Head of research volunteer volunteer roles in Birmingham

Make a real difference in one person’s week, one visit at a time.

Adult carers in Solihull often put their own lives on hold to look after a family member. Many feel isolated or find it hard to get out to local activities. We are looking for Community Befriender Volunteers who can give a small amount of time to help carers reconnect with their community and build confidence again.

As a Community Befriender, you will meet adult carers aged 25 and over, get to know what interests them, and support them to attend local groups, classes, or social opportunities. Some may want to try a hobby they stopped years ago. Others may need help getting to an appointment or a wellbeing activity. Your support helps them take the first step.

Your role will include:

• Meeting carers in person in safe community settings.
• Helping them find suitable activities, groups, or events in Solihull.
• Supporting them to attend, using your own transport or public transport.
• Giving encouragement and practical help so they feel confident.
• Working towards the goal of them attending independently.
• Staying in touch with the Befriending Coordinator for guidance.

You choose the time you can offer. The role is flexible and fits around your life. We provide training, ongoing support, and clear guidance throughout.

This role suits you if you enjoy meeting people, know your local area, and want to support adults who care for loved ones. You do not need previous experience, only patience, reliability, and a kind approach.

People search terms included for Google: community befriender volunteer Solihull, adult carer support volunteer, volunteer with unpaid carers, flexible community volunteering, befriending roles Solihull.

Description
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Direct Working Relationships: C-Level Executives, National Research, Policy, Ethics, Research Reporting, and Local Operations
Location: Remote, UK-based
Time Commitment: Part-time | Flexible hours | Long term commitment

About the Role
We are seeking a volunteer Chief Operating Officer (COO) to provide strategic and operational leadership across our national and local operations. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO will play a pivotal role in ensuring effective delivery of projects and research, maintaining ethical and operational standards, and driving continuous improvement across all organisational systems and processes.

This is a senior voluntary position ideal for an experienced operations or strategy leader who thrives in a collaborative environment and wants to make an impact in the not-for-profit or research sector.

Please note: This is a voluntary and unpaid role. There is no direct financial compensation or future paid opportunity attached.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide executive oversight of Policy, Ethics and Research Reporting, National Operations, and Local Operations (including projects and research).

• Oversee operational delivery to ensure smooth, ethical, and effective implementation of all projects.

• Lead the optimisation of systems, structures, and processes to maximise organisational efficiency.

• Ensure resource allocation is effective and aligned with strategic goals.

• Support and collaborate with C-Level colleagues to drive organisational progress.

• Attend high-level meetings and provide regular operational updates and recommendations.

• Act as a key decision-maker in operational strategy, compliance, and performance management.

• Support and coach department heads and senior managers to strengthen internal leadership capacity.

• Step in to provide hands-on support to other C-Level officers and direct reports when needed.

What We're Looking For
We’re looking for a confident, experienced, and adaptable leader who can bring structure, strategy, and calm to a dynamic environment. You’ll be most successful in this role if you have:
• Significant experience in operations management, project delivery, or organisational leadership.
• Proven ability to oversee multiple teams or departments in complex environments.
• Strong ethical grounding and commitment to compliance and transparency.
• Excellent organisational, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• A hands-on, solutions-focused approach with the ability to balance strategy and execution.
• Experience mentoring or managing senior leaders or functional heads.
• Comfort working remotely with cross-functional, volunteer-led teams.
• A collaborative, supportive leadership style and openness to learning and adaptation.
• An understanding of the not-for-profit, research, or policy sectors (advantageous but not essential).

What You’ll Gain
• The opportunity to lead national operations for a values-led organisation making a tangible impact.
• Executive-level experience within a collaborative, mission-driven C-Suite.
• The chance to refine strategic and operational leadership skills in a complex, real-world setting.
• Recognition through:
o LinkedIn testimonial and reference
o A public thank you post
o Permission to list the organisation as an employer on your CV/LinkedIn
o A written reference upon completion of your commitment

Important Information
This is a voluntary position. There is no financial payment, benefits, or employment status. This opportunity is ideal for seasoned operations leaders or executives seeking to contribute their expertise to a meaningful, values-driven mission and support the growth of an impactful organisation.

Apply Now
If you’re ready to help shape the strategic and operational backbone of a growing organisation and support our mission through effective leadership, we’d love to hear from you.

Task Management Team Overview

Purpose: To ensure all tasks across CLICK UP and other YAUK systems are current, compliant with GDPR, and aligned with pre-set standards defined by the Head of IT & Systems in consultation with C-Level leadership.

Core Duties:

• Tag task assignees and request updates in line with standards

• Tag direct supervisors to ensure compliance

• Review all tasks across YAUK for standard alignment

• Ensure GDPR compliance across task records

• Provide regular organisational task performance data

Senior Task Management Officer (2 Positions)

Role Summary: Senior Officers act as intermediaries between the Manager and Officers, ensuring consistent application of standards and supporting the review process.

Reports to: Task Management Manger 

Type: Voluntary, flexible, part time, 5 to 10hrs per week

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead task reviews across assigned YAUK departments

• Support Officers in tagging and compliance checks

• Liaise with supervisors to resolve tasking issues

• Assist in training new Officers on standards and systems

• Report progress and challenges to the Manager

Ideal Skills:

• Experience with digital tasking tools

• Strong organizational and mentoring abilities

• Knowledge of GDPR principles

• Ability to interpret and apply standards consistently

We are looking for a volunteer to help us identify and apply for UK government and quasi-government grant funding that corresponds to our platform activities,  including entrepreneurship support, innovation, skills, inclusion, and regional growth.

This role is ideal for someone with experience in public funding, policy programmes, innovation grants, or the third sector who wants to apply their expertise to a fast-growing, mission-driven organisation with a strong track record.

You will work closely with Unrest’s co-founders and Head of Partnerships, as well as being a part of the Unrest team and vibrant Unrest community of founders and changemakers.

Responsibilities

• Research and map relevant UK government, public sector, and arm’s-length body funding opportunities aligned with Unrest’s programmes and community work.
• Assess eligibility, competitiveness, and strategic fit of funding opportunities.
• Lead or support the drafting of grant applications, including written narratives, budgets, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate inputs from the Unrest team and external collaborators where required.
• Track deadlines, compliance requirements, and reporting obligations for submitted or awarded grants.
• Help build institutional knowledge and reusable materials to strengthen future applications.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience with UK government or public-sector grant funding (hands-on application experience strongly preferred).
• Strong written communication skills and comfort working with structured application processes.
• High attention to detail and good organisational instincts.
• An interest in entrepreneurship, innovation, impact, or community-building.
• A collaborative, pragmatic working style suited to a small, fast-moving team.

What You’ll Get

• The opportunity to create a meaningful contribution to programmes supporting mission-driven founders across the UK.
• Close collaboration with an experienced founding team and exposure to accelerator and community design and delivery.
• Meaningful ownership over a clearly defined workstream.

Minimum Hours per Week:

4-6 hours per week

Duration:

1-2 months

As Social Media & Marketing Manager with The Skateboarding Foundation, your role is to develop and support our digital presence, raise awareness, and engage with our audience across various platforms.

This is an opportunity to make a tangible difference to young people's lives, supporting a small but growing charity.

Closing Date:

We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and applications will be reviewed as they are received.

The Role:

We are currently seeking a Finance Trustee to join our Board as Treasurer. It’s a voluntary role that requires a committed individual with financial expertise to take a collaborative approach, supporting our Trustees, our Head of Finance and Governance, and our management team to oversee the financial affairs of our charity and ensure that they are legal, constitutional, and within accepted accounting practice.

Our Organisation:

Greener and Cleaner delivers locally but thinks, and influences, nationally. Our vision is greener, healthier, better connected communities across the UK. We seek to achieve this through normalising 360-degree sustainable living, bringing the community together to make changes that can deliver a big impact. We have a non-judgemental peer-to-peer approach, so that all elements of the community feel empowered to take action in how they live, work, and play and in how they use their voice to push for change.

Treasurer Role:

The primary role is to ensure alongside other Trustees that they accept ultimate responsibility for the affairs of G&C and ensure that it is solvent, well run, and delivering the charitable outcomes for which it has been set up. As well as fulfilling the duties of a Trustee, the Treasurer ensures that effective and appropriate financial measures, controls, and procedures are put in place and reports to the Board at regular intervals about the financial health of the organisation.

• Overseeing the presentation of budgets, internal management accounts, and annual financial statements, as produced by the finance team or others where appropriate, to the Board of Trustees
• Ensuring that proper accounting records are kept, and that appropriate accounting procedures and controls are in place. 
• Liaising with any paid staff about financial matters, as appropriate.
• Ensuring that robust and comprehensive financial policies are in place and being implemented, and supporting the development of policies covering financial reserves, and cost management. 
• Overseeing financial controls and adherence to systems. 
• Drawing any major financial concerns to the attention of the trustee and the management team.
• Ensuring that the charity has appropriate reserves in line with its reserves policy, and monitoring and advising on the financial viability of the charity. 
• Advising on the financial implications of the charity’s strategic plan, including overseeing the charity’s financial risk-management process.
• Ensuring that the charity has an appropriate investment policy and that investments and assets are maximised.
• Leading on the appointment of and liaison with external auditors. 
• Overseeing the development and implementation of systems for appraising, mitigating, and reporting corporate risk. 
• Ensuring that the accounts are prepared and disclosed in the form required by relevant statutory bodies – for example, the Charity Commission and/or the Registrar of Companies.
• Keeping the board informed about its financial duties and responsibilities.
• Supporting other Trustees in understanding the charity’s financial position and decision making.
• Contributing to the fundraising strategy of the charity and its ethical fundraising policy.
• Making a formal presentation of the accounts at the Annual General Meeting and drawing attention to important points in a coherent and easily understandable way.

The Person We’re Looking For:

• A finance professional with a firm understanding of charity finance and some experience of fundraising and pension schemes.
• Knowledge of charity fundraising, bid writing, and/or other income generation and/or securing funding through creation or leveraging of partnerships and networks (at a national or local level).
• A strategic thinker with an ability to balance risk and opportunity and the skills to analyse proposals and examine their financial consequences.
• Clear communicator with the ability to explain financial information to members of the Board and other stakeholders.
• Willing to play an active role in areas such as forecasting, setting budgets, and liaising with auditors.

In addition, the Treasurer will also have the responsibilities and qualities of all Trustees.

Responsibilities of All Trustees:

• Demonstrating a commitment to G&C’s objectives
• Contributing to setting the strategic goals and monitoring performance by active participation in Board discussions and decision-making
• Actively assisting the charity to build their connections and partnerships for the purposes of most effectively delivering their goals and fundraising
• Ensuring that G&C complies with its governing documents, the law, and all other relevant documentation
• Helping to identify risks and ensuring appropriate controls are in place
• Helping the Board to make sound decisions by making available their own personal knowledge and experience
• Assisting the Chair to appoint and appraise the performance of the Senior Leadership Team members
• Sharing relevant skills and expertise with the Senior Leadership Team members
• Making all reasonable efforts to attend Board meetings, away days, development meetings, publicity events, and other such public functions as requested by the Chair
• Ensuring the charity’s focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion remains at the heart of its strategy and delivery

Trustee Person Specification:

In addition to the Treasurer role specific above, our Trustees will ideally also demonstrate the following:

• A commitment to the objectives and activities of G&C
• A willingness to devote time and effort to G&C beyond attending board meetings
• Have strategic vision, an ability to think creatively, and an appropriate level of financial literacy
• Understanding of and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of their position
• Have good independent judgement
• Be willing to effectively act as part of a team
• Adhere to the Nolan Principles of public office: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership
• A willingness to allow the Employee/s to make reasonable decisions and to act within the limits prescribed by the Board

To Apply:

To see the full job advertisement with details on how to apply, and to learn more about the role and our organisation, please see the attached supporting documents.

We are looking for a finance professional to join our engaged and friendly board as Treasurer, with specific oversight of the charity’s financial management. While day-to-day financial administration is carried out by employees or external providers, the Treasurer works closely with them and the Board to ensure sound financial governance. The Treasurer provides financial leadership, helps trustees understand the organisation’s finances, and ensures that the charity meets its financial and statutory obligations.

You will have a qualification in Financial Management, Accounting, or Audit, or perhaps be a senior Finance Manager or Director in a charity. We welcome applications from people for whom this is their first Treasurer role, but we are seeking candiates who have some understanding and/or experience of the charity sector.  We are willing to provide access to training around the treasurer role, but a basic knowledge of charity accounting and financial management would be a strong advantage.

You will have the ability to communicate financial information clearly to those without financial expertise and be a strategic thinker, with the ability to balance financial scrutiny with broader trustee responsibilities.

Our board meet once a month (either virtually or in person in London) for around 90 minutes. We aim to have strategy days twice a year. You will meet with the CEO and Finance Manager once a month, and be available for ad hoc emails, advice. Trustees are usually appointed for a three-year term, which can usually be extended. 

You will also bring a commitment to the values, aims, and objectives of the charity, and a desire to help children and young people who have experienced grief.