Group volunteer volunteer volunteer roles in Birmingham

Help review our health information! 

Could you help review our public health information?

We are looking for UK-based volunteers to help us make sure the information we put together is as clear and accessible as possible. 

You don't need any expert knowledge or personal experience of breast cancer – we are seeking people who can look at the information we produce and decide if it is easy to understand.

About Breast Cancer UK: 

At Breast Cancer UK we are striving for a world where everyone is empowered to reduce their breast cancer risk. Our mission is to lead a movement to empower individuals, advance scientific research, and reshape policy to reduce breast cancer risk for all. We are the only UK charity dedicated to the prevention of breast cancer by focusing on lifestyle and environmental risk factors of the disease, including diet, physical activity and exposure to harmful chemicals. 

Breast Cancer UK produces its own literature and publications on a range of breast cancer risk factors and holds the Patient Information Forum (PIF) trusted mark. We are also a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). Our purpose is to provide practical information and advice about reducing the risk of breast cancer that is evidence-based, easy to read and user-involved. 

About the Public Engagement Panel: 

The main purpose of the Public Engagement Panel is to review and feedback on key information for the Breast Cancer UK website produced by the Science and Health Education Team. You’ll help us ensure the information is easy to read, understand and use, and is inclusive so that it reflects our diverse audiences. 

Additionally, the Public Engagement Panel will provide helpful insight and suggestions on future science and education resources so we can ensure they are relevant, accessible and engaging. 

As part of the Public Engagement Panel, you will: 

1. Undertake periodic reviews of Breast Cancer UK content on chemicals, diet, lifestyle or other risk factors for breast cancer, and/or our public health information and advice leaflets. 

1. Provide feedback to help inform content and resource development to reflect the public’s needs. 

1. Be invited to participate in an annual meeting organised by Breast Cancer UK. Participants in the annual meeting will be reimbursed for reasonable economy travel costs. 

You may also be invited to help review research grant applications to provide a public perspective on the proposed projects, alongside our Science Panel.

Members of the Public Engagement Panel are expected to spend approximately 4 hours each year on Panel-related work for Breast Cancer UK (excluding our annual in-person meeting).

Membership in the Public Engagement Panel is voluntary and will have an initial fixed term of 3 years that can be extended by up to another 3 years. 

About you: 

You don't need any experience reviewing health information, expert knowledge or personal experience of breast cancer.

To be eligible to be on the panel, you should not hold a science qualification higher than GCSE level or equivalent. This helps to provide insights from people who do not have a specialist background. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, just get in touch. 

You will need to have at least an intermediate level of English proficiency. 

To apply for this role please use the link to our webpage and application form. 

The closing date for applications is Friday 4th September. However, we are reviewing applications for this role on a rolling basis and reserve the right to close recruitment early if all panel member positions are filled before the deadline. We therefore encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible. We aim to contact you on the outcome within a fortnight of application. 

Breast Cancer UK is committed to being a caring and welcoming place, where all volunteers and employees feel like they belong. Our vision is to create a supportive and inclusive culture where our volunteers and employees can reach their full potential, without prejudice and discrimination. We are committed to a culture where respect and understanding is fostered and the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances are positively valued. 

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities. 

It is important to us that our Public Engagement Panel reflects the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve, enabling us to hear a wide range of voices, experiences and perspectives. 

Following a recent review of the Panel's composition, we have identified some groups that are currently under-represented. We would therefore particularly welcome applications from people aged 25–45, people from Black African, Black Caribbean and other Black backgrounds, men, and people who identify as LGBTQIA+. 

Selection will be based on the skills, experience, perspectives and qualities required for the role, and we encourage anyone who feels they can make a valuable contribution to apply. 

AYDA needs help to support the development of young people from all backgrounds, particularly women and girls, through education, training and family programmes.

As a small volunteer-run charity, AYDA does not have the expertise to create an impactful social media presence. This is especially the case with LinkedIn which we believe to be pivotal in identifying and engaging with potential partners across the UK. This would enable our programmes to be rolled out more widely and so gain more traction.

Most urgently we need someone to work directly with the Chair, Lucy Njomo, to create a powerful profile for the charity. LinkedIn does offer support to "not for profit" organisations, but we have neither the knowledge nor the capabilities within the board of trustees to take advantage of this. We are seeking a confident professional who can take on the challenge of projecting AYDA and its critical work much more effectively to like-minded groups who could and should be working with us to tackle VAWG in society.

We also know that networking via LinkedIn will be fundamental in fuelling a separate initiative to build youth education and vocational training centre in Cameroon. Land and official permission have already been acquired so now we need to build the consortium to deliver this critical initiative.

The desired individual should therefore be able to build a powerful profile and the network visibility we need to bring these vital initiatives into the spotlight to attract both funding and delivery partners.

What are we looking for?

The ideal person to help us will be very comfortable in the social media world, particularly the use of LinkedIn to build strong B2B networks and relationships. Ideally they would also have some third sector experience in creating powerful charity profiles. Since this is an unpaid role, it is likely that the individual would have a personal passion for combatting VAWG in all sections of UK society and/or creating youth development opportunities in one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Understanding of the capabilities of LinkedIn as a platform in general and its support structure for charitable organisations is critical.

What difference will you make?

We accept that we do not have the ability to maximise the potential offered by platforms such as LinkedIn. So, although we welcome advice, we urgently need someone to take on the challenge of turning that into positive actions to empower both the UK VAWG and Cameroon youth development initiatives.

Within the UK the specific impact goals are to:

• Create awareness and provide information about various forms of violence against women and girls. Educate target audiences about the prevalence and impact of VAWG on individuals, families and communities.
• Promote gender equality, by challenging harmful gender norms, fostering respectful relationships, and creating safe environments for women and girls.
• Introduce VAWG survivors to local support services such as helplines, shelters, counselling centres and legal aid organisations.
• Provide education and resources to engage men as allies and promote healthy masculinity. Encourage them as to challenge sexist attitudes and behaviours within their communities.
• Explore ways to support and empower survivors of VAWG. This can include trauma-informed approaches, self-care strategies, and opportunities for economic empowerment.
• Collaboration with key stakeholders in building partnerships to enhance communities’ positive response to VAWG. Highlight the significance of collaborations with government agencies, NGOs, law enforcement, health care providers and educational institutions.

For Cameroon the impact will come from opening doors to potential international funding, construction and delivery partners for the vocational training centre.

AYDA is proud of its work to date and now needs a LinkedIn presence that can take us to the next level.

We are inviting applications from people interested in serving the charity on a voluntary basis as trustees of Headway UK.

Trustees are the guardians of a charity's purpose, providing leadership, oversight and strategic direction to ensure the organisation remains effective, sustainable and focused on delivering its mission.

As a trustee of Headway UK, you will join a committed board working collectively to support and challenge the executive team, safeguard the charity's reputation and resources, and help shape its future priorities.

Having conducted a knowledge, skills and experience audit, we are particularly looking broaden the collective expertise of the board by recruiting new trustees with the following skills:

• Charity and/or company law
• Safeguarding
• Neuropsychology
• Charity retail
• Cyber security and digital transformation

We also warmly welcome applications from people with experience of Headway network of local charities and branches.

In addition, we are seeking to strengthen our diversity of background and representation of those we serve and thus we particularly welcome applications from brain injury survivors, applicants from minority ethnic backgrounds and applicants from the devolved nations of the UK.

If you are interested, please download and read carefully the Trustee recruitment pack below, which also includes details of how to apply.

Deadline for applications:

• If you are voting the member of a Headway charity or branch and wish to nominate someone, the deadline is 5 August.
• If you unconnected to a Headway charity or branch, the deadline for applications is 16 August.

Please note that the difference between the two application deadlines relates to the charity’s Articles of Association, which require nominations from the network to be received 42 clear days before the date of the forthcoming AGM to be held on 17 September.