Sector. This could be through employment within the Prisons or Probation Service, other Ministry of Justice role, Youth Justice teams, Police, or with another charity or agency working in the sector.

Good networks within the justice system in the southwest would be advantageous. You will be knowledgeable about the criminal justice sector, the role the voluntary sector plays, and the challenges faced by the different organisations working in the sector.

Ability to work at a strategic level is essential.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about the work that we do, and someone who is happy to advocate for and represent the charity to key stakeholders to help further our work and impact.

What difference will you make?

Your knowledge and experience of the criminal justice system will help shape our strategic direction and decision-making in this important area of our work.

More broadly, as a trustee, you'll play an important role in ensuring Step Together is sustainable, well run and has a clear, strategic direction so that it continues it's brilliant work, supporting people who are otherwise left behind.

Commitments

We have two in person meetings per year (one in London, one in Bristol) and two online, plus an 'away day' in the autumn. We're ideally looking for trustees who based in Bristol or the surrounding areas.

Our board meetings and away day are fixed but there may be times we need to get in touch on an ad-hoc basis, or ask you to be involved in task-focussed committees.

Before you apply

Please get in touch if you've any questions, or to find out more, and we'll arrange a time for you to have a chat with the CEO or Chair.

If you'd like to apply, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you! It would be helpful to hear a bit about you, what you'd like to bring to the board, and why you're interested in Step Together Volunteering.

About Kith & Kids
We provide activities, opportunities, information, and support for people with a learning disability or autism, their parents and siblings.
For all our projects and activities we are dependent on volunteers.

Our Spring Project
9.30am to 5.30pm, Sat 28th March – Wed 1st April, in north London

We are currently looking for energetic and enthusiastic volunteers, to join us on our fantastic fun-filled Spring Social Development Project.

Volunteers and our members who have disabilities get to know each other as they take part in fun and challenging workshops including sports & games, arts & crafts, cooking and enjoying a day out in London.

What you'll do
On the project you and a fellow volunteer will be paired with one of our members with a learning disability or autism. You'll support and encourage them to take part in a wide range of activities led by professional therapists and workshop leaders.

Our core activities are sports & games, arts & crafts, drama, and music. Previous additional workshops have also included photography, football and cooking and you’ll plan your own exciting outing around London with a fellow volunteer and the Kith & Kids member you're linked with.

Not only is it a time full of fun and games for you and our members, but you are also a vital part in supporting our members to develop their social skills in a day-to-day environment.

Come along and get involved!

Male volunteers especially welcome (we need more – women too)!!

Requirements

What you need
You do not need experience. Full disability awareness training will be provided before you begin volunteering with us.
The only requirements we ask of you are enthusiasm, energy and to be open-minded.
Minimum age for volunteers is 18.

How much time?
The project runs for 5 days, 9.30am to 5.30pm, Sat 28th March – Wed 1st April.
Everyone gets the most out of the project if you come for the full five days as you'll build a close relationship with the member you'll have been supporting and will create the most impact.

What we can offer you
We can reimburse your travel expenses and provide a delicious lunch each day.
We'll also provide excellent training before the project, and lots of helpful support.

By volunteering on our project, you'll also:

• Use and develop your skills
• Learn something new, get involved in fun activities with others
• Increase your confidence
• Meet new people and make friends
• Gain experience for (other) work
• Give something back to the community
• Do something fun and satisfying in your spare time
• Challenge yourself
   

What about training?
Volunteers must attend two training sessions and complete a free DBS check before you begin volunteering.

This is a great opportunity to get to know everyone at Kith & Kids: your fellow volunteers, some of our members you will be working with, and gives the opportunity to develop some new skills and expand your knowledge in our workshops.

Topics we cover include:

• Communication
• Autism
• Supporting emotions
• Safeguarding
• Creativity & Participation
• Epilepsy
   

When do I need to come?
Volunteers must attend two training sessions and complete a free DBS check before taking part.

We'll be running face-to-face training in north London starting on the 15th February with lots of other dates to choose from.

In the meantime, we'll be meeting volunteers online from mid-January.

Training will take place in North London – once we have met you online for a chat, we will send you confirmation of our training venue details.

Just sign up and you'll receive details of what to do next

We are following a number of safety measures when meeting service-users & volunteers. Taking temperature checks on arrival, asking a number of Covid-related questions before entry, wearing face masks where necessary, suggesting for volunteers to take a lateral flow test before attending an activity. These measures are regularly reviewed.

• Do sign up on our website and you'll instantly receive an email asking you to verify you really do want us to send you info.
• Please click 'Yes', then you'll receive further info about the activity and how to book an informal online interview.
• Make sure you check your junk mail for our emails, including the verification one!

The Membership Director is responsible for building, growing, and protecting the heart of the CIC:
our membership community. Membership is not a mailing list. It is a collective of people choosing to belong, contribute, and build together.
This role shapes:

• How people enter the organisation
• How they stay connected
• How they feel valued, informed, and aligned
• How community becomes sustainability

Experience Qualification and Requirements

Essential 

• Ability to commit grassroots full-time effort during the build phase (rest follows completion, not the clock)
• Comfort working unpaid while foundational systems and culture are established
• Deep alignment with community-led, anti-capitalist values and collective ownership
• High levels of consistency, focus, and self-direction in ambiguous, early-stage environments
• Clear understanding that meaningful change requires discipline, structure, and follow-through, not aesthetics or hype
• Commitment to always working through organisational values: Each One Teach One, Love As Law, Knowledge of Self
• Prior experience in one or more of the following: community building or stewardship, membership programmes or participation models , customer, supporter, or community experience roles, systems thinking and organisational design, digital platforms, CRMs, or data-informed engagement, purpose-driven, grassroots, or movement-led organisations
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical implementation
• Strong relational skills, including listening, facilitation, and respectful boundary-setting
• Comfort holding complexity, conflict, and accountability with care
• Willingness to be both architect and steward of culture
• Integrity, clarity, and long-term commitment

Desirable 

• (Intentionally left open for growth as the role evolves in an early-stage organisation)

Qualifications

• Formal qualifications not required

Main Responsibilities/ Key Duties

Membership Strategy & Structure

• Design and implement the CIC’s founding membership model, defining clear entry points, engagement pathways, and retention approaches rooted in participation rather than extraction.
• Shape intentional progression routes that support members to move from supporter → contributor → leader, ensuring growth in responsibility, agency, and influence over time.
• Align membership pathways with donor journeys, ambassador programmes, and volunteering routes, ensuring coherence across engagement, fundraising, and advocacy without conflating value with money.

Community Building

• Create a membership culture where people consistently feel seen, informed, included, and valued, regardless of role, status, or capacity.
• Establish sustainable rhythms of communication, updates, shared learning, and reflection that foster belonging, trust, and transparency.
• Enable decentralised participation by supporting member-led initiatives, peer leadership, and collective decision-making rather than top-down control.
• Act as a steward of healthy community dynamics, encouraging dialogue, accountability, and mutual care.

Systems & Data

• Oversee the setup and ongoing use of membership systems (e.g. CiviCRM or equivalent), ensuring they serve people rather than manage them.
• Track and interpret membership growth, engagement, and retention, using insight to strengthen participation and address disengagement early.
• Work collaboratively with Digital, Finance, and Social teams to maintain clean, accurate data and ensure ethical, transparent, and values-aligned data use.

Values & Culture

• Protect the integrity of the membership community by upholding CIC values in all structures, communications, and decisions.
• Identify and address misalignment early, clearly, and respectfully, prioritising restoration and learning over exclusion.
• Co-create and uphold community standards rooted in care, accountability, and shared responsibility—not surveillance or control.

Founding Responsibility

• Help design the future paid Membership Department, including roles, systems, and workflows that reflect collectivism and sustainability.
• Contribute to long-term organisational planning, ensuring membership is a pillar of resilience and shared ownership.
• Act as a culture carrier, modelling commitment, discipline, and collective leadership throughout the build phase.

This Role Is NOT for You If

• You want quick money
• You need external validation to stay motivated
• You prefer rigid hierarchies
• You are uncomfortable with responsibility
• You are only here for a title

What You Gain

• A founding leadership role in a growing CIC

The chance to help design:

• Future paid roles

• Income structures

• Working culture

• Deep personal transformation through meaningful work

• Real contribution to social and cultural change

• Collective success, not individual competition

As the CIC scales, this role is expected to evolve into a paid senior leadership position, shaped by those who built it.

A Final Word

We are not offering security.

We are offering possibility.

We are not promising ease.

We are building truth, structure, and collective power.

If you know the old world is ending —

and you want to help build what comes next —

This role is for you. 

We are looking for the 'practical hands' to help our families reclaim their childhood. From bubbles to gloop to water trays, you’ll help toddlers explore the world through sensory fun! Expect giggles, creativity and plenty of foam! This will be an ad hoc role on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We are seeking a diverse, proactive team of volunteers to support a 6-week summer programme (July 20 – Aug 28) across three refuge houses. Our mission is to rebuild parent-child bonds and bring joy back into childhood for families recovering from domestic abuse. You will be volunteering alongside the Children Family workers throughout the summer, and will be invited to join an end of summer party.

What you will be doing

• Support messy play sessions: foam, slime, water trays, gloop and more!
• Create themed Tuff Trays that encourage exploration, creativity and sensory learning.
• Lead bubbles, rhymes, singing and toddler friendly games.
• Help young children feel safe and playful after difficult experiences.

The skills you need

• You enjoy early years play, hands-on activities and don’t mind getting messy.
• You’re creative, energetic and confident with young children.
• Ability to provide a supportive, and inclusive atmosphere that encourages learning and participation
• Good communication skills
• Experience in childcare desired
• Ability to speak either Farsi, Bengali, Punjabi, Bangladeshi, or Turkish, Nepalese is desired

What's in it for you

• Supporting You - You will have a dedicated volunteer supervisor to support you in your role; Quarterly volunteer forums with the central Volunteering team and volunteers across Hestia; References for job applications
• Developing You - You will gain knowledge and insight into issues that impact Domestic Abuse, Modern Slavery and Mental Health; You will have access to our extensive Learning and Development Programme; 40% of our departed volunteers secured a paid role at Hestia last year!
• Valuing You - We hold annual Volunteer Awards and Celebration events; We reimburse travel expenses and up to £5 for lunch for your volunteering; We hold social events and outings for our volunteers to get together and have some fun

We are looking for the 'practical hands' to help our families reclaim their childhood! From board game marathons to movie afternoons to day trip adventures, you’ll be the friendly, consistent face children look forward to all week and will be helping us create a safe space for joy to return! This role will involve being onsite on Thursdays and supporting with outings on Wednesdays.

We are seeking a diverse, proactive team of volunteers to support a 6-week summer programme (July 20 – Aug 28) across three refuge houses. Our mission is to rebuild parent-child bonds and bring joy back into childhood for families recovering from domestic abuse. You will be volunteering alongside the Children Family workers throughout the summer, and will be invited to join an end of summer party.

What you will be doing

• Host relaxed, fun sessions like board game marathons, film afternoons, craft corners, and general “chill-out zones”.
• Build relationships with the children so you can be a familiar, grounding presence during Wednesday outings.
• Support the team on day trips and outings

The skills you need

• You love games, fun, and going with the flow.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with the women and children
• You’re warm, reliable, and happy to lead high energy small group activities.
• Ability to provide a supportive, and inclusive atmosphere that encourages learning and participation
• Good communication skills
• Experience in childcare desired
• Ability to speak either Farsi, Bengali, Punjabi, Bangladeshi, or Turkish, Nepalese is desired

What's in it for you

• Supporting You - You will have a dedicated volunteer supervisor to support you in your role; Quarterly volunteer forums with the central Volunteering team and volunteers across Hestia; References for job applications
• Developing You - You will gain knowledge and insight into issues that impact Domestic Abuse, Modern Slavery and Mental Health; You will have access to our extensive Learning and Development Programme; 40% of our departed volunteers secured a paid role at Hestia last year!
• Valuing You - We hold annual Volunteer Awards and Celebration events; We reimburse travel expenses and up to £5 for lunch for your volunteering; We hold social events and outings for our volunteers to get together and have some fun

Our Second Home (OSH) is the UK’s youth movement of people with refugee backgrounds. We have welcomed over 600 young people from 50 countries to our activities in London, Essex and Bristol.

Mission

For young people with refugee experience to build community, become leaders and flourish into adulthood in the place they call home. Through transformative activities, our members take control of their lives and create meaningful change for themselves and their wider community.

About This Role

OSH is at a pivotal point in its development.

Over the past few years, OSH has grown from a small, founder-led organisation into a national movement with increasing reach, complexity, and ambition. Our income has risen from £250,000 to £500,000, our staff and volunteer base is expanding, and our programmes are reaching more young people than ever before.

OSH now needs confident, experienced, and future-focused governance that can support scaling while protecting the culture, values, and relational way of working that make the organisation distinctive.

Your role will involve 4 main areas:

1. Board Leadership and Governance
2. Strategy and Organisational Leadership
3. CEO Support, Appraisal, and Accountability
4. External Representation and Engagement

More information is in the recruitment pack attached.

About You

Essential

• Significant experience in organisational and strategic leadership, ideally including guiding a charity or mission-driven organisation from small to medium scale
• A proactive and forward-thinking mindset, demonstrating the ability to anticipate potential issues and risks while identifying opportunities.
• Strong understanding of good governance, with the confidence to lead a board and hold senior executives to account
• Experience of or exposure to fundraising, financial sustainability, and organisational development
• The ability to balance support and challenge, particularly in a Chair - CEO relationship
• Commitment to OSH’s mission and values, including a genuine willingness to engage with and be guided by those with lived experience of the asylum system
• Highly organised and dynamic, with the ability to prioritise the effective use of Board time, facilitate the timely and focused distribution of information, and ensure appropriate follow-up to Board decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the emotional intelligence to lead inclusively, collaboratively, and sensitively

Desirable

• Lived experience of asylum or forced migration
• Previous experience as a Chair or Vice-Chair of a charity or similar organisation
• Experience working with youth-led or lived-experience-led organisations
• Familiarity with safeguarding in youth or community settings