Patient support volunteer volunteer jobs in Belfast

Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. We support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

We currently have employees working across four nations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re in a privileged position to be able to deliver our ambitious new strategy, On a Mission. There are huge challenges facing bowel cancer patients across the UK and our community needs us now more than ever. We’re building a strong and united team to bring us closer to a world where nobody dies of bowel cancer.

Job Summary

As the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer, and with the support of the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager you will be responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of public affairs and campaigns activity in order to achieve real change through influencing policy and legislation on health services which impact the lives of people affected by bowel cancer in England, with a particular focus on Westminster.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and at Bowel Cancer UK we are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Successful candidates may be subject to either a satisfactory basic, standard or enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) dependent upon the role.

Money & Energy Advice Service Lead

Pro rata salary: £39,825 (35 hour week)

Home-based, with travel as required

Up to 35 hours per week with occasional evenings and / or weekend work will be required

Permanent (subject to external funding)

Responsible for: 2.0 FTE Money & Energy Advisers

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced welfare benefits practitioner with a passion for sharing knowledge and enabling teams to deliver above and beyond.

With around 4 in 10 beneficiaries, we support seeking help with financial difficulties, this is a pivotal role for Kidney Care UK.

We are seeking a knowledgeable and confident specialist income maximisation activities for a role with three key parts: to lead a small team delivering benefits and energy advice and support directly to clients; to play a key role in upskilling and supporting our outstanding Patient Support team across the country; and to be the subject matter expert within Kidney Care UK.

Our external partners – British Gas Energy Trust have committed to fund our Money and Energy Service until March 2027. We are advertising this position as ‘permanent’ – we anticipate confirmation by December 2026 whether funding will be extended beyond March 2027.

This role is made possible thanks to the support of British Gas Energy Trust.

About Kidney Care UK

Around 3.5 million people in the UK live with chronic kidney disease, and one million of them don’t know that they do.

Since 1975, Kidney Care UK has been at the forefront of supporting people with kidney disease. From our early days when we campaigned to introduce donor cards in the UK, we have worked hard to support and represent the interests of everyone affected by kidney disease. 

About the Money & Energy Advice Service

The Money & Energy Advice Service (MEAS) provides information and support for welfare benefits and income maximisation and promotes awareness of efficient energy use. Working closely with Patient Support officers, MEAS provides specialist knowledge and directly supports clients to achieve sustainable financial outcomes. The service was established in 2023 with the support of British Gas Energy Trust and is embedded as a valued element of the many ways Kidney Care UK supports people affected by kidney failure.

What we offer

Working at Kidney Care UK is incredibly rewarding and you will see the life-changing impact that the charity has on kidney patients and their families:

• Flexi-time – we are flexible about start and finish times, and flexible about your location.
• Annual and Christmas leave – we offer 25 days annual leave for full time employees plus bank holidays. We also close for three days between Christmas and New Year, and you don’t need to take this from your annual leave allowance.
• Pension – you’ll be eligible for and auto-enrolled into a pension scheme where your employer will contribute 8% of your salary.
• Health cashback plan – ability to claim back a wide variety of routine medical treatments.
• Employee Assistance Programme – access to a wide variety of support including counselling, health resources and advice.
• Cycle2Work scheme

Job Description

Key responsibilities:

1. Events Marketing

• To oversee the scheduling, production and distribution of promotional e-mails for our events. Liaise with comms team to promote events across AvMA media platform To work on the development of the events pages on the new AvMA web site. Ensuring event web pages are kept up-to-date. To carry out data analysis and web analytics to determine what people are responding to and to highlight the areas we may need to focus/re-focus.

Events Logistics & Management

• In conjunction with the Head of Events, to undertake the production and organisation of events, including inviting and liaising with speakers and arranging event logistics. Effective liaison with speakers, ensuring they have all the information required to participate in the event and providing deadlines for receiving their presentation and biography. To work on site at events as required and run smaller events on your own. Duties will involve setting-up and administering registration, liaising with the venue, greeting speakers and exhibitors, dealing with enquiries from delegates and making sure the event runs smoothly. Production of the online conference documentation, to include speaker presentations.

Research & Event Development

• Help identify and research potential subject areas on which we may want to run events. Keep a close eye on the medico-legal events sector market and other events taking place. Help identify potential new sponsors and exhibitors for our events.

Events CRM

• Develop a sound understanding of AvMA’s new CRM, ensuring we optimise it for the efficient and effective marketing of events.
• To assist if/as required with bookings and booking queries for AvMA’s events.

Other

• To support the Events Department’s quality initiatives and to suggest continuing improvements where needs arise.
• To undertake other duties commensurate with the post as may be required.
• Deputise for the Head of Events when necessary 

Person Specification

Essential:

1. An understanding of, and commitment to, the values and objectives of AvMA.
2. Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop effective and positive working  relationships with a wide range of individuals and organisations.
3. Highly motivated self-starter with the ability to manage and prioritise workload and meet targets.
4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Confidence in liaising with speakers, sponsors and delegates.
5. Experience of organising events and on-site management of events, including in-person and online events/webinars.
6. Marketing copy writing ability, proof-reading skills, outstanding attention to detail.
7. Experience of using e-mail marketing platforms (e.g. Dot Digital) and social media to promote events and maintaining event web pages.
8. A high level of IT and digital literacy skills, including Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Adobe  In Design
9. Staying calm under pressure, a proactive and solutions focussed approach to problem-solving, ability to independently think on your feet.
10. Demonstrable commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Desirable:

• Experience of working within a charity.
• Experience of working in healthcare and legal sector events.
• Knowledge or experience of healthcare, the NHS or patient safety work.
• Understanding/experience of Search Engine Optimisation.

Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. We support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

We currently have employees working across four nations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re in a privileged position to be able to deliver our ambitious new strategy, On a Mission. There are huge challenges facing bowel cancer patients across the UK and our community needs us now more than ever. We’re building a strong and united team to bring us closer to a world where nobody dies of bowel cancer.

Job Summary

This role forms a key part of a new Strategy & Insight Team at Bowel Cancer UK, which seeks to build core capabilities to enable us to be as effective as we can be for people affected by bowel cancer. The Audience Insight Specialist will be an internal leader, building our capability to understand our core audiences and the people we need to reach to achieve our strategic goals. You will support a cultural shift in how the charity takes an audience-led approach to planning, decision-making, and communications, as our CRM, data infrastructure, and Strategy & Insight functions continue to develop. Making best use of internal and external sources, you will distil data into meaningful insight, tailored to different audiences. You will support a consistent approach to audiences across the organisation, while flexing to meet the needs of different teams, ensuring that any understanding of audience is rooted in evidence.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and at Bowel Cancer UK we are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Successful candidates may be subject to either a satisfactory basic, standard or enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) dependent upon the role.

The Pepper Foundation is a local charity funding children’s hospice care at home, specialised play and family days for children living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. 

The Trusts & Foundations Fundraiser will be joining Pepper at an exciting time as we launch our new three-year fundraising strategy. Backed by committed investment and with full Board approval, we are delighted to be growing the charity to deliver sustainable income that directly supports local children and families with hospice care in the comfort of their own homes.

Working closely with the Head of Trusts & Foundations, you will play a pivotal role in increasing income from trusts and foundations by developing and managing a strong pipeline of funders, securing new grants, and building long-term relationships that lead to increased and multi-year support. You will research and prepare compelling applications to both new and existing funders, alongside producing timely, engaging reports that clearly demonstrate impact.

This role requires a highly organised and motivated individual with a passion for writing, strong attention to detail, and the ability to deliver exceptional cultivation, stewardship and relationship management of trusts and foundations aligned with our mission.

Your work will directly support hospice at home care, specialist play services, and meaningful family days out for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions – making a tangible difference to families during the most difficult of times.

Hours: 22.5 hours per week working from home – applicants must live within Hertfordshire or Buckinghamshire (or surrounding counties)

Salary: £19,800 per annum for 22.5 hours per week (£33,000 FTE per annum)

Key requirements:

• Work with the Head of Trusts & Foundations to agreed income targets and growth.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of small and medium trusts and foundations (giving up to £10,000).
• Produce high-quality, tailored applications to prospective funders aligned with agreed criteria.
• Prepare meaningful update reports, demonstrating the impact of a funder’s support, whilst ensuring all reporting requirements and deadlines are met.
• Deliver excellent relationship management and stewardship through regular reporting and tailored communications.
• Conduct prospect research to identify and prioritise new trust funding opportunities aligned with The Pepper Foundation’s work.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all communications on the Donorfy CRM database whilst keeping abreast of GDPR.
• Stay up to date with current trends in trust fundraising.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, including the Fundraising Regulator Code of Practice, and internal Safeguarding Policies.
• Represent The Pepper Foundation at events as required.

How to apply: For further details about the role, please download our recruitment pack. Please send your CV with a cover letter explaining why you would make a great candidate for this role and how you meet the job description. 

Closing date: 1st June 2026 at 5pm

Interview dates: First-round interviews on 10th and 11th June and second-round interviews on 15th June 2026.

Interviews will take place at our office in Berkhamsted. Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements or need any adjustments for the interview.

If appointed, an enhanced DBS check will be required.