Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Location: UK - Wide (meetings mainly in person, some virtual)
Contract Type: Volunteer
Term: 3 years (with potential renewal)
Campaign Closes:19th February 2026
Interviews: W/C 9th March & 16th March 2026 – Trustee/SLT interviews
W/C 16th March or 23th March 2026 – STARboard interviews
31st March 2026 (approximately) – Recommendation expected
6th May 2026 – Final Board approval
Join Our Board as a Trustee – Make-A-Wish UK
At Make‑A‑Wish UK, we create joy, hope and life‑changing moments for children facing critical illness. We are seeking an inspiring Chair of the Board to provide strategic leadership, champion our mission and ensure strong governance as we work towards our vision: a wish for every eligible child.
Why join us?
- Shape the strategic direction of a national charity transforming the lives of children with critical illness.
- Lead a purpose‑driven, inclusive board, ensuring diverse voices including young people influence decision‑making.
- Use your experience where it matters most, providing governance, stewardship and support to an ambitious executive team.
- Be part of a deeply rewarding mission, helping ensure every eligible child can experience the power of a wish.
If you are ready to make a lasting impact and lead with purpose, we would love to hear from you.
For the full recruitment pack, and to apply for this role, please visit our website.
Requirments
Essential Criteria
- Leadership Experience: Demonstrable experience of chairing boards, committees, or senior leadership teams, ideally within the charity or non-profit sector.
- Governance Knowledge: Strong understanding of charity governance, legal responsibilities of Trustees, and regulatory environment in the UK.
- Strategic Thinking: Proven ability to drive organisational strategies and build commitment to a collective vision.
- Communication Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to facilitate balanced discussions and consensus.
- Commitment to Diversity: Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of the charity’s work.
- Passion for Mission: a deep commitment to Make-A-Wish UK’s vision, values and behaviours.
- Integrity: Highest standards of integrity, probity, and professionalism
Desirable Criteria:
- Experience of leading transformational change to significantly increase reach and scale in operations
- Strong personal networks that can benefit the charity
- Understanding of the challenges facing children with critical illnesses and their families
Personal Attributes
- A child focused approach always
- A consultative, inclusive, and collaborative style of leadership with the ability to listen and engage effectively
- Strong inter-personal and relationship building abilities, including empathy and sensitivity, especially when interacting with wish families and children
- Sound judgement and decision-making ability.
- Ability to commit time to the role, including travel and attending events out of office hours
Eligibility
The successful candidate must be eligible to act as a Trustee under UK charity law and willing to undertake an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
Responsibilities:
- Leadership and Governance: Provide strategic leadership to the Board, ensuring effective governance practices and compliance with statutory responsibilities.
- Board Meetings: Chair Board meetings, ensuring clear agendas, productive discussions, and timely decision-making.
- Strategic Direction: Work collaboratively with the Chief Executive and Trustees to set and review the charity’s strategic objectives and performance.
- Support and Supervision: Provide guidance and support to the Chief Executive, undertaking annual appraisals and ensuring their continued development as an effective leader.
- Board Development: Lead on Trustee recruitment, induction, and ongoing development, reviewing board effectiveness and taking actions for continuous improvement
- Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all the charity’s activities and ensuring that diverse voices, including those of young people and lived experience, are heard by the Board.
- Risk and Compliance: Oversee the charity’s risk management, ensuring that policies and procedures are robust and regularly reviewed.
- Financial Oversight: Ensure the Board fulfils its duties regarding financial stewardship, budgeting, and monitoring performance against objectives
- Advocacy: Champion the charity’s values and mission, advocating for Make-A-Wish UK within the sector and the wider community. Represent Make-A-Wish UK externally, fostering relationships with stakeholders, donors, and partners.
Together, we create joy, happiness and magical memories through life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
The Head of Events is a crucial element of delivering our flagship event. This is an exciting opportunity to take on a new challenge, build and support a team which delivers a vital part of our charity’s strategic work and explore new ways to expand and improve Bi Pride UK's events.
--------------------
Ideal time commitment: approx. 10-15 hours per month; flexible. This is likely to increase on the approach to an event.
Location: remote/ home based, in-person attendance at events is desirable.
Supported/ supervised by: the Events Trustee, also working closely with volunteers across the Events team
Bi Pride UK’s mission is to create spaces where people who experience attraction beyond gender can be freely visible and celebrate themselves and their identities. It’s not enough to be ‘welcome’ at Pride. We make up a very large proportion of the queer community – the 2021 Census actually shows we’re half of the community – and we deserve to be visible and celebrated in our own right.
There are many ways to make this happen, and we work in many ways to bring this change about:
-
Outreach work with other Prides, LGBTQ+ organisations and bi organisations – our consultation work with local Prides, the UK Pride Organisers Network and local and national LGBTQ+ organisations works in a tailored way to make sure that bi inclusion is a top priority and is being done well
-
Organising a high-profile annual Bi Pride event – from September 2019, Bi Pride UK made history with the largest ever gathering of bi people recorded. A performance stage, a panel stage, stall village, street food, and over 1,300 attendees. After going virtual with the BiFi Festival for 2020 due to Covid-19 and running a virtual Pride event in 2021, we came back in person in 2022 with a hybrid event, and have been running the event in this format ever since
-
Building a strong online and virtual community – just as important as the rest of our work is making sure that people hear about it! People need to know what resources and spaces exist for them, and how they can connect with other people like them
The role:
The Events team at Bi Pride UK is one of the core operational teams within the charity. The team handles programming, production and execution of our events, including our annual flagship Bi Pride event, which holds the record for the largest Bi Pride event in the world. This role will sit at the head of our Events team, supervising managers across the team and taking responsibility for the operational direction of our events. Bi Pride UK’s flagship Bi Pride event is a highlight of the year, and it’s the product of our amazing volunteers’ efforts throughout the year.
The Head of Events is a crucial element of delivering our flagship event, so this is an exciting opportunity to take on a new challenge of building and supporting a team which delivers a vital part of our charity’s strategic work. The Head of Events will supervise four events managers who each oversee a different area of the event, and will lead the whole Events team in their team meetings and decisions regarding the production of our events. They will also work closely with key teams across the charity, including Media & Comms, Inclusion & Access, and Education & Outreach, to place our bi+ communities at the heart of our events and reach the widest audience possible. Our events place great focus on accessibility and inclusion, so the Head of Events will work consciously with the venue, accessibility consultants and technical live-streaming specialists to ensure our hybrid events meet the needs of our audience. They will have freedom to explore new ways to expand and improve our flagship event, and other events that Bi Pride UK could run through the year.
Key tasks of this role include:
-
Reporting to the Events Trustee, as well as working closely with volunteers across the team and charity, to deliver events that meet the charity’s vision;
-
Setting achievable strategic targets and workflows for the team as part of our three year strategy, and supporting volunteers to meet these targets;
-
Overseeing the team’s finances, including setting budgets, tracking sub-team spending, and supporting the Fundraising team with information for grant applications;
-
Supervising a team of year-round volunteers (dedicated to the planning of Bi Pride UK events) and supporting “on-the-day” event volunteers who contribute to the smooth delivery of our events;
-
Working with the Access & Inclusion team and the Accessibility Consultant to implement their recommendations and ensure the event meets high standards of accessibility;
-
Building and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers for various elements of our events;
-
Fostering robust collaboration with key teams and volunteers throughout the organisation to ensure the success and smooth running of our events;
-
Working with the Volunteer Management team to recruit appropriate numbers of volunteers for the year-round Events team and volunteers to support event delivery;
-
Contributing to due diligence reports and taking oversight of contributor contract completion for all areas of the event;
-
Overseeing and supporting all key areas of event delivery, from stages and stalls areas, to volunteers and accessibility.
Our team volunteers remotely from anywhere in the UK, with some travel required occasionally (primarily for our flagship Pride event in London in August). All reasonable expenses incurred are reimbursed, including travel, lunch at away days and other all day events, and some childcare costs if required. The successful candidate will lead monthly Events team meetings on Wednesday evenings via conference call (which will become fortnightly on the approach to an event), in addition to further programming, 1:1 volunteer check-ins, contributors, suppliers and venue meetings as required. Our Trustees and Heads meetings take place via conference call on the third Monday evening of every month.
Volunteer specification:
-
Interest and passion for tackling discrimination against and improving the visibility of people in the UK attracted to more than one gender;
-
An understanding of the needs of people and communities in the UK attracted beyond gender;
-
Commitment to the aims and objectives of Bi Pride UK;
-
Experience of delivering large events (up to and beyond £60K budgets);
-
Experience of overseeing a team, especially volunteers;
-
Experience of running remote or hybrid remote/ in-person events;
-
Strong understanding of organising event logistics (e.g. venue layout, timings, resources) and good awareness of relevant health and safety and risk management measures linked to events;
-
Strong understanding of accessibility and inclusion, and a focus on making events accessible for all;
-
Ability to handle documentation and accurate record keeping in a manner which adheres to confidentiality and GDPR requirements;
-
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with volunteers at all levels within the organisation, as well as with external contributors and suppliers;
-
Excellent IT skills (for example, Google Workspace applications);
-
Excellent written and oral communication skills;
-
Meticulous attention to detail;
-
Strong team player, with the ability to self-motivate when working remotely;
-
Availability on Saturday 29th August 2026 to support delivery of Bi Pride’s flagship event in London.
The position is open to anyone over the age of 18. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, especially minority groups such as applicants of colour, trans and non-binary applicants and disabled and/ or neurodivergent applicants. Bi Pride UK is aware of the barriers that can be faced in gaining traditional work experience, particularly for global majority, disabled and/ or neurodivergent and trans people. We will give weight to this and encourage people when applying to consider caring responsibilities, including parenthood, volunteering, and other non-paid experiences and responsibilities when making their application.
To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter by midnight on 15th February 2026.
The Volunteer Management team will contact you to confirm your application has been received, and will be in contact regarding next steps following the above deadline. Interviews will take place on Google Meet and will be arranged in line with both the interviewers' and candidate's best availability. You will receive your interview questions and information regarding your interview prior to your interview, and feedback about your application will be provided upon request.