Help women volunteer roles in shepton mallet, somerset

Chair of Board of Trustees Recruitment

Founded in 1975, Rights of Women is the only charity dedicated to providing frontline legal advice to women experiencing all forms of violence against women and girls in England and Wales. We campaign for access to justice and safety for all women.

We are seeking a new Chair in our 50th anniversary year to lead our Board to replace Dr Annie Hedge, our long standing, inspirational, retiring Chair. Our new Chair will help us to build on our success and ensure that we continue to change women’s lives for the better.

We welcome applications from women* from diverse backgrounds whose skills and experience will complement our existing high performing Board, enabling us to stay at the forefront of women’s rights and legal policy debates.

We recognise the critical role that intersectional and structural discrimination play in society and welcome applicants with a strong commitment to addressing these issues throughout our work. We are keen to receive applications from Black and minoritised communities including refugee and migrant women, disabled women and women who have personal experience of the issues that are core to our work including domestic violence and abuse, insecure immigration status and workplace sexual harassment.

Rights of Women is a national charity however given the specific demands of the Chair role and our office location in London it is important for the Chair to be able to travel to London regularly.

We are keen to recruit a Chair committed to our vision and values who has:

· Experience in governance, leadership, and strategic decision-making, ideally within a charity or public sector setting.

· Strong financial and risk management acumen.

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively

· Experience in supporting organisational growth and development.

Commitment:  Average 2 days a month

Full details can be found in our application pack.

To apply, please submit a CV, a covering letter of no more than 2 pages and a short Essential Information Form (including details of referees).

We invite you to also complete an anonymous Equalities Monitoring Form.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a first stage online interview from the week commencing Tuesday 22nd April 2025 onwards.

Candidates selected for second round will be invited to our offices to meet board and staff members in London for a second stage interview from mid-May.

Key dates:

Closing date: Friday 4th April 2025 5pm

Interview dates: From week commencing Tuesday 22nd April

First Board meeting: Wednesday 18th June 2025

*Occupational Requirement (Equality Act 2010, Schedule 16, Part I) applies

Cystar

Help women with PCOS manage their condition through our health program.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 in 10 women globally, yet it remains one of the most under-diagnosed and misunderstood hormonal disorders. Our startup addresses the social and healthcare inequality faced by individuals with PCOS, who often experience delayed diagnosis, misinformation, and a lack of holistic support. Many face chronic physical and emotional challenges—ranging from irregular periods and infertility to anxiety, depression, and body image issues.

Socially, PCOS is stigmatised and frequently dismissed, especially in low-resource settings, where access to specialised care is limited and digital health education is minimal. Environmental challenges also arise from a lack of culturally sensitive, inclusive, and personalised resources for managing lifestyle and medical interventions.

We aim to close these gaps by providing accessible, evidence-based tools and community support to help individuals manage PCOS proactively—supporting not just physical health, but also mental well-being, self-advocacy, and long-term empowerment.

Our startup empowers individuals with PCOS to take control of their health through a personalised, holistic digital platform. We combine science-backed tools, expert guidance, and community support to address the unique and complex challenges of managing PCOS.

Copywriter

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

We are looking for a copywriter to optimise our landing pages.

Are you passionate about women’s health and skilled at writing persuasive content? Join us as a Volunteer Sales Copywriter and help us amplify our mission to support women with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

At Cystar, we provide resources, support, and advocacy for women navigating life with PCOS — and we need a talented storyteller to help us reach more hearts (and inboxes).

�� What You’ll Do: Write compelling copy for our website, email campaigns, social media, and landing pages

Help craft messaging that educates, inspires, and drives action (e.g., donations, sign-ups, downloads)

Collaborate with our passionate team to grow awareness and engagement

Support a mission that empowers women to take control of their health

�� What You’ll Gain: Meaningful portfolio work in a purpose-driven space

Flexibility — fully remote, with a schedule that works for you

A chance to make a difference in the lives of women around the world

Experience working in health and wellness advocacy

�� Ideal for: Copywriters who care about women's health

Students or recent grads in marketing, communications, or public health

Freelancers looking to add mission-driven impact to their portfolio

If you believe in the power of words and the strength of women, we’d love to have you on our team.

Weekly Time Commitment

7-9 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

1-2 months

Nigerian Women in UK CIC is looking for two passionate and dedicated volunteers to join our Fundraising Department!

As a Volunteer Fundraising Assistant, you will help us identify funding opportunities and apply for grants to support our vital work empowering Nigerian women in the UK.

Role Details:

✅ Part-time, flexible volunteering role

✅ Remote 

✅ Gain valuable experience in fundraising and grant applications

✅ Make a real impact in your community

Who We're Looking For:

✔️ Strong research and writing skills

✔️ Passionate about supporting women's initiatives

✔️ Organised and detail-oriented

✔️ Experience in fundraising or grant writing is a plus but not essential

Join us in making a difference!

Title:  Communications volunteer

Summary

Help us grow and engage our audiences by creating communications materials for us to use externally and across our website, social media, print materials and newsletter, so that we can help support the mental health of more women across Sussex.

Description

Our charity delivers counselling and therapeutic groups for women across Sussex. We are looking for an experienced communications professional to work with to support with all or some of the following:

Communications:

· Help to create a communications plan with the CEO, mapping out key activities and campaigns over the year

Social media:

· Assess our current social media and make recommendations to improve content and engagement

· Design and create weekly posts and reels using Canva

· Create 1-3 social posts per week

Newsletter:

· Re-purpose key social posts for our monthly e-newsletter, using MailChimp

Outreach:

· Build a partner communication list and liaise with key organisations and share key materials with them, such as leaflets and information about our services to raise our profile

· Build contacts and reach out to potential press to raise awareness of our organisation

Events:

· Assist with fundraising events and promotion of these from the Brighton 10K run, our Christmas raffle and party.

You will be working with the CEO who will provide our existing brand/style/logo guidelines and brand research/user personas.

What impact will they have?

Your creative output will shape how we present ourselves to our clients and funders. With your help we will be able to continue to reach and support more women across Sussex.

About the volunteer

Description

We are looking for a volunteer who:

· Has experience in creating and writing communications materials such as social media posts

· Ideally has experience in Canva and MailChimp

· Has the ability to quickly understand the needs of our team / organisation / participants

· Has good communications and organisation skills

· Understands the resource constraints of a small charity and is able to work with these.

Skills

· Marketing and communications

Where and when

Location

Can be fully remote or partly remote if based near Brighton.

Time

Time commitment

· 0-6 hours / week – the role could be an ongoing role

Volunteer availability

Either inside or outside office hours.

Application details

Application instructions: please send published content examples (social, blog or e-newsletter posts) a CV and details of your availability and interest in the role 

Are you a HR professional? Could you give an hour a week to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination? Then we need you!

We’re not going to sugar-coat it, things aren’t great for working parents and pregnant women. It can feel frustrating and a bit depressing at times, but by being part of the Pregnant Then Screwed volunteer team, you get to turn that frustration into something positive. In the last year the fantastic volunteers on our Advice Line have spoken to over 5000 women and parents, collectively providing around 40 hours of free support and advice every week. Hundreds of women and parents call our Advice Line every day, but with a small team of volunteers we are only able to answer a fraction of those calls—this is where you come in.

We are looking for brilliant HR professionals who want to help Pregnant Then Screwed tackle the Motherhood Penalty by becoming a Volunteer HR Advisor.

Our Volunteer Advisors give around 1-2 hours a week of their time to the Advice Line. They use their HR knowledge to offer a kind, empathetic support and advice to help people to identify and challenge pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace.

About the role

Role Title: Volunteer HR Advisor 
Location: Home-based (UK)
Reporting To: Head of Support Services

Time Commitment

The Advice Line is open Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm, with various available shifts during those times. We ask volunteers to give 1-2 hours per week on the Advice Line for a minimum of three months. 

Alternative time commitments can be considered and discussed as part of your application, so please do include any information that might be useful in your application form.

Main Role Purpose

The Advice Line HR Advisors play a vital role in providing support and guidance to working parents facing unfair treatment or discrimination in the workplace via our advice line. Volunteers will offer advice, listen empathetically, and provide information about employee rights and available resources. This role is critical in empowering parents to make informed decisions and navigate workplace challenges effectively.

Essential requirements

• Minimum CIPD level 5 Diploma in People Management with one professional reference.
• Knowledge of employment laws, regulations, and policies related to pregnancy, maternity leave, and discrimination.
• Access to a mobile phone/laptop/tablet to receive calls. You will not be charged for calls and your number will not be shared.
• Access to a reliable and secure WIFI connection. Public WIFI is not suitable for this role.
• Excellent active and empathetic listening skills.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey information clearly and concisely.
• A kind and welcoming telephone manner.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Comfortable using online communication tools.

Key Responsibilities

• Answer incoming phone calls to the PTS Advice Line from individuals seeking support and advice.
• Listen actively, empathise, and provide HR advice and guidance to support callers with their enquiries.
• Signpost to further information and other support organisations if necessary.
• Make referrals to our legal partner if required.
• Record all details of the call on our CRM system.
• Maintain professionalism in all interactions, adhering to all Pregnant Then Screwed guidelines and policies.

What you can expect from PTS

• The opportunity to use your skill set to tackle the Motherhood Penalty and make a meaningful impact.
• An onboarding and induction period which can be completed at your own pace.
• Support from the PTS staff team and volunteer network.
• Access to our Volunteer Training Hub.
• Opportunities to help us further develop and shape our Support Services.

Are you someone who loves social media? Are you passionate about being a global citizen?

Are you looking for a volunteering role that really makes a difference? Well, how about joining a global organisation that is helping to empower women and men to end their own hunger and poverty? If this sounds exciting, we might have the perfect role just for you!

We’re looking for a Social Media Volunteer to join us for a 3-month period, supporting our marketing team with social media content.

Role: Social Media Volunteer

Reports to: Emma Bardsley, Marketing & Relationships Manager

Contract type: 3 months

Hours: 5 hours per week/ 1 hour per day

Location: Remote

About The Hunger Project

We’re a global charity committed to the sustainable end of world hunger by 2030, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We do this by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centred strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world. We believe people living in hunger are key to ending hunger. We work to solve the root causes of hunger by supporting the communities experiencing them. As we adapt to meet local challenges and opportunities wherever we work, our programmes have a wide range ofobjectives. These include ending child marriage, empowering women leaders, increasing girls in education, engaging local governments, promoting entrepreneurism and employability, climate-resilient farming, and maternal health.

In 2024, The Hunger Project’s work reached nearly 13 million people in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. There are currently 1.3 million people living in 85 self-reliant epicentre communities in Africa, thanks to our work. Our team is a mighty force of changemakers living around the world, including in our partner countries, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and across Europe.

So, if you’re ready to be part of something bold.... read on!

The role:

You’ll be engaging with our audience on various platforms to promote the work of The Hunger Project.

This role is for you if...

• You’re passionate about social justice and having a positive impact on our world.

• You're naturally gifted at generating engaging content across a variety of platforms and are fanatical about the power of social media to drive social change.

You will be:

• Creating exciting content for our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages.

• Connecting with followers, answering questions, and tailoring content to the audience.

• Reviewing engagement figures and growing our online platforms.

Required skills and attributes:

• Experience with social platforms – personal or for business.

• Ability to understand and follow The Hunger Project’s brand and social media guidelines.

• Experience in working to a deadline.

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote setting

• Top-notch spoken and written communication skills; you have a keen eye for detail and detest spelling mistakes.

• Previous experience using Canva and scheduling posts in a platform like Later

This role can offer you:

• Great addition to your CV, portfolio, and LinkedIn.

• A chance to use your own creative skills and ideas while gaining social media experience.

• Broader insight into how a global charity operates and communicates with its audience.

• Opportunity to contribute to real-world change and make a difference.

Application deadline: Friday, 30th May. We would like a successful candidate to start asap for a 3-month period from June.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Period Reality

We fight for gender equity through system-level change by educating about and advocating for living in sync with your cycle.

Period Reality aims to address period related issues and stories by sharing the real life stories from girls and women globally. Although half the population experiences a menstrual cycle, the stark contrast in the different realities of girls and women is very real and through storytelling we aim to educate and provide relatable content.

Through sharing stories from girls and women focused on their common humanities. Even though our realities might be very different depending on many factors (physical, geographical, socio-economical, mental etc.) we all share a lot of the same questions, worries, dreams, anxieties, ambitious etc. Making these stories relatable and accessible will educate and inspire and create a movement of girls and women being able to first and foremost understand their own cycle, in order to be kind to themselves.

Sales Team

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

Are you passionate about driving meaningful change while building sustainable connections?

As a part of the Sales Team, you’ll help expand our impact by following up on leads for corporate training programmes and helping us connect with organisations that align with our mission of advancing menstrual health and gender equity.

In this role, you’ll support outreach efforts, nurture potential client relationships, and assist with maintaining records in our CRM system. This voluntary role is a great opportunity to sharpen your skills in sales, outreach, and relationship-building while contributing to a cause that truly matters.

Commitment: approximately 8–10 hours per week.

Weekly Time Commitment

7-9 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

6+ months

Are you passionate about helping people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues to live gloriously ordinary lives

Do you have a background and in-depth experience of strategic charitable fundraising and best practice?

Are you experienced in advising on charity fundraising at strategic and operational levels?

Have you got credibility and passion to help us make a difference?

If the answer is YES, why not consider becoming a FitzRoy Trustee

About Us

FitzRoy is a pioneering national charity, providing a range of support to people who need support to enable them to live independent lives. Our vision is a society where people are treated as equals within inclusive communities and empowered to ensure their rights and aspirations are met.

FitzRoy maintains a financially sound organisation , and whilst the majority of our funding comes through the provision of local authority contracts,  the importance of fundraising and philanthropic support cannot be underestimated in this, the most challenging of environments for our sector and the people we support.

The Role

At this time, we are seeking to strengthen our Board by appointing a Trustee with dedicated experience in successful strategic fundraising and knowledge of corporate and philanthropic giving working with major donors, Trusts and Foundations, Patrons and Ambassadors, to help support our strategic objectives.

• Fundraising strategy, collaborate with the Board and Executive Leadership to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising strategy aligned with the organisations mission, vision and values.
• Work closely to advise our departmental teams on strategic direction to our fundraising and philanthropic efforts.
• Support the organisation in developing our approach to network relationships with existing  and potential new donors, ambassadors and corporate partnerships.
• Provide knowledge and support to our team around grant sources and fundraising opportunities, branding  and campaigns.
• Support the development of projects and causes to help create exciting, sustainable, appealing  asks to funders.

As a Trustee you will have the opportunity to influence our development, and with the other members of our Board, you will be responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the Charity.

We welcome applications from communities currently under-represented on our Board, specifically those with Black or Asian heritage and women. We value a range of mixed voices and aspire to a governance which reflects the diversity of our workforce and the people we support.

Trustee experience in the charity or social care sector is not required, and training and mentorship will be available to those interested in developing their leadership skills through being a Trustee.

We do encourage applications from those with a personal experience of learning disability, autism or mental health issues.

In return, if you are able to commit your time, energy and passion, you will be rewarded by being part of a forward thinking charity dedicated to transforming lives of people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues. This is a voluntary role, with paid travel expenses , requiring approximately one day per month of your time.

Join us on a transformational journey

Be part of something powerful. As a Trustee on the Board of AfriKids UK, you’ll help shape the future of a proven, high-impact organisation that’s ready to go further. You’ll bring your ideas, insights and perspective to help us improve and grow for the children and communities we serve.

About AfriKids

AfriKids is an award-winning, locally-led charity dedicated to ensuring the rights of children in northern Ghana. Our mission is to help unlock the power of communities to ensure child rights, with a focus on helping people secure the means, motive and opportunity for every child to complete a quality basic education, as the most sustainable route out of poverty. Locally-led and internationally supported, we work hand-in-hand with local communities to design and deliver programmes that create lasting change for children, so they can thrive now and as the leaders of tomorrow. AfriKids UK exists to support this mission through faciliating access to international funding, partnerships, technical support and expertise — working in close collaboration with AfriKids Ghana, our independent local implementing partner.

The Role

With nearly 25 years of experience behind us, our Boards in the UK and Ghana are now helping to lead us through a period of transformational change, to impact more children than ever. We are seeking two more trustees to join the Board of AfriKids UK. As a Trustee of AfriKids, you will share collective responsibility for the governance and strategic direction of the charity, with guidance and support to learn about your responsibilities as a trustee if you have not been one before. Trustees play a crucial role in ensuring that AfriKids operates in accordance with its mission, values, and legal obligations.​ This is an opportunity to lend your unique knowledge, skills and experience to help advance our mission and make a difference for children. 

Period Reality

We fight for gender equity through system-level change by educating about and advocating for living in sync with your cycle.

Period Reality aims to address period related issues and stories by sharing the real life stories from girls and women globally. Although half the population experiences a menstrual cycle, the stark contrast in the different realities of girls and women is very real and through storytelling we aim to educate and provide relatable content.

Through sharing stories from girls and women focused on their common humanities. Even though our realities might be very different depending on many factors (physical, geographical, socio-economical, mental etc.) we all share a lot of the same questions, worries, dreams, anxieties, ambitious etc. Making these stories relatable and accessible will educate and inspire and create a movement of girls and women being able to first and foremost understand their own cycle, in order to be kind to themselves.

Fundraising Team

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

Are you someone who is passionate about fundraising, grant applications and wants to help promote Women's health and gender equity?

We are seeking a new member for our Fundraising Team, exploring all funding avenues, from governments and grants to individual giving and platforms.

This is a hybrid role combining coordination and writing, offering ownership of the full process, from mapping out a market landscape to writing the proposals, dealing with third parties and supporting with related content like donor decks and marketing copy. You will be gaining a lot of hands-on experience across the fundraising journey.

Commitment: 8 hours/week.

Weekly Time Commitment

7-9 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

6+ months

Tafara Wellness Initiative

We are dedicated to empowering women and children in African communities to overcome mental health challenges and cultivate resilience and joy through providing free counselling.

Africa has a serious mental health issue that has to be addressed right away as the continent has the highest suicide rate in the world, estimated at 11.2 per 100,000 people, despite a moderate reduction over the past ten years (far above the global average of 9.0 per 100,000). Part of the mental health emergency is due to the AIDS epidemic, widespread poverty, and a lack of mental health resources and infrastructure. Providing mental health is essential for sustainable development as it enables individuals to pursue education, maintain employment and contribute positively to their communities. For women and children specifically, better mental health can lead to improved family dynamics, increased school attendance, and greater economic participation.

The Tafara Wellness Initiative looks to address the mental health crisis and build more resilient and thriving communities in Africa through:

• Ensuring women and children in Africa have access to timely, appropriate and tailored psychological and mental wellness programs that enable them to thrive.
• Expanding communal support and awareness for mental health and eliminate stigmas around mental health in African communities

Measurement Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

We are seeking a dedicated MEL Officer to support our growing impact. This role is crucial to strengthening our data systems, tracking outcomes, and informing strategic decisions. You will work closely with programme leads to develop frameworks, tools, and reporting mechanisms that reflect the voices and experiences of the communities we serve.

Key Responsibilities

-Design and implement MEL frameworks and tools across programme tiers

-Collect, clean, and analyse quantitative and qualitative data

-Support development of learning materials and donor reports

-Help establish feedback loops with beneficiaries and partners

-Contribute to learning reviews and adaptive programming

-Build team capacity in basic MEL practices as needed

Weekly Time Commitment

4-6 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

6+ months

EQUAL AQUA is an award-winning NGO providing equal access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Uganda. Equal Aqua is managed by an international team of volunteers, based mainly in the UK and Uganda. Our mission is to tackle inequalities in access to WASH by providing safe and sustainable WASH facilities and services to those that need it most.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: We are recruiting a new Communications Manager in order to build awareness around WASH inequality, grow EAU's presence and income generation, and ultimately enable us to reach more communities and transform more lives.

• Lead the development, delivery and evaluation of an external and internal communications strategy to drive the strategy, vision and values of EAU;
• Oversee public communications channels, including social media and websites, working closely with the fundraising and programmes team to improve communication between stakeholders;
• Lead EAU's monthly newelstter to key stakeholders
• Oversee production of EAU’s Annual Report, raising awareness of WASH inequality and generating income for EAU.
• Build and maintain relationships with key partners and important contacts;

ABOUT: ‘Equal Aqua’ is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in the UK; it operates equally and in unison with ‘Equal Aqua Uganda’, a registered Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Uganda (‘EAU’ refers to both).

Our Vision: To become a leading organisation in Uganda in addressing inequalities in WASH, and interrelated issues of gender and sustainability

Our Mission: We will achieve this by working with partners and local communities to develop the required skills, knowledge and practical interventions 

Objectives:

• To improve access to safe and sustainable WASH for those facing the greatest inequalities in Uganda
• To strengthen the participation of local communities in WASH, in particular women and girls, and displaced peoples
• To take action to protect the natural environment, reduce pollution and tackle climate change

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

• 32,866 people with improved access to safe water
• 11,044 people with improved sanitation
• 11,755 people with improved WASH knowledge and skills
• 3,877 people with improved menstrual hygiene knowledge
• British High Commission award winner

VALUES: At Equal Aqua we champion bottom-up grassroots development. To make this possible, we have created a proactive and friendly environment, which strives to create practical and lasting solutions to WASH-related issues. Each member of Equal Aqua is passionate about WASH inequalities, and our values are a central basis for inspiration and the culture of the organisation.

Adventure Ashram is a small but mighty UK-based charity founded by adventurers in 2007. We support life-saving grassroots projects in India, focused on: 

• Combating human trafficking 

• Providing education for vulnerable children 

• Ensuring access to essential healthcare 

We work closely with our local Indian partners to deliver meaningful, sustainable change. Our UK-based operations raise vital funds through adventurous events, innovative campaigns, and international initiatives—most notably our global yoga campaign, Yoga Stops Traffick. 

Role: Trustee – Fundraising Specialist 

We are looking for a new Trustee with significant fundraising experience to help us grow and diversify our income and contribute to our overall strategic direction. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who wants to use their professional skills to make a lasting impact on vulnerable communities, particularly vulnerable women and children in India.

What we’re looking for 

We welcome applications from individuals with fundraising expertise in one or more of the following areas: 

• Individual Giving & Major Donors 

• Trusts and Foundations 

• Corporate Partnerships 

• Community Fundraising and Events 

• Digital Campaigns and Innovation 

• Fundraising Strategy and Income Development 

Trustee Commitment 

• Board Meetings: 4 per year (weekday evenings, usually online) 

• Committee Involvement: All trustees join one of our committees (Fundraising, Finance, Programme Management), which meet every 2 months 

• Events: Attend 1–2 UK-based Adventure Ashram events per year (where possible) 

• Approximate time commitment: 1–2 hours per week 

We also hope that this new trustee would be open to supporting other trustees and staff in developing their fundraising skills to improve internal capabilities. 

Why Join Us? 

As a Trustee, you will: 

• Help shape the future of a unique, adventurous charity 

• Make a meaningful contribution to anti-trafficking and community development work 

• Be part of a passionate, values-driven team 

• Gain or develop experience in strategic charity governance and leadership 

“Adventure Ashram is a brilliant small charity; it supports fantastic projects in India and manages to have a lot of fun in the process. Volunteering as a trustee gives me a chance to do something meaningful with good people—and I can’t wait to welcome more members to the team.” 
— Current Trustee 

Sustainability Research Volunteer
People & Planet is looking for volunteers to assist with compiling its 2025/26 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 (2021, 2022. 2023,
2024) and whose data is used in the Sunday Time Good University Guide.
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 previous 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.Sustainability Research Volunteer
• Able to communicate needs with staff at People & Planet and if needed, ask for appropriate
• support to complete tasks in 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
●​ Two 25 hour weeks of remote work in July and August.
●​ 5 hours work per day for the two week period. 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 a short daily meeting.
●​ One half day of remote training and induction the week prior to your 2 week engagement.
●​ Attending a brief meeting in the morning or afternoon each day and one individual check-in
meeting in week 1.

Summer timetable
June 30th-July 11th Ethical Investment and Banking, Ethical Careers and Recruitment,
Education for Sustainable Development. Training and induction w/c 23rd June
July 21st-1st August Sustainable Food, Staff & HR, Environmental Policy and Strategy
Training and induction w/c 14th July
August 11th-August 22nd Managing Carbon, Workers’ Rights, Staff and Student
Engagement, Environmental Management and Auditing. Training and induction w/c August
4th

Application

Applications will be processed on a rolling basis until positions are filled, so please apply early to
avoid disappointment. The deadline for applications is Friday June the 6th 2025
Candidates will need to attend a non-competitive group recruitment session and complete an
online self-access task before being invited to volunteer with us.
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, including organising a one-on-one
interview. We welcome people with hearing loss, deaf and or disabled people to apply for thisSustainability Research Volunteer 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 let us know via email
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.