Reception administrator volunteer roles in london

Based in the Reception of the Main Gallery, you will be the first point of contact for visitors to the Gallery, giving a warm welcome, assisting with enquiries and ensuring a high-quality visitor experience. You will also support the day to day running of the Gallery, dealing with administrative duties and supporting the Gallery Shop, sharing product information with visitors and taking sales.  

Tasks and Responsibilities  

• Welcoming and engaging visitors, providing information about the gallery and programmes  

• Responding to telephone, email and face to face enquiries  

• Being a visible presence in the Gallery space, ensuring everyone’s safety and the security of artwork and our retail space 

• Guiding visitors around the gallery and wider site 

• Assisting with sales and shop displays, including cash handling 

• Maintaining a neat and tidy reception and retail area  

• Supporting our retail work, with stocktaking, pricing and other tasks 

• Monitoring visitor numbers and contributing to evaluation initiatives  

• Representing the Gallery and Richmond Arts Service  

What we hope you will get from the role 

• The opportunity to meet new people and engage with the local community 

• Improved and demonstrable administration and communication skills 

• Valuable insight and experience of a contemporary art gallery, crossing the arts, cultural and heritage sectors 

• An understanding of the breadth of arts activity offered by Richmond Arts Service 

Training and Support  

We will provide training and an induction which covers all aspects of the role. On-going support and supervision will be provided by staff throughout your time with us. Additionally, there are regular training sessions to supplement and further your initial training, as well as a varied programme of volunteer events and activities to join in, meet people and learn something new! 

Desirable qualities and experience  

• Enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with people and sharing information 

• Interest for contemporary art, local history and/or heritage  

• Able to answer enquiries in a friendly and helpful manner  

• Willingness to learn, particularly administrative skills 

• Enjoys being part of a team  

• Ability to complete tasks independently 

• Good time keeping  

Availability  

The gallery is open to the public Tuesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm, with two volunteer shifts a day, 10am – 1pm and 1pm – 5pm.   

We ask for a minimum commitment of one shift every fortnight, although there is flexibility over scheduling.   

Location  

This role is based at Orleans House Gallery in the Main Gallery building.

Expenses  

We will cover travel expenses up to £14 per day.   

How to Apply  

Please complete our application form through our website.

Our Volunteers Co-ordinator will then contact you for an introductory chat, to learn more about your interest in volunteering and discuss the role further.   

Background  

Richmond Arts Service is based at Orleans House Gallery on the Riverside in Twickenham, promoting arts and culture through a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, events and activities for everyone in the community.   

We foster creativity and enjoyment of the arts, enable people to reflect on their lives and develop new ways of seeing the world. We bring thought-provoking art to the Borough and cultivate a network of individuals, organisations and programmes that nourishes the arts, local organisations and communities.

Home to the Richmond Borough Art Collection, comprising of over 4,400 artworks, at a site with a rich 300+ year history, Orleans House Gallery works with local, national and international artists and community partners to engage with the community, as we have done since 1972.   

Befriending Volunteer

You can make a difference…Age UK Wandsworth is a small, local, independent charity that has been working with older people in the area since 1963. We rely on your support to keep serving the older residents with in the Wamdsworth community. We have a dedicated team of experienced staff and a large network of dedicated local volunteers. Our aim is to enable everyone to age well in Wandsworth. We would love your help to be able to continue to support older Wandsworth residents.

Our Be-a-Friend service is one of our longest running services, matching people over 65, who live alone and have limited social contact, with a friendly local volunteer with similar hobbies and interests. The volunteer and their new friend set up a suitable time for them to meet each week for a chat and a cup of tea, which could be during the day, in the evening on the way home from work or even on the weekends . If you would prefer to volunteer from home, you can also be matched with an older person for telephone befriending. For many of our matched pairs, this is the beginning of a firm friendship. 

Befriending Plus

Befriending Plus is an extended version of the Be-a-Friend programme, for individulas needing help with life admin and small tasks as well as companionship. For Befriending Plus pairs, time spent together can include helping to use a phone or tablet, helping the client to organise their file, going out for a coffee or popping to the post office together. This support can help older people to stay independent at home for longer, as well as increasing their confidence to do these tasks when the volunteer is not there.

Are you passionate about standing in support of a fairer, more compassionate system for refugees - and want to be a part of making real, lasting change?

SolidariTee is inviting new volunteers to join our regional and central teams for the 2025/26 academic year!

Whether you're a current student, have recently graduated, on a year abroad, or you’re a self-identifying young person who didn’t go to university, we want to hear from you! We offer a range of flexible, meaningful roles (some remote and some in-person) where you can gain skills, build confidence, and help create real change.

Our current opportunities include:

Regional Teams:

• Team Lead
• Team Member

Central Teams:

• Events Officer
• Partnerships Officer (remote)
• Social Media Publicity Officer (remote)
• Social Media Digital Education Officer (remote)
• T-shirts and Logistics Officer

You can find full role descriptions and more information in our recruitment pack.

Who are SolidariTee?

SolidariTee is an entirely volunteer-run movement led by students and self-identifying young people who share a commitment to standing in solidarity with displaced people.

We support refugees and asylum seekers through advocacy, awareness-raising, and fundraising to provide grants to NGOs in Greece delivering vital legal aid and psychological support. We believe in the power of grassroots action - and in the ability of young people to drive real, systemic change.

Who are we looking for?

• Our applications are primarily designed for current students and self-identifying young people, but we warmly welcome recent graduates to apply too.
• You don’t need any prior experience to volunteer with SolidariTee - just passion, commitment, and a willingness to learn. Our goal is to empower individuals to develop the skills, confidence, and knowledge to make a tangible difference.

Volunteering with SolidariTee is a chance to:

• Build leadership, advocacy, teamwork, and event organisation skills.
• Join an international community which supports and upholds the rights of all those forced to flee their homes globally.

Our commitment to inclusivity

• We don’t want anyone to feel excluded from supporting a cause they care about, which is why we offer a range of roles with different levels of commitment - more details can be found in the role descriptions.
• We are dedicated to building an inclusive and accessible volunteering community. If you require any adjustments or accommodations during (or beyond) the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact us - there is also a space to disclose this in the application form.
• We especially encourage applications from individuals with lived experience of displacement.