Estate manager volunteer volunteer roles

Be part of a project to help shape, test and develop our Active Outdoor Offer. You will shape, lead or support outdoor walking & wheeling adventures to help connect visitors to the outdoors. Varied levels of experience encouraged.

By getting involved, you could:

Play a part in shaping what walks and cycle led tours at Ickworth could look like 

Have a say in what a future, more permanent role in the team after could look like

Join an enthusiastic and varied team, play a part in making change at Ickworth make some likeminded connections in the process 

Meet people from all walks of life, helping them access wildlife, nature and the outdoors along the way 

Let your personality shine and put your communication, planning and working group skills into action being part of a team to lead great outdoor adventures

Help build connections to the outdoors 

Take pride in the knowledge that your contribution is helping to look after our special places for everyone, forever 

Keep fit, Healthy and be part of a growing active community

What's involved?

Supporting, encouraging, and facilitating the creation of new outdoor experiences such as cycling, walking and running. 

Testing out new tours, walks and cycle groups in the outdoors.

Learning a bit of story telling along the way, and being part of choosing what is shared and trained for future group leaders. 

Preparation of equipment and ensuring experiences are carried out safely. 

Being a friendly face for visitors, welcoming them to the estate, answering questions, inspiring people to connect with the outdoors and growing support for the National Trust. 

Being part of a varied and enthusiastic team, working closely with the Visitor Experience team and volunteers to ensure that service across all visitor facing components is consistent. 

Assist staff with route planning and visitor information, with the possibility of offsite promotion and engagement with local groups. 

Taking part in the possible connection with local walking or cycling groups.

Taking part in regular Walk Leader & Cycle Leader training to develop skills. Regular catch-up sessions with our Active Outdoors Development Volunteer Manager. 

Incident management will be covered in detail during the Walk Leader and Cycle Leader training including what Walk & Cycle Leaders’ responsibilities are. 

Being part in evaluation and planning meetings to decide what on Active out door role could look like in future.

This role will suit you if you are:

Passionate about the outdoors and enjoy inspiring others to get involved with nature and the outdoors through activity and experiences. 

Able to take part in, lead or support in routes around Ickworth; as the role will involve varying levels of physical activity including shorter close by and Multi Use trail routes, full parkland bike rides and rambling walks through off path spaces. 

Able to work as a team, connecting people and evaluating work along the way. 

Having a friendly and welcoming style of talking to visitors, to welcome people of all abilities and best connect them with the offer that best suits them. 

Keen to develop and support the National Trust's focus on developing inclusive offers to reach more diverse audiences 

Adaptable in your approach to suit different situations and audiences 

Able to respond and support behavioural changes and product initiatives related to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint 

Enthusiastic about your local environment and are an ambassador for the National Trust's cause to look after special places for everyone, for ever.

Welcoming people out of the cold for a hot drink, or out of the heat for an ice cream, you know exactly what our visitors need as part of their visit to us.

By getting involved, you could… 

• Join an enthusiastic team and make new friends 

• Support visitors to gain the best from their day 

• Learn about our access support equipment and how to welcome support animals in to the café 

• Get the low down on the latest Ickworth bake to share with others 

• Develop your hospitality skills and put them into practice 

• Use your smile and customer service skills, so people feel at home 

• Help us raise money so we continue our work looking after special places 

What’s involved?  

• Meet and greet visitors when they enter the café with a warm smile. 

• Help with queue management and direct visitors. 

• When visitors leave say goodbye and thank them for their visit. 

• Undertake tasks ranging from clearing and preparing tables for the next visitor, to supporting families with pushchairs and wheel chair users navigate the pathways between tables. 

• Use your smile and customer service skills to engage with visitors, share knowledge of the estate and generally enhance their visit

• Have a strong working knowledge of our menu and sharing this with visitors.

• Playing your part to continue our work looking after special places 

• Learning and developing a range of skills such as exceptional service, access support knowledge and sharing what’s on at Ickworth.

This role will suit you if you are:

• Are cheerful and like being around people – you’ll meet a lot at lunchtime! 

• Are looking for a varied role – you’ll be looking after a whole range of visitors 

• Are keen to be part of a team 

• Are good at keeping places looking tidy and welcoming  
  Have a keen eye to detail to notice when a visitor needs help 

• Love chatting about food, new recipes and where our ingredients come from

South Cumbria MAT are seeking committed volunteers from a range of backgrounds to join as Trustees on their Board of Trustees.  Trustees are critical to the success of the Trust. Although they are volunteers, they provide challenge and monitoring. They ask questions and probe the information and data they have been provided with. Trustees are often seen as the ‘critical friend’ to ensure leaders are responding to the challenges and key priorities. Being a Trustee is supportive within a group of other volunteers who work together as a collective voice.  You do not need experience of being a trustee. South Cumbria MAT will support all new Trustees to develop in their role as well as additional training where needed.

Trustees come from many backgrounds. We are seeking individuals who may be able to offer expertise in the following areas:

• Education outcomes

• Special education needs

• Governance and compliance including experience of chairing boards

• School improvement

• Health and safety and facilities

• Finance, estates, and/or resources

South Cumbria MAT is a multi-academy trust and therefore registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee with charitable status. Due to this company status Trustees are registered with Companies House.

Whether you’re a jobseeker interested in a career in construction or woodwork, a student or recent college graduate seeking experience, or just someone with spare time on your hands, wanting to do something positive and meet new people, volunteering with the Touch Wood project at EMERGE 3Rs may be just the ticket!

Touch Wood is a wood recycling and upcycling initiative, which collects surplus and waste wood and timber and gives it a new lease of life, preventing it from being burned, chipped, or dumped in landfill.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

* Preparing wood for resale

* Assisting with the construction of wooden products, from small household items to pieces of furniture

Our Touch Wood volunteers are able to gain skills in practical woodworking, as we offer hands-on experience of working with reclaimed timber; from making basic lumber products ready for resale, through to assisting with the creation of bespoke items, such as kitchen equipment and home and garden furniture.

Full training in woodworking and health and safety is provided, along with Personal Protection Equipment.

The UK generates around 5 million tonnes of wood waste every year, but less than 1% is reused. Touch Wood rescues waste timber that would otherwise be landfilled or turned into woodchip; creating jobs and training opportunities for disadvantaged local people at the same time. We collect from construction sites, industrial estates and other commercial sources, reclaiming everything from pallets to indoor cycle tracks – you name it, we take it! Anything we can’t reuse is locally recycled, so nothing goes to waste. This reduces the carbon emissions associated with disposing of waste wood, offers cost savings for DIY enthusiasts, and provides training and job potential to volunteers in the workshop. Some of the timber we work with comes from high profile sources, including the entire track of the Manchester Velodrome cycling centre and wood removed in the recent refurbishment of Manchester’s historic Town Hall!

Our skilled team of staff and volunteers often use reclaimed timber to create beautiful and practical products, such as home and garden furniture. We regularly create bespoke pieces to order; some of it for famous clients like Olympic cycling champions Jason and Laura Kenny, for whom we made a table from the Manchester Velodrome track.

Please be advised that our volunteers require a fair level of physical fitness and manual dexterity as the role is entirely practical.

Our Touch Wood workshop and wood store is open Mon-Fri, 8.30am - 4pm.
We occupy a unit at Maynard House, inside New Smithfield Market, in Openshaw, North Manchester, which is accessed from the main entrance on Whitworth Street East (off Ashton Old Road). The site is served well by buses, and we have free parking onsite, as well as secure storage racks for pushbikes.

​IMPORTANT NOTE:
You must be resident in the UK and living in Greater Manchester, or within easy commuting distance of our base, in order to volunteer with us. There are no exceptions to this rule. This is because we require volunteers to be able to reliably commit to regular shifts for some of our roles. We are unable to offer sponsorship for overseas applicants.

Know someone else who might be interested in volunteering with us?
Please pass our details on to them as we always welcome new people on our teams. :)

Hospice care for local people

Rowans Hospice is dedicated to improving the lives of people with a life-limiting illness.  We are a registered Charity, operated as a company limited by guarantee. The Board of Directors of the company are also Trustees of the Charity.

Established since 1994, our purpose is to enable support for those people in Portsmouth and Southeast Hampshire who need palliative and end of life care, irrespective of their diagnosis, ethnicity, religion, or age. Our services are provided free of charge, but each year it costs more than £7 million to continue our vital work.

Would you like to join us?

To help us in our endeavours, we need experienced members of the public to join our Board. We have a strong and committed group of Trustees, comprised of people with varied professional expertise and backgrounds. Working closely with the Hospice Senior Leadership Team, our Trustees have collective responsibility for the governance of the Charity and our strategic direction.

As a member of our Board, you will support and shape our work, as well as help us to achieve our key ambitions.  We want to further increase the diversity of thinking and range of skills and experience amongst our Trustees.  No previous experience as a Trustee is necessary, as we will give you all the support you need.  We are looking for people who have the capacity to contribute at Board level; who can think creatively and strategically; who share our commitment to providing high quality, compassionate care to those who need us; and who are able to devote the necessary time, effort and enthusiasm to the role.  

Currently, we are seeking to appoint up to three new Trustees and are particularly interested to hear from individuals who have senior-level Clinical; Legal; Marketing and Sales; or Finance experience.

The Board of Trustees meets at the Hospice six times a year.  Additionally, Executive and Trustee members of the Board’s sub-committees meet regularly to cover topics spanning Clinical Services; Governance; Human Resources; Income Generation; Retail; Estates and Facilities; and Finance and Audit.

Trustee roles are voluntary and unremunerated, but legitimate costs such as travel expenses can be paid.

Kiplin Hall and Gardens in North Yorkshire is recruiting Trustees to join the friendly and dedicated Board which oversees the management of this intriguing Jacobean house.  The house was built in the 1620s for George Calvert, Secretary of State to James I and founder of the US state of Maryland. A member of the Historic Houses Association, the Hall and Gardens welcome 40,000 visitors a year. In 2025 we opened a new Welcome Centre at Kiplin with improved retail and catering for our visitors and with the support of MEND funding undertook major repairs of the Hall roof. The National Lottery Heritage Fund enabled us to create new galleries and improve our visitor access and services. There is a dedicated staff of 10 FTE supported by a team of 240 volunteers.

We are particularly seeking Trustees with skills and experience in finance, accountancy, estates, fundraising and marketing to help oversee the continued development of the Hall and Gardens. Over the next 10 years we plan on further enhancing the service and experience offered to visitors, as well as reviewing our working practices internally to ensure Kiplin is sustainable and resilient for the future.  We are looking to grow our Board of Trustees to help guide us through an exciting period of change and transition. 

Our aim is to develop and broaden the diversity of our Board of Trustees, ensuring we have a variety of perspectives and backgrounds and are particularly interested in receiving local applications.

The role of the Governing Body includes collective oversight of the College’s activities and setting and reviewing
our strategy and mission. The governor role is comparable with the non-executive directors of a public company
but instead of being accountable to shareholders, governors are accountable for public funds. As the College is an exempt charity, all governors are charity trustees.

Being a governor is a hugely rewarding leadership role. Governors can make a real difference and give something
back to the local community.

The College is currently looking for two new governors to join the Board. We are seeking experienced individuals, who
are looking for an opportunity to use and develop their professional skills in a board-level environment.
You don’t need to have prior board experience to apply.

The Board is currently looking for two new governors will have experience of one, or more, of the following areas: FE, education, apprenticeships. 

The Board also values the diversity of our students and staff, who come from a variety of ethnic, cultural and
religious backgrounds. The Board is determined to reflect this diversity amongst our Governing Body and
encourages people from a range of backgrounds and experiences to apply.

Please get in touch if you don’t feel you have the time to join the Board but would be interested in being co-opted to one of our committees. Co-option can provide an excellent introduction to voluntary governance roles. We are currently looking for co-opted members to join our Search and Governance Commitee, Resources Committee and Audit and Risk Committee.