Food Bank Volunteer Roles in Birmingham, West Midlands
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Kidderminster Foodbank are seeking to recruit Trustees with an interest in helping others, who are willing to uphold the food bank’s values, and who can bring life experience to the board of trustees. Trustees have collective responsibility for the governance of the organisation and for all decisions made by the Board. They set the strategic direction for the organisation, ensuring alignment to our values, and are responsible for setting organisational policy, defining goals, agreeing the financial plan, evaluating performance, and ensuring that strong relationships are maintained between the Trustees and the Management & Volunteer Team.
Key tasks:
- To manage the charity’s resources responsibly, including ensuring the charity’s assets are used only to carry out its purpose, avoid undue risk and not over-commit the charity.
- To ensure the board regularly reviews its structures, roles, relationship to staff and implementing changes if and when necessary.
- To develop a long-term strategy for the food bank with clear objectives which can be monitored and adapted.
- To work alongside the Treasurer and the board to ensure the organisation’s financial dealings are systematically accounted for and on time, independently examined (on income over £25k) and made publicly available when necessary.
- To ensure the charity is accountable, actively complying with statutory accounting and reporting requirements and the law.
- To ensure appropriate financial plans are in place for future budget allocations as well as looking after contractual agreements with external partners that award money for core costs and additional projects.
- To help promote the organisation to a wide audience of potential funders and beneficiaries and community stakeholders.
- To ensure the food bank has appropriate procedures to: comply with current legislation and good practice; including employment, health and safety, equal opportunities, safeguarding & GDPR compliance/data protection etc.
- To act with reasonable care and skill, giving your time, thought and energy to your role.
- To prepare for and regularly attend and participate in board and subcommittee meetings and any trustee away days.
- To provide ad hoc support to the staff team and volunteers from time to time.
- To act at all times in accordance with the foodbank’s trustee code of conduct.
The Trustees may also undertake additional work for the charity between meetings subject to their availability and skill set.
About you:
We are looking for people who want to help their local community and work towards the eradication of food poverty whilst supporting the food bank to continue to provide emergency food to people who find themselves in crisis. Our ideal candidates would demonstrate a:
- Knowledge of and commitment to the work of Kidderminster Foodbank.
- Willingness to actively participate in discussions concerning needs of the foodbank’s beneficiaries, staff, and the trustee board.
- Willingness to act in the best interest of the charity.
- Sound, independent judgement and ability to think creatively.
- Working effectively as a team member and demonstrating a willingness to learn and develop.
Kidderminster Foodbank are seeking to recruit Trustees with an interest in helping others, who are willing to uphold the food bank’s values, and who can bring life experience to the board of trustees. The food bank would particularly welcome applications from those with experience in one (or more) of the following areas:
- Campaigning
- Marketing
- Fundraising
- Digital/IT
- Legal
- Commercial property
- Health & Safety
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Harrow Food Bank is part of the Trussell Trust - a network of over 1300 food bank centres in the UK. Between April 2022 and March 2023, food banks provided almost 3 million food supplies to people in crisis.
Harrow Food Bank requires two Trustees to support the Chair and current members who can support the existing Trustees:
Administrator / Secretary: to lead on all the administrative duties of the food bank and Trustee Board, ensure all meetings are conducted within the legal requirements and a record of all meetings maintained. Key roles & responsibilities:
1. Arrange and communicate dates for all Trustee Meetings, circulating papers in advance
2. Follow up on the agreed actions from meetings and keep an accurate ‘action log’
3. Ensure all stakeholders are informed of the AGM and that the AGM report is submitted to all relevant bodies
Treasurer: to lead on the financial affairs of the foodbank and to ensure that they are conducted within the required legal accounting and good practice conventions. Key roles & responsibilities:
1. Ensure that the Food Bank has proper systems for budgeting, financial controls, insurance and reporting
2. Produce and present regular finance reports for the Trustees Board Meetings
3. Maintain accurate financial records as report in a timely manner to all relevant bodies
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
People & Planet is looking for volunteers to assist with compiling its 2024/25 People & Planet University League; the only higher education ranking that classifies based on ethics and climate justice criteria.
Universities impart skills and knowledge, form life-long beliefs and behaviours, act as centres of communities, employ, house and feed large numbers of people and promote the creation and sharing of knowledge. We believe this makes them uniquely placed to lead on environmental and ethical issues. For this reason the People & Planet University League has been running since 2007 and has been published by high-profile media partners such as The Guardian and the Sunday Times Good University Guide eco-rating.
Volunteers will research publicly available university documents and assess universities against our marking criteria, which cover a wide range of climate and social justice issues including decarbonisation, fossil fuel divestment, ethical banking, workers’ rights and environmental management among others. This work will help to incentivise the university sector towards taking immediate and appropriate action on the climate crisis and upholding the rights and wellbeing of all people internationally.
The role will develop and improve the following areas:
● Qualitative research skills
● Attention to detail
● Use of data collection software
● Time management and keeping to deadlines
● Working independently and remotely
● Communication skills
● Knowledge of environmental management processes and sustainability reporting.
Training is provided for the role. We believe the skills and experience gained could be valuable for a number of career paths, including working in NGOs, corporate sustainability, estates management, higher education policy making, research and campaigning among many others. People & Planet would like to support volunteers in their future careers, so will give all volunteers an official reference letter on successful completion of their placement and will act as a referee for future positions for which you may apply.
From last year’s cohort, 100% said they would recommend this position to someone who wanted to add experience to their CV.
Feedback from some of last year’s volunteers
‘I think as someone looking for relevant experience to bolster a CV, this is a helpful and not-too-time consuming position. It had exactly the kind of flexibility that I required at this point in time.’
‘It's a really great opportunity to hone one's research skills, learn more about what our universities can do to improve their impact on the planet, and make a small but real difference.’
Person Specification -the following are essential:
● Access to a computer or laptop and internet connection.
● Familiarity with desk-based research.
● Ability to work accurately and efficiently to agreed standards.
● Reliability and commitment to completing work to deadlines.
● Able to communicate needs with staff at People & Planet and if needed, ask for appropriate support to complete tasks on time.
● Ability to search policy documents for specific information in English.
● Ability to assess information against standardised frameworks.
● Ability to work remotely and independently
The following are desirable:
● Awareness of current issues in sustainability and ethics.
● Experience of research and data collection.
● An interest in higher education policy.
You will need to commit to
● Three 25 hour weeks of remote work in July and August. Volunteers can manage their own
time flexibly and will receive support from People & Planet, but must meet task deadlines
on a weekly basis and attend two meetings per week in a mid-morning time slot.
● One day of remote training the week prior to your 3 week engagement.
Summer timetable
July 8th-July 26th- Ethical Investment and Banking, Staff and Student Engagement,
Education for Sustainable Development
July 22nd-9th August-Sustainable Food, Staff & HR, Environmental Policy and Strategy
5th August-23rd August- Managing Carbon, Workers’ Rights, Ethical Careers and
Recruitment, Environmental Management and Auditing
How to Apply
Click apply and fill in the screening questions and attach a C.V that has your full name in the filename. Applications will be processed on a rolling basis until positions are filled, so please apply early to avoid disappointment. The deadline for applications is June the 14th 2024 Candidates will need to attend an interview, which could be organised individually or as part of a group.
Please let us know if you have specific access needs and what we can do to make the interview, training and volunteer experience more accessible to you. We welcome people with hearing loss, deaf and or disabled people to apply for this volunteer opportunity -unfortunately we don't use BSL so would need to make alternative support provisions for the training, unless a BSL interpreter can join you. If you have specific needs where we might support you by making this volunteering opportunity more accessible, please contact
People & Planet welcome applications from BAME folks and people of colour, from disabled people, from LGBTQI*people, from people who speak English as a second language, from people who identify as non-binary gender, from women, from people of different ages, from people with caring responsibilities and from people with irregular migration status, people seeking asylum in the UK or with a migrant background, folks with a working class background, and everyone else.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Role Summary
We are looking for a new Chair of Trustees who will offer strategic and supportive leadership to our highly effective, collaborative and committed Board. The Chair leads the board, ensuring that it governs the charity effectively, in service of the charity's 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.
Chair role & responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership to the charity and the Board, ensuring that Glass Door achieves its mission with the interests of Glass Door's guests at its centre.
Work collaboratively with the CEO, staff and volunteers to achieve our mission and optimise the relationship between the Board and Glass Doors's staff and volunteers.
Provide leadership within the Board, ensuring that it fulfills its responsibilities for the governance of the organisation and promoting governance among fellow Trustees, providing clarity around boundaries between governance, management and operations.
Plan and chair the bi-monthly board meetings and the AGM, with colleagues as appropriate and liaise with the CEO, Company Secretary and Governance Trustee with regard to setting up meetings, agenda items and annual report content.
Facilitate meetings ensuring all have equal involvement in discussions, clarifying any uncertainties, confirming decisions made and actions to be taken and ensuring effective time management of meetings whilst providing appropriate periods of discussion and reflection.
Act as a spokesperson and figurehead for Glass Door when required.
Support Glass Door functions and events eg attendance at supporter events.
Support the Head of Fundraising & Major Donors with the cultivation of high-level donors, occassionally attending meetings where value can be added.
Represent the Board at staff Town Hall meetings.
Support the team liaising with partner churches and statutory authorities as required and be the public face of Glass Door in the local community.
Liaise with the CEO and he Board to keep an overview of the charity's affairs.
Provide supervision and support to the CEO as necessary in addition to planned monthly/bi-monthly 'catch up' meetings and, with the People Trustee, lead the CEO's annual performance review.
To act as final stage adjudicator for disciplinary and grievance procedures if required.
What we are looking for
Experience of being a Trustee, ideally in the third sector, and an understanding of the legal responsibilities and liabilities of a Trustee/Director.
A keen sense of strategic purpose.
Strong leadership skills, able to foster and promote a collaborative team environment and an inclusive and collaborative leadership style; able to inspire and support everyone to participate on an equal footing.
An ability to facilitate, mediate, influence and respect the confidences of colleagues. The ability to listen and engage effectively. You are comfortable with challenge and debate and are able to encourage that in others whilst fostering a collaborative board environment.
Excellent presentation and communication skills.
Advocate and ambassador - possess gravitas to lead the organisation and be able and willing to champion Glass Door.
Demonstrate a strong and visible passion and commitment to Glass Door's guests and ensure that the interests of our guests drive the decisions of the Board.
A strong personal commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
A willingness to devote necessary time and effort to your duties as Chair and be available and responsive (e.g. when things sometimes 'come up' that require the Chair to advise, support or give consent to).
What's in it for the new Chair?
Our vision is a world where no one has to sleep on the streets of London and we're working every day to achieve this. Your role as Chair will offer you an incredibly reqarding experience to use your skills and collaborate with the rest of the Board and staff members for the benefit of people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness.
For more information please see the full role description and Glass Door information pack attached,
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.