Group support volunteer roles in friern barnet, greater london

Fundraising team leader volunteer

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is and always will be at the heart of Cats Protection. It is joyful and inclusive. As a charity, working in partnership, together we transform the lives of cats, people and communities.

The difference you will make to cats and people

 As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising team leaders have the exciting and varied role of inspiring our fundraising volunteers to plan and deliver local fundraising events. Using their passion and imagination, they oversee a small team of fundraising volunteers who come together to raise the vital funds needed to cover costs such as veterinary bills and food. Our fundraising team leaders support their team of volunteers in all aspects of their roles, making sure our volunteers are happy, confident and supported.

You can expect us to

• make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• cover agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

What we need from you

You’ll be:

· supporting and encouraging a team of fundraising volunteers

· planning fundraising events and activities with your team

· allocating tasks before and during fundraising events

· keeping financial records from fundraising events

· encouraging and promoting a professional image of Cats Protection 

· following policies and guidelines and ensuring licences and permits are obtained for events

Time expectation

Our fundraising team leaders usually spend three to four hours per week in this role, which is flexible and can be shared by more than one volunteer if needed.

You may be just the volunteer we’ve been looking for!

We are committed to building a diverse, compassionate and inclusive organisation where everyone can be themselves and do their best. We are courageous and compassionate in our purpose of helping people see the world through cats’ eyes. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we are all for cats. Join the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and help make a better life for cats, because life is better with cats.

Amy’s Place is a partnership between the Amy Winehouse Foundation and Clarion Housing, providing supported living accommodation for young women aged 18-30 in recovery from drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviors.

As a great communicator with ‘green fingers’ you will create a calm, nurturing environment in which to support the residents to gain gardening skills and to explore the possibility of growing their own food. 

Activities

Inspire the residents to take an interest in the outdoor space at Amy’s Place and involve them in the development of a regular gardening and/or food growing club.

Help residents to develop their gardening skills and knowledge specific to growing food, through group workshops and individually tailored support, guidance and encouragement.

Commitment 

This is a flexible opportunity and volunteering times and frequency will vary depending on the volunteer’s availability and the needs of the residents. It might be every week or fortnight ideally for a minimum of 3 months.

Requirements 

This role will require us to carry out an enhanced check through the disclosure and barring service.

Support 

•  Volunteers receive a thorough induction and have access to any relevant in-house and external training
•  Reasonable travel and lunch expenses will be reimbursed
• The role is based at the service in East London. The exact address cannot be given until the volunteer starts due to safety and privacy reasons

Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and our vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs. Cats are at the centre of everything we do and our objectives are: homing, neutering and educating people about cats and their care. We help thousands of cats across the UK each year thanks to our network of dedicated volunteers, staff and supporters.

A bit about this role

As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising events organisers have the exciting and varied role of helping plan and deliver local fundraising events to raise the vital funds needed to help our feline friends. Our fundraising events organisers use their passion for cats and people to plan cake sales, barn dances, quiz nights and everything in between.

What can you expect to be doing?

• Planning fundraising events and activities like cake sales, quiz nights and barn dances in Mid-Sussex RH15, RH16, RH17, BN6, BN45.
• Providing the treasurer with information on funds raised from fundraising events
• Encouraging and promoting a professional image of Cats Protection 
• Following policies and guidelines and ensuring licences and permits are obtained for events

A bit more information about this role and the team

• This is a flexible role. The amount of time you offer can work to your availability and convenience.
• There may be opportunities for your activities to be fully remote and/or admin based if you'd prefer.
• You will need your own transport if you wish to attend events, ideally a car or van since items, stock and equipment will usually be needed.
• We ask that you complete training to support you in your role. This can be completed online if you have access to the internet and the necessary device (computer/laptop/tablet etc). Support can be offered or paper versions of much of the training if needed.

What are the benefits to you and the cats?

You will develop new skills, expand your knowledge and make a significant contribution to improving the lives of cats and kittens by helping raise funds through events. You will also meet new people, make new friends and be part of a dedicated group of volunteers.

We’re looking for someone with

• Good organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• The ability to prioritise and delegate
• An appreciation of the importance of handling money and charity resources responsibly
• Knowledge of your local community

Time expectation

Our fundraising events organisers usually spend two to three hours per week in this role, which is flexible and can be shared by more than one volunteer.

Support, guidance and keeping you safe

At Cats Protection we believe our volunteers should be happy and confident in their roles. We provide support and guidance from our National Cat Centre and through our regional and local volunteer groups and teams. We offer engaging online and face-to-face training, expenses and have policies and processes to help volunteers get the most out of their time with us.

The wellbeing of our people is important and at Cats Protection we are committed to safeguarding children, adults at risk and all those that we come into contact with as part of our activities.

Climate and nature are urgent, motivating issues, so we attract great volunteers. We want to fulfil our potential by making sure we get the best out of our fantastic people and all the future ones we attract by keeping them happy and active. That is the role.

What will you be doing?

EcoCounts is a group of volunteers working together to embody EcoCore’s approach to the climate crisis. EcoCore covers a lot of ground because the climate and biodiversity crisis is so all-encompassing, which means we have a lot of varied and different volunteer tasks available, ranging from carbon footprint data collection, setting up sub-teams of friends or colleagues or doing social media or running workshops. 

Your responsibilities would be to create volunteer tasks from our work streams, which would include things like: 

• creating a role description for each volunteer task to give a good outline of everything required and expected

• keeping track of what volunteers are active on

• encouraging and inspiring volunteers to deliver on commitments

• creating an incentives or rewards framework for volunteers, potentially working with supporting businesses to agree on gift vouchers, tokens etc

• managing a small budget

• building up a social network with events, collaborations and other inputs

• using our social media accounts to advertise, to celebrate achievements etc

• help other directors, trustees & secretary keep reporting, stats, and feedback on activities up-to-date

Goals

1. Our 2025 target is 100 people doing their carbon footprints

2. We’re looking for 20 coordinators

3. We have about a dozen volunteering roles to fill beyond the two above

What are we looking for?

1. You should be a people-person with experience of managing people. You should be happy to put in the time and effort communicating with the volunteers both all-together and individually in a way that gets the best results from them.

2. Personal change is only one of the five ways that we can change society - we don't focus on personal change alone, we want to change our community, our local businesses and our local government.

3. You should check out our manifesto on the About page to make sure you agree with the ways we advocate for the way forward in the climate crisis – are you happy what we suggest is one of the best approaches?

What difference will you make?

Society has got itself into a dangerous situation with the climate crisis and EcoCounts aims to create a way out. We need all sorts of different people, not just climate nerds and sustainability fanatics, although of course that doesn't hurt. The person we need right now is someone who knows what people need to keep them happy and effective as a volunteer for us.

Being a volunteer-based organisation at this stage still, that might make the volunteer chief of staff the most important person we have. Of course we all consider each other equal. Being small and dynamic means EcoCounts can offer the flexibility for you to do an excellent and fulfilling job.

Rewards

Once you have found your feet, we can offer references, recommendations or certifications on any of the public platforms that we use, like Linkedin and Reach Volunteer. We are also building a social network and plans for regular events, so we hope you will also find our group socially rewarding.

Since 2002, we’ve delivered a structured, high-impact, programme of mentoring, a paid internship, skills masterclasses, and workplace visits for young people from under-represented backgrounds.

Our programme empowers them with new-found skills, confidence, aspirations, and support networks, boosting their life outcomes. It also enables employers to engage with and shape future talent, adding value to their organisation, and make a positive difference in their local communities.

​

Our values

Our people are committed and passionate about changing the lives of young people. Our organisational values underpin how we work and are at the core of everything we do.:

· Trust

· Bravery

· Collaboration

· Empowerment

· Inclusion

We have 40 colleagues across the UK, and strong collaboration across a remote working environment is critical to our success. We champion flexibility and wellbeing, and strive to be a positive place work, both in terms of our mission and our culture.

Our impact and growth

Across the UK in 2024 we supported 4,238 young people across our two programme cohorts, with 4,395 volunteers supporting them. We worked with 374 employers to provide mentors and summer internships in 2024 and have 194 school and college partners. 

Thanks to the support of our network, we’re able to have the following impact for young people:

· 99% of programme graduates go into higher education, apprenticeships or work

· 90% of students said they felt more confident than before the programme

· Career Ready alumni have a professional network twice the size of their non-programme peers

· 90% of students rated their career skills a strength following their paid internship

Following a challenging couple of years in the charity sector and wider economy, we have just closed the 2024/25 financial year in a more positive position. We are set to embark on a new 2025-30 strategy which focuses around 4 key pillars:

· Income sustainability

· Digital enablement and adoption

· UK programme alignment

· People & Culture

We are looking for further brilliant people to join our Board of Trustees and help us excel our new strategic focus.

About the role

Role purpose

As a Trustee you will make a significant contribution to creating empowering opportunities for young people from under-represented backgrounds. 

The role of the Trustee is to ensure that Career Ready is carrying out its purpose, as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and that it complies with the law.

Trustees must always act in the best interests of Career Ready, with reasonable care and skill, whilst also ensuring it is accountable.  They must also ensure that Career Ready manages its’ resources effectively and sets the forward direction of the organisation.

Main responsibilities and accountabilities

· Ensuring that Career Ready functions within the legal and financial requirements of a Charitable Company

· Account for the work of Career Ready to Companies House, The Charity Commission, OSCR, funders

· Managing risks, protecting assets (reputation) and people 

· Ensuring that Career Ready strives to achieve best practice in all aspects of its work

· Determining the overall policy and direction of the Charity

· Fixing the annual budgets and approving accounts

· Recognising and dealing with conflicts of interest

· Appointing the Chief Executive Officer when required

· Agreeing strategic and work plans

· Collaborating with members of the senior management team in the development of strategic plans 

· Hearing membership appeals against the decisions of the Chief Executive Officer

· Ensuring that Career Ready maintains and complies with a policy of equal opportunities in respect of staff, members and stakeholders

· Act as a champion and ambassador for the work of Career Ready 

Person Specification

We are looking for 3-4 Trustees who have:

· A commitment to the mission of Career Ready

· An understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of Trusteeship

· Integrity

· Sound judgement

· Strategic vision

· A willingness to contribute ideas and challenge

· Willingness to actively participate in developing the senior leadership team through sharing of skills and expertise 

As part of this recruitment exercise, we aspire to have greater Trustee representation from the following sectors/areas of expertise:

· Digital/technology/systems

· Comms/marketing

· Fundraising

· Finance

· Government/Policy

· Operations

In addition, we welcome applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, to align with the diverse range of young people we serve, for example, lived experience of social mobility.

Commitment

We’re looking for trustees who aren’t just interested—they’re invested. Our ambitions are big, and we need people who have the capacity and motivation to engage with us in achieving these.

At least four meetings per year plus AGM.  Usually held in person in London/other locations with opportunity to join remotely. 

Up to three-year initial term. 

Invitation to join Career Ready team at annual All-Colleague event. 

Encouraged to support and participate in Career Ready events.

Opportunities to join and influence other projects and governance committees.

Timetable

Applications close at 5pm on Thursday 31st July.

Please note that the closing date may be brought forward if we receive strong applications.

Public Programme Volunteers are a big part of making sure our diverse range of events go off without a hitch. They’re creative, enthusiastic, and great with people. They’re also keen to get stuck in and learn more about how public programmes in the heritage sector are put together and delivered.

The museum offers a range of public programming throughout the year but particularly in the summer (Wednesday to Sunday), and during Holiday periods (Monday to Sunday): February Half Term, Easter Holidays, May Half Term and October Half Term. We are looking for volunteers who are available during these periods to support with a range of activities.

How you will help

• Providing a friendly greeting for all visitors.
• Supporting the set up and take down of workshops, activities, and events
• Facilitating activities such as: Tower building in the Splash Zone, Bubble discos, crafts, Water Filtration Experiments, and more!
• Supporting visitors way-finding and access through the museum
• Working collaboratively with the wider LMWS volunteer team

Time Commitment

Volunteers can book a full day, or a half-day shift. Shifts are flexible and you can choose the number of days you work. As stated above, we particularly needs support during our Holiday periods. Full training will be provided.

London Museum of Water and Steam

The London Museum of Water and Steam tells the story of London’s water supply, the site, its people and the amazing pumping engines that helped to make London the city it is today.

Today the museum is at the heart of the community, working in partnership with community groups and welcoming many residents.

Web developers and designers wanted to support East London Waterworks Park in continuing to improve its website and digital infrastructure.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for web developers and designers to contribute to our community-led working group who are working on coordinating content and infrastructure for the East London Waterworks Park website. 

There is opportunity to lead on projects across web development and UX and web design, and facilitate the direction of the working group.

The Comms Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Tuesday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

You should be experienced in HTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript and SQL, and or UX and web design. You should be comfortable with community-led processes. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Contribute to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. Your skills in web design and development will be crucial in creating a visually engaging and user-friendly online presence that effectively communicates the park's biodiversity and mission. By designing engaging websites and interactive platforms, you'll help us connect with our community, inspire action, and secure the necessary support for the park's future.

East London Waterworks Park is looking for volunteers to lead social media and content creation for communications and campaigning for our community-owned park.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for social media and content creator leads to participate in our community-led working group who are promoting public awareness and support of the project. 

There is opportunity to lead on projects across communications, content creation, social media, PR, newsletters, film, podcasts or any other channels of interest, and facilitate the direction of the working group.

The Comms Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Tuesday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

You will be at the forefront of our digital strategy to create a huge new biodiverse park and natural swimming ponds. We’re looking for creative and strategic thinkers who can craft compelling narratives and visually stunning content. You should have a deep understanding of social media platforms and analytics tools to measure and optimize our campaigns. Your ability to build and engage with online communities is crucial, as is your skill in managing media relations. We value individuals who are passionate about our mission and can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the role. You will be comfortable with community-led processes. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Contribute to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. Your strategic content creation will be instrumental in fostering a strong connection between our community, the park, and its biodiversity. Your input will help us craft compelling narratives that inspire, educate, and engage our service users, stakeholders, funders, and the general public, ultimately driving support for the park's mission and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Overview

In partnership with a second, and possibly third Leader, you will lead a Fire (Group) of 8-12 Young Explorers. Social Leader role is to ensure that all young people can develop and thrive on our expeditions. They provide additional support with pastoral care and behavioural management for young people, particularly those facing challenges. Social Leaders will have demonstrable experience of working with young people in residential environments.

We are looking for applicants who are:

• Able and passionate about leading, inspiring, and facilitating sessions with young people.
• Comfortable spending extended periods in remote and sometimes harsh environments.
• Able to commit to all pre-expedition training events. 

As a charity, all Leader positions are undertaken on a voluntary basis and Leaders join for the intrinsic value of adventure, education, and personal development of young people. 

Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and our vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs. Cats are at the centre of everything we do and our objectives are: homing, neutering and educating people about cats and their care. We help thousands of cats across the UK each year thanks to our network of dedicated volunteers, staff and supporters.

A bit about this role

As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising events organisers have the exciting and varied role of helping plan and deliver local fundraising events to raise the vital funds needed to help our feline friends. Our fundraising events organisers use their passion for cats and people to plan cake sales, barn dances, quiz nights and everything in between.

What can you expect to be doing?

• Planning fundraising events and activities like cake sales, quiz nights and barn dances in Mid-Kent
• Providing the treasurer with information on funds raised from fundraising events
• Encouraging and promoting a professional image of Cats Protection 
• Following policies and guidelines and ensuring licences and permits are obtained for events

A bit more information about this role and the team

• This is a flexible role. The amount of time you offer can work to your availability and convenience.
• There may be opportunities for your activities to be fully remote and/or admin based if you'd prefer.
• You will need your own transport if you wish to attend events, ideally a car or van since items, stock and equipment will usually be needed.
• We ask that you complete training to support you in your role. This can be completed online if you have access to the internet and the necessary device (computer/laptop/tablet etc). Support can be offered or paper versions of much of the training if needed.

What are the benefits to you and the cats?

You will develop new skills, expand your knowledge and make a significant contribution to improving the lives of cats and kittens by helping raise funds through events. You will also meet new people, make new friends and be part of a dedicated group of volunteers.

We’re looking for someone with

• Good organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• The ability to prioritise and delegate
• An appreciation of the importance of handling money and charity resources responsibly
• Knowledge of your local community

Time expectation

Our fundraising events organisers usually spend two to three hours per week in this role, which is flexible and can be shared by more than one volunteer.

Support, guidance and keeping you safe

At Cats Protection we believe our volunteers should be happy and confident in their roles. We provide support and guidance from our National Cat Centre and through our regional and local volunteer groups and teams. We offer engaging online and face-to-face training, expenses and have policies and processes to help volunteers get the most out of their time with us.

The wellbeing of our people is important and at Cats Protection we are committed to safeguarding children, adults at risk and all those that we come into contact with as part of our activities.

Purpose

Young Carers’ Crew is a registered charity (number 1176778) and runs a group which meets to provide emotional and practical support to Young Carers through recreational activities. We give support to local children and young people, who perform a caring role supporting another member of their household. 

Young Carers’ Crew is a small grassroots community group. We are hoping to bring in more people with diverse skills and experience to build sustainability.  

We are looking for Volunteer Trustees with a range of skills, to help steer and direct the organisation. 

The Board of Trustees takes on the ultimate legal and financial responsibility for all the activities of the organisation. They maintain an overview of policy and strategic direction rather than being involved in day-to-day operations. This position will not have any regular contact with the children or the volunteers running the Group activities. 

Role Description 

Volunteer Trustee for Young Carers’ Crew 

Volunteering is an unpaid position. Appropriate out-of-pocket expenses will be re-imbursed.

Location: Most tasks will be home-based.  Meetings will be held in and around Hitchin, Herts.

Hours: Up to 2.5 hours per month for Board meetings. Additional time for position is estimated to be 3 to 4 hours per month.

Reports to: Chair of Board of Trustees for Young Carers’ Crew

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) requirement: Appointment to these posts is subject to an up-to-date, satisfactory, enhanced DBS check with a check against the barred lists for children and adults.

Duties and Responsibilities

We are seeking to fill these specific positions which are currently available:

• HR lead
• Safeguarding lead
• Fundraising
• Website Development

It is anticipated that the successful applicants will help to define the details of the position.

For all positions the following will be expected:

• Attend Board meetings as arranged. 
• Work as flexibly as may be required, also to carry out any other reasonable duties that may be required from time to time. 

The broad role of the Board of Trustees is summarised below:

• Be committed to the vision, mission and values of the organisation.
• Provide strategic direction, including agreeing and monitoring strategic plans.
• Keep informed of the activities of the organisation and the wider issues that affect its work.
• Ensuring that the work of the organisation is monitored and evaluated.
• Maintain that the organisation complies with its governing documents, e.g. constitution.
• Ensure the organisation complies with current Safeguarding Guidelines and Core Standards set out in the Children Act 2004 and Working Together 2013
• Ensure the organisation operates within the law.
• Safeguard the organisation in making efficient use of resources, in particular that all monies are applied to its objectives, agreed plans and budgets.
• Mitigate and manage the risks to the organisation, volunteers and service users.
• To be accountable to membership, funders and other stakeholders.

Person Specification

Please note all items are essential:

• Ability to maintain absolute confidentiality.

• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Good IT skills including Microsoft Office.

• Ability to work effectively, both individually and as part of a team.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Impartiality and fairness.
• Understanding of and commitment to the organisation’s mission & values.
• Ability to work in a way that promotes the safety and well-being of children and young people.
• Ability to work in a way that promotes equality of opportunity and respect for diversity.
• Commitment to continuing learning and training.

Experience

No experience is necessary for a general position on the Board of Trustees, just enthusiasm and a willingness to help the organisation grow and support the young carers.

For more specific positions; it would be highly desirable that you bring some experience in the charity sector, social care or in business development. 

So, for example, we would welcome someone with experience of working in a safeguarding role with young people specifically or from an HR background or someone who can help us raise money for the charity. .

Selection Process 

To ensure equal opportunities in recruitment, we request that all applicants complete the application form provided. A shortlist will be created and suitable applicants will be invited to interview.

£Volunteer - allowance of travel and luncheon voucher
Minimum 7 hours pw, up to 21 hrs depending on availability

Ref: VPR-251

Are you a proactive, collaborative and approachable individual with the desire to support others to develop improved employability skills and progress towards employment?  Do you have the patience and willingness to work with sometimes vulnerable, talkative and demanding clients?

If so, St Giles is looking for a Volunteer Peer Advisor to work collaboratively with staff across St Giles Trust and externally to develop a flexible, holistic and personalised pathway towards employment for clients.

About St Giles Trust
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need.  Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

About this key role
As directed by the Caseworker or Team Leader, you will carry out promotional and engagement activities to recruit participants, as well as individual needs assessments with participants, obtaining information from referral agencies where possible.  You will support participants in carrying out individual and group activities to implement their plans and make progress towards employment, plus act as a Peer Advisor to participants, providing ‘support from someone who has been there’.

We will also count on you to act as a positive role model for what participants can achieve, help develop their confidence and make referrals for specialist help, including what is available within the project, plus, as skills develop, take on a small caseload of participants.

What we are looking for

• Knowledge of support needs and the issues facing individuals with barriers to work
• Ability to work in line with relevant legislation, policies and procedures
• Level 3 Advice and Guidance or equivalent or willingness to work towards
• Commitment to promoting equality and celebrating diversity
• Commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal.

Please note: this role requires that successful candidates must undergo an Enhanced Adult DBS check, on the basis that the post involves contact with vulnerable participants and colleagues.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4 x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care voucher and much more.

We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications, and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuroexpansive, neurodiverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.

Closing date: 10 August 11PM

Amazing, giving, and inspiring are a few words we would use to describe our volunteers.

Our volunteers play an integral part in the services we provide and the people we support. If you are looking for a rewarding role where you will really make a difference whilst gaining experience along the way, then join us here at Rethink Mental Illness.

About the role

We are looking for Volunteer Befrienders to support our Brent Mental Health service in the London Borough of Brent. 

As a Volunteer Befriender, you will be required to travel across Brent to meet with service users and carry out your role. Ideally, you will be able to commit a minimum of 2 hours per week to volunteering. 

You will be supported by Befriending Volunteer Coordinators who will provide regular supervision to ensure you feel confident in your role. You can read more about the benefits of volunteering on the full advert on our website.

About the service

Our Brent Mental Health service provides support to people aged 18 and above who live in the Borough of Brent, and who have a mental illness and are known to the local NHS trust, Central and North West London (CNWL).

The aim of the Befriending Service is to;

• Reduce social isolation of service users
• Increase the confidence of service users in accessing community resources independently
• Provide meaningful activities and peer support for service users 
• Help service users to live happier, healthier, independent lives
• Provide volunteering opportunities for people with mental health issues
• Reduce stigma and raise mental health awareness

What you will be doing as a Volunteer Befriender:

• Meeting with service users in locations and times which meet their needs (including evenings and weekends)
• Provide befriending support to a maximum of 2 service users at any one time
• Provide emotional support based on your own lived experience
• Support service users to access and build social and community networks and activities
• Act as a community connector to local services

What will make you a great fit for this role?

• You will have good communication skills
• You will be flexible in order to meet the needs of the service users

If you would like to express an interest in this opportunity, please complete an application as soon as possible, as the advert may close early if we receive a high level of interest.

Who are we?

We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.”    

It is an exciting time to join our growing charity. We are on a transformation journey, one that supports the delivery of the organisation strategy – delivering Communities that Care. Supporting employees, managers and leaders through this change is a key priority for the People function. Just like its key that we attract diverse people to come and work for us.    

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion  

Diversity is important to us and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.  We recognise and support staff networks for our Black, Asian and minority ethnic and our LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.  

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation  

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrate our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.  

We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or questioning), Intersex and (asexual) (LGBTQIA+), people with a disability, and people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. 

This is an exciting time in our growth as we look to grow our governance systems, build on our successes and ensure we are a radical, dynamic organisation rooted in our anti-racist and anti-oppressive values.  We are looking for a new Chair for our Trustee board, to join us and help lead and shape the future of the organisation.