Training volunteer roles

Volunteer Handyperson – Help Us Keep Our Facilities in Top Shape!

Location: RSPCA Buckinghamshire South Branch – Community-based

Role Type: Volunteer – Handyperson

Manager: Operations Manager

Do You Enjoy DIY and Fixing Things?

Would you like to use your practical skills to help improve the environment for rescued animals and support our charity shops?

At RSPCA Buckinghamshire South Branch, our volunteer handypersons play a crucial role by:

● Repairing and maintaining small animal pens and hutches to ensure they are safe and comfortable.

● Installing shelves, notice boards, and basic fixtures in our charity shops.
Carrying out general maintenance tasks at our shops, storage facilities, and animal care locations.

● Assisting with minor repairs, painting, and basic carpentry tasks as needed.

If you have basic DIY skills, some spare time, and want to make a real difference, we’d love to have you on board!

Why Volunteer With Us?

As an RSPCA volunteer handyperson, you will:

● Meet a variety of RSPCA staff, volunteers, animal carers and people from our community.

● Help create safer and more comfortable environments for animals.

● Support the smooth running of our charity shops and animal care sites.

● Enjoy a rewarding role that makes a tangible difference in your local community.

What We’re Looking For:

● Aged 18 or over with practical DIY skills.

● Ability to use basic tools safely (drills, screwdrivers, hammers, saws, etc.).

● Comfortable lifting, carrying, and handling materials.

● Reliable, responsible, and able to work independently.

● A problem-solver with a can-do attitude.

What You’ll Be Doing:

● Animal Pen & Hutch Repairs: Fixing broken enclosures and ensuring they are safe and weatherproof.

● Shop Maintenance: Putting up shelves, assembling furniture, and installing small fixtures.

● General Repairs & Upkeep: Basic painting, minor carpentry, and fixing small issues.

● Storage & Organisation: Helping maintain our storage areas and ensuring everything is tidy.

● Ad Hoc Jobs: Supporting the team with various maintenance tasks as needed.

What’s in It for You?

● Meet new people and be part of a passionate team.

● A comprehensive induction and training relevant to your role.

● The chance to make a meaningful difference to the welfare of animals.

● Reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred while volunteering.

Practical Considerations:

● Health & Safety: Volunteers must follow RSPCA safety guidelines for DIY work.

● Physical Requirements: This role involves lifting, carrying, and working with tools.

● Equipment Use: Tools and materials will be provided where needed.

● Volunteers must use equipment safely and responsibly.

● Training & Support: You will receive a volunteer handbook and guidance from our team.

We are a very small, registered charity (number 1164078) who are looking to maintain and grow our current service offering.

We provide counselling support, for children and young people who would not normally have access to the help they need by offering funded counselling to children and young people within 35 local, surrey-based schools on a bi termly basis.  We usually offer a counsellor for 3 hours per week, although this can be more depending on need and the size of school, as well as the age group that the volunteer counsellors need experience in. 

We offer some part funded counselling on a self-referral basis for those who do not have access within their school environment or for those above school age.  We currently support approximately 45 children, young people and their caregivers on a weekly basis.

We are looking for another Student/Volunteer Counsellor to join our small passionate and perfectly formed team working in Surrey.

Role Description

You will provide at least 3 counselling sessions to 3 separate children and/or young people per week at one school per term.  You will then move to another school to continue supporting children on a similar basis for another term. We ask for your commitment to this (as a minimum) for one academic year.  You may commit to more if you can.  The schools will be either based in and around Tadworth, or in and around the Byfleet/Woking area.

The Matthew Hackney Foundation will provide bi-weekly supervision with our counselling lead who is a qualified and accredited child and adult therapist.

The Matthew Hackney Foundation will provide you with professional support and training in accordance with BACP guidelines and best practice, specifically on topics that are relevant to working with children and young people.

You must read and adhere to all of our relevant policies, including safeguarding, confidentiality and information sharing.

This is a general outline of our volunteer counsellor role, please be aware that your duties and responsibilities may develop as your role grows and you may be required to undertake other relevant reasonable duties from time to time.

Key criteria required for the role;

Qualifications:

You will be a fully qualified Counsellor, Therapist or Educational/Clinical Psychologist or studying towards one of these professions at the following levels:

Diploma or degree in Counselling (minimum of Level 4 or above). You will need to have achieved your certificate of competence to practice or be working towards this.  You must also have completed your NCFE levels 1 – 3 in counselling skills (or the equivalent).

Degree, MSc or MA in Counselling, Counselling Psychology or Psychotherapy - if you are in your first year you will have relevant experience of direct work with children.

Experience:

Counselling training must have, or have had, a therapeutic and personal development component rather than being purely theoretical or research based (as with Distance Learning courses). Examples of this include: role play, creative work with art, TRIAD techniques.

Preferably will have experience of working with children aged 4 – 16 gained through volunteering, caring for children or through a background in a caring profession such as nursing, social work or as a health visitor.

Our ideal volunteer would have/demonstrate;

A passion for supporting the mental wellbeing of children & young people.

Willingness to make a minimum commitment to practice in school one half day per week (term time only) for one academic year.

Understands and can demonstrate the values, vision and mission of The Matthew Hackney Foundation.

Emotionally robust and able to demonstrate self-awareness and self-reflection

Will have undertaken personal therapy (one-to-one or group therapy) to enhance this.

Be willing to develop an understanding of The Matthew Hackney Foundation’s equal opportunities policy, safeguarding policy and confidentiality policy, and a personal commitment to equality of opportunity and anti –discriminatory practice in service delivery.

Outgoing, friendly and proactive character.

Be comfortable volunteering within a group or by yourself

Being able to use your own initiative but be able to ask for help when you need it.

Be creative and full of ideas

Be trustworthy, friendly and reliable

Ability to multitask

Ability to work under pressure.

Why Work with us?

We are a friendly bunch are passionate about people.  You will help us deliver our much-needed service and receive relevant training and support from our team.  You will help to make a difference to the lives of children and young people locally.

Please get in touch for an informal chat or if you would like to know more.

Do you enjoy driving? Would you like to make a difference to the people we support in your community?  

We are looking for friendly drivers to join us!  

You will meet some amazing people, whilst making a positive impact to their lives by helping them get to the activities they enjoy and appointments that are important.  
 
We are looking for drivers who will be happy to drive our house vehicles or your own vehicle.

  
Activities will include:  

• Driving the people we support between their homes and services in a safe manner, in accordance with UK law.  

• Driving around the Castle Cary area, which will be the start and end point of the majority of journeys  

• Assisting people we support in and out of vehicles and locations – with assistance from trained Discovery staff.  

• Driving in a manner that is sensitive of physical and emotional requirements of the people we support.  

• Driving vehicles owned by the people we support or your own vehicle 
    

Activities will NOT include: Personal care, medication or financial assistance.   

We are looking for drivers who:  

• Are aged 21 or over, with at least 2 years driving experience  

• Hold a full, clean and current UK Driving License (or equivalent)  

• Have the ability to understand verbal and written instructions in relation to journeys  

• Are friendly with the people we support and our support staff  

• Are willing to commit to volunteer regularly (times and days can be discussed)  

A DBS check and two character references will be required for this role.   

What you’ll gain from being a Discovery volunteer:  

Discovery supports people with learning disabilities and autism, helping them to live more independently at home and in the community.

Our volunteers play a vital role in our work and in return, we support them with: 

• Access to free online training (with access to 800 plus courses)  

• Comprehensive support from professional, friendly and trained Dimensions staff  

• Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed as agreed   

• An opportunity to gain real experience in the social care sector  

Want to apply for this role? 
If you’d like to be a Discovery volunteer, please get in touch! 

Do you enjoy driving?  Would you like to make a difference to the people we support in your community?  

 We are looking for friendly drivers to join us!  

 You will meet some amazing people, whilst making a positive impact to their lives by helping them get to the activities they enjoy and appointments that are important.  
 
We are looking for drivers who will be happy to drive our house vehicles or your own vehicle.

  
Activities will include:  

• Driving the people we support between their homes and services in a safe manner, in accordance with UK law.  

• Driving around the Nunney area, which will be the start and end point of the majority of journeys  

• Assisting people we support in and out of vehicles and locations – with assistance from trained Discovery staff.  

• Driving in a manner that is sensitive of physical and emotional requirements of the people we support.  

• Driving vehicles owned by the people we support or your own vehicle 
    

Activities will NOT include: Personal care, medication or financial assistance.   

 
We are looking for drivers who:  

• Are aged 21 or over, with at least 2 years driving experience  

• Hold a full, clean and current UK Driving License (or equivalent)  

• Have the ability to understand verbal and written instructions in relation to journeys  

• Are friendly with the people we support and our support staff  

• Are willing to commit to volunteer regularly (times and days can be discussed)  

A DBS check and two character references will be required for this role.   

What you’ll gain from being a Discovery volunteer:  

Discovery supports people with learning disabilities and autism, helping them to live more independently at home and in the community.

Our volunteers play a vital role in our work and in return, we support them with: 

• Access to free online training (with access to 800 plus courses)  

• Comprehensive support from professional, friendly and trained Dimensions staff  

• Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed as agreed   

• An opportunity to gain real experience in the social care sector  

Want to apply for this role? 
If you’d like to be a Discovery volunteer, please get in touch! 

ENGINEERS/MAKERS

Across the UK, our 60+ local branches help disabled people live the lives they choose. Our network of skilled volunteers respond to thousands of requests each year to design and make customised equipment free of charge.

Our Engineer/Maker volunteers are at the very heart of what our local branches do. They use their practical skills and creativity to help people with disabilities live fuller and more independent lives.

What the role involves

This is a varied role where local need shapes what you’ll be working on, but it often includes:

• Designing and making pieces of equipment for individuals with specific needs

• Using your practical skills working with metal, wood, plastic, or electronics (or a combination of them)

• Attending a monthly meeting of the local branch.

We can support you to develop the skills you need for this role, and there’s an induction that covers all the areas above. You’ll also have chance to discuss your role and any additional needs with us.

What you’ll need for this role

Essential

• Practical experience in working with one of the above materials

• Comfortable working with people, listening to them and understanding their needs

• Able to apply our risk management system

• Able to apply disability, equality, and inclusion practices

• Able to keep people’s personal details safe

• Willing to follow REMAP policies and procedures and a commitment to our values

Desirable

• Access to your own tools and workshop (or can access these)

• Able to drive or have good transport links

You’ll also need to complete the induction checklist and some online training, as well as a DBS check and reference check.

The difference you will make to cats and people

From elderly moggies to energic kittens, every day across the UK cats and kittens are in need of a temporary place to stay, and lots of love and TLC! We need more fosterers like you to provide a safe, temporary haven for cats and kittens and provide them with everything they need before they get their chance to land on their four paws and make a house a home.

You can expect us to 

• Make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• Support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• Ensure you have all you need in place to foster the cat(s) in your care, for example equipment and food
• Cover all your foster cats’ expenses and agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• Provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

A bit more information about this role and the team

The branch are looking for an indoor fosterer so any applicants would need to have a suitable spare room.

What we need from you 

• A stable, safe and compassionate environment in your home.
• Enrich the cats’ experience in care including play, exercise and appropriate handling/interaction
• A willingness to complete some training in order to provide high standards of cat welfare
• Introduce cats to prospective adopters so they can find their forever home
• You can find out more about being a Fosterer on our website.

The job entails working closely with project/programme managers in ensuring the smooth running of the organisation's internal operations, external networking, HR, events, communications & fundraising. Successful candidates will be able to gain proven experience in each of the highlighted areas. 

The successful candidate must be a quick learner, trustworthy, intelligent and pro-active self-starter, highly organised and able to multitask effectively.

Key responsibilities include:
Provide receptionist and general admin support to the team, including basic bookkeeping
Provide seamless support to project leads, contractors and freelancers
Help with events and conferences.
Help with writing of funding proposals, publicity & marketing 
Update social media, website, marketing and promotion content

The Ideal Candidate will:
Be Intelligent & Trustworthy - have gained great academic results
Demonstrate excellent writing skills and speaking ability
Pay attention to details and exhibit high degree of precision with work assignments
Be Tech Savvy - Be competent/confident with CRM, CMS, social media and spreadsheets 
Have some interest in Art Galleries, Creativity, Research, International Devevelopment and/or business administration 

Benefits:

• Career Development Plan Support 
• Access to paid training and qualification enhancement
• Work references for future jobs application
• Reimbursement of out of pocket expenses

The Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) was set up in June 2005 in memory of legendary campaigner, Sheila McKechnie. 

In a free and hopeful society, people need to know they have the power to make a difference: that they are able to envisage change and can push for that change to happen. For nearly two decades, we have helped all sorts of individuals, causes and charities to find their power as changemakers – as campaigners. We support, connect and champion these campaigners, equipping them to go after the social change they seek.

 As well as the responsibilities of being a trustee, which the Treasurer shares with all the Board members, the Treasurer is expected to be the financial expert on the Board, and to provide advice on all financial matters. Their role is to ensure the Board fulfils its duties to ensure the sound financial health of SMK, with systems in place to ensure financial accountability and sustainability.

For more information see our website, and the recruitment pack. 

Do you enjoy driving? Would you like to make a difference to the people we support in your community?  

We are looking for friendly drivers to join us!  

You will meet some amazing people, whilst making a positive impact to their lives by helping them get to the activities they enjoy and appointments that are important.  
 
We are looking for drivers who will be happy to drive our house vehicles. 

Activities will include:  

• Driving the people we support between their homes and services in a safe manner, in accordance with UK law.  

• Driving around the Crewkerne area, which will be the start and end point of the majority of journeys  

• Assisting people we support in and out of vehicles and locations – with assistance from trained Discovery staff.  

• Driving in a manner that is sensitive of physical and emotional requirements of the people we support.  

• Driving vehicles owned by the people we support

Activities will NOT include: Personal care, medication or financial assistance.   

We are looking for drivers who:  

• Are aged 21 or over, with at least 2 years driving experience  

• Hold a full, clean and current UK Driving License (or equivalent)  

• Have the ability to understand verbal and written instructions in relation to journeys  

• Are friendly with the people we support and our support staff  

• Are willing to commit to volunteer regularly (times and days can be discussed)  

A DBS check and two character references will be required for this role.    

What you’ll gain from being a Discovery volunteer:  

 Discovery supports people with learning disabilities and autism, helping them to live more independently at home and in the community.

Our volunteers play a vital role in our work and in return, we support them with: 

• Access to free online training (with access to 800 plus courses)  

• Comprehensive support from professional, friendly and trained Dimensions staff  

• Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed as agreed   

• An opportunity to gain real experience in the social care sector  

 
Want to apply for this role? 
If you’d like to be a Discovery volunteer, please get in touch! 

JOB TITLE: Volunteer Assistant Coordinator
REPORTS TO: Volunteer’s Coordinator or Program Manager

ABOUT SOLACE INTERNATIONAL

At Solace International, we are dedicated to empowering communities and driving meaningful change through impactful programs and initiatives. Our charity workers are the foundation of our mission, and the Assistant Coordinator plays a crucial role in supporting a committed team of volunteers who contribute to the success of our organization.

We are seeking a passionate, organized, and dynamic individual volunteer to assist with all aspects of volunteer management, including recruitment, training, scheduling, and ongoing support. This role ensures a positive and enriching volunteer experience while aligning with the organization’s mission and objectives.

JOB SUMMARY

The Volunteer Assistant Coordinator will support the Volunteer Coordinator in the recruitment, onboarding, management, and engagement of volunteers. This role involves building strong relationships with volunteers, coordinating their activities to support programs and events, and maintaining efficient administrative systems to enhance volunteer operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist in recruiting, onboarding, and training volunteers.
• Maintain volunteer schedules and ensure adequate coverage for programs and events.
• Act as a liaison between volunteers and staff, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Support and oversee volunteer activities during programs and events.
• Maintain accurate volunteer records and assist in reporting on program impact.
• Help implement volunteer recognition programs and improve engagement.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Strong proficiency in spoken and written English.

Personal Attributes:

• Passion for volunteerism and community service.
• Friendly, approachable demeanor with a commitment to creating a positive volunteer experience.
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Previous experience in volunteer management, customer service, or administrative roles is a plus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Primarily office-based, with on-site coordination during events and programs.
• Light physical activity may be required, such as setting up event spaces or carrying supplies.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

• Fluency in English (spoken and written) is essential.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit:

• A letter of application explaining their interest in the role.
• A current resume.
• Contact details for at least two references.

Application Process:

• Applications will be reviewed, and shortlisted candidates will be invited for an initial online interview.
• Successful candidates will proceed to a face-to-face interview (or an alternative arrangement for overseas applicants).

People consistently tell us that meeting others living with Parkinson's is the most important support they want locally. Volunteers run Parkinson's Cafes to provide an informal way of doing just that. This role will be co-ordinating our monthly Parkinson's Rochester Cafe and we'd love to hear from you if you can spare a few hours each month. 

What you will be doing:
-Ensure the cafe gathering takes place on the first Friday of the month from 1-3pm, and that those attending are warmly welcomed.
-Work with the chosen venue effectively, which would include reserving a table in the cafe (this has been organised so just needs monitoring) and having a space to layout relevent leaflets to support those with Parkinson's. 
-Provide updates and feedback to relevant Parkinson's UK staff members about how the cafe session are going
-With other volunteers, think of creative ways to add interest and value to the cafe sessions, such as arranging visits from relevant local health professionals
The skills you need:
-Warm and friendly; you'll be a good communicator, open to working and interacting with a range of people.
-Patient and empathetic, in order to deal with sensitive issues and topics.
What's in it for you

-You'll meet new people, forging friendships and connections in your area.
-You'll be supporting your community, knowing that thanks to you people affected by Parkinson's have vital support
-We'll support you to learn more about Parkinson's, and you'll be able to develop your organisational and communication skills.

Refettorio Felix is a community kitchen with an open-door policy in the Earl's Court area. We provide a safe haven and a warm, welcoming atmosphere for those facing homelessness and financial crises.

Using surplus food ingredients, our kitchen freshly prepares a three-course lunch for up to 140 people per weekday. We are looking for friendly and dedicated volunteers to support us in our mission to provide fresh and nutritious meals to our guests.

Your support will have a meaningful impact on the quality of lives of the most vulnerable members of the community. From trained and experienced Chefs to keen home cooks, we would love to hear from you!

Could you raise SSAFA’s profile in your local area? You just need patience and the ability to get on with a wide range of people and age groups, some basic I.T skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be he role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Publicity Coordinator?

Publicity Coordinators work with other branch volunteers to develop a Publicity Plan to raise awareness of SSAFA that reaches potential beneficiaries, volunteers, and funders.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our beneficiaries come from all walks of life and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us. We need to recruit volunteers that reflect our local communities and raise money to fund our work. Could you spare a few hours a week to help us raise awareness?

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

This role is about building awareness so beneficiaries know who we are and how they can benefit from and access support, promoting volunteer opportunities and encourage people to raise finds and celebrate success. This means that on occasions, you might need to be present at events. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can conduct the administration part of this role form home.

What would you be doing?

• Working with other branch volunteers to develop a publicity plan.
• Publicising SSAFA events.
• Work with Marketing/PR staff at central office to develop case studies of clients and volunteers and ensure that SSAFA branding and messaging are consistent.
• Develop and maintain networks with local press, TV and radio outlets through providing press releases, interviews, case studies etc.
• Working with the Digital Team at Central Office to develop and maintain a local on-line presence for the branch via a website and social media channels.
• Keeping a stock of SSAFA publicity materials and distributing them
• Liaising with PR staff at central office or on-call in the event of a PR/press situation.
• Supporting local and national campaigns to recruit new volunteers.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA including all sections of the community in awareness raising
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.

The remit of this role may change over the next 12-18 months depending on the outcome of a trial currently being undertaken.

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role - communication and marketing workshops.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team as well as Marketing and Communication Teams based at our central office.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable people with good communication skills
• Good written and spoken English.
• Confident to deal with the public, potential clients, volunteers, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues – face-to-face, by phone, email or via social media
• Ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address.
• Reliable attitude
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and keep information safely in line with SSADA policies.
• Access to public transport or a car to get to meetings and events.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative).

Is a criminal record check required? No

Branch Trustees

RSPCA Stort Valley Branch – multiple opportunities

Help us make the world a better place for animals

RSPCA Branches rescue, rehabilitate and rehome those animals most at risk through clinics, animal centres, boarding and fostering facilities; offer advice and education on animal welfare; and support with microchipping, neutering and subsidised animal treatments for animals owned by people in financial difficulty.

Each RSPCA branch (of which there are approx. 150) is a separately registered charity, operating at a local level across England and Wales. Branches did 78% of the rehoming activity across the RSPCA network in 2020 and took more than 31,000 animals into their care. There are also over 300 RSPCA charity shops, all of which are run by RSPCA branches. The RSPCA has been at the forefront of animal welfare since 1824 when we were founded in a London coffee shop, and we’re proud to be the oldest animal welfare charity around.

What does RSPCA Stort Valley Branch do?

We cover an area either side of the M11 from Saffron Walden in the north to Harlow in the south and fundraise and offer welfare services within this area.

The animal welfare services that we offer are centred around our busy clinic in Harlow and include:

•  Subsidised routine veterinary treatment and microchipping for owned animals - in 2024, we made over 2,200 consultations at our Harlow clinic and administered more than 500 vaccinations and 250 microchips.
•  Advice and education
• Community outreach

We operate a charity shop in Bishops Stortford town centre, selling clothes, books, games and other items to help with our fundraising.

In addition to our Harlow clinic, we work closely with RSPCA animal centres and inspectors to support their work and to look after and re-home animals rescued in our branch area. We also support neighbouring branches by seeing some owned animals from their nearby towns at our clinic. We are working to improve our fostering network to help with rehoming, and are keen to step up our fundraising work to enable us to provide additional welfare support to the community.

What do RSPCA branch trustees do?

RSPCA branch trustees are volunteers who shape the work that the branch does, and are collectively responsible for governing and managing the affairs of the branch. “Trustees have overall control of a charity and are responsible for making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do.” “Trustees are the people who lead the charity and decide how it is run.” “They may be known by other titles, such as: directors, board members, governors, committee members” - Charity Commission. At Stort Valley, we have a lovely team of staff and volunteers with experienced, capable people managing our shop and clinic day-to-day. Trustees will set the strategy, make the big decisions and lead on new initiatives.

To find out more about being a Trustee, visit the Goverment Trustee - What's involved which explains what trustees do. There is some information on the RSPCA website about Branch Trustees, and we have an online session about becoming a Branch Trustee, which should hopefully give you more of an idea of what the RSPCA Branch Trustee role will involve.

Stort Valley Branch is presently in the process of converting to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (‘CIO’), the modern legal form for many charities - loosely equivalent to a Limited Company. We expect to complete the change in the second half of this year (2025).

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for applications from people from all social and cultural backgrounds, who are passionate about improving animal welfare. It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced trustee or not, as trustee training and induction will be provided. If you can bring relevant skills and experience from other aspects of your life, that’s great, and we’re pretty sure you’ll learn some new ones here!

Right now, we would like to recruit several additional Trustees. We’ll define and re-balance the roles of all the Trustees once our new Trustees have settled in, so we’re not necessarily looking for you to select a specific role at this stage. The opportunities could include taking the lead on fundraising, overseeing our clinic or shop, increasing our local outreach and education activities, enhancing our online presence and recognition, and more. Ideally, for some of the roles, you’ll be relatively local to the branch area; others can be done remotely.

We hold monthly Trustees’ meetings, which last 1.5~2 hours. We ask for Trustees to join as many of these meetings as possible. You’ll also need to allow time to prepare for meetings - creating or reading through any relevant documents in advance – and of course, for the specific activities you take on. We normally meet in the evening, online (Google Meet), at times chosen to suit Trustees’ availability.

Trustees are elected or re-elected for a 12-month term at the branch’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). Between AGMs, branches have the ability to co-opt an additional three trustees who serve until the next AGM and can then be elected.

What’s in it for you?

There are lots of benefits to becoming an RSPCA Branch Trustee, including:

•  induction and trustee training
•  the chance to meet like-minded people who share your enthusiasm for animal welfare
•  the opportunity to gain new skills and develop existing ones
• the ability to use your skills to improve the wellbeing of animals in your local area, and make a real difference to the lives of animals
•  the capacity to shape innovative projects, and be part of the RSPCA’s ten-year strategy - “Together for animal welfare”
•  access to our learning hub, which contains training materials and courses on a variety of subjects
•  the chance to shape the services in your local area
•  volunteering is good for your wellbeing.

Join us in making a real difference to the lives of animals in need.

Our voluntary roles are subject to an informal interview and trial period. We will ask you to provide contact details for two referees, and dependent on the position, you may need to sign an agreement and undergo specific training before starting the role.