Vocational services volunteer roles

Bring your professional skills, passion and enthusiasm for vocational education and belief in the positive impact of education on raising aspirations and providing a base for future success in careers and higher education.

Applications close: 9 a.m. Monday 15th September 2025

Location: Hybrid/Southend, Purfleet and Basildon

Time commitment: 2 – 3 hours per month

About South Essex College

South Essex College is the largest and most diverse vocational curriculum provider across Essex, offering a range of courses from entry-level to honour degrees, and providing bespoke training hand-in-hand with employers in state-of-the-art facilities.

South Essex is a vibrant and ambitious region with the ability to create jobs, attract new industry and cultivate entrepreneurs and investment. As a result of both the pandemic and the need for economic recovery, there has never been a greater need for skilled professionals and retraining in our region, and the College is a key partner in rebuilding the local economy.

In an ever-changing educational landscape, the College occupies a unique space. Located within the Unitary Authorities of Thurrock and Southend and the Local Authority (Essex County Council) in Basildon, the College aims to meet the aspirations and ambitions of each of the Unitary and Local Authority Partners by contributing to their regeneration plans and helping to meet the skills needs of its local communities.

Its aim is to provide young people and adults with the professional and technical skills they require to meet the skills needed of local and regional employers, so that they can gain quality employment and, in turn, improve the local and regional economy.

About the roles

Governors make an invaluable contribution to the development of excellence in colleges. As a member of the governing board, governors set the mission and strategic direction of the College and scrutinise its performance. Governors are volunteers.

Becoming a governor provides many opportunities to contribute to your local community and is an excellent way of developing strategic leadership skills.

Who we are looking for

The College sits in a strong and enviable position to build on its existing solid foundations and move forward, looking to the future to successfully develop and grow. It has high ambitions to continue providing a responsive level of education to its students and to develop and strengthen its activities in alignment with the local economy.

It is in this context that the College is now seeking to appoint new Governors to join the Board and associated Committees with an understanding of the FE sector landscape and a background in:

• Organisational Development
• Education Technology/Digital Transformation
• Marketing
• Education (FE experience)

You will bring senior leadership experience and a portfolio of expertise from your sector to support, challenge, and hold the executive team accountable in all matters concerning the college and its associated business cycle.

More importantly, you will hold a passion and enthusiasm for vocational education and the impact that the sector has on the lives of our students in raising aspirations and providing a base for future success in careers and higher education.

Peridot Partners and South Essex College are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

Please click 'Redirect to recruiter’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for these roles close at 9 a.m. Monday 15th September 2025.

East Durham College seeks to appoint new Governors who will bring strategic experience and curiosity to their Corporation and contribute to their Audit & Risk Committee.

Applications close: 9 a.m. Friday 3rd October 2025

Location: County Durham, North East

Time commitment: 6 – 10 hours per month

About East Durham College

East Durham College is a college deeply rooted within its local communities. Working across three sites in Peterlee and Houghall, we provide a broad and diverse range of education and training to almost 6,000 students each year. We have been consistently rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, most recently in April 2024, when we were also judged to be ‘Outstanding’ in the areas of Behaviours & Attitudes and Personal Development.

We deliver a broad curriculum, offering vocational provision, A Levels, apprenticeships and T Levels for our learners aged 16-18, as well as vocational, academic and professional development provision for adult learners. Our provision also includes higher education, courses for those with high needs and for those aged 14-16, making us one of the largest providers of foundation learning in the county.

All of our provision is designed to support the learning and development needs of our communities whilst continuing to be a lead contributor in supporting local employers and regional prosperity, something we continue to do with great success. Through all of our work, our staff team, led by our Principal & CEO, Scott Bullock, continue to drive us towards our mission to enrich lives through transformative education.

About the roles

Our Board of Governors is known as ‘the Corporation’. Governors play a vital role in shaping our strategic direction and in helping to set our organisational culture and ethos whilst demonstrating our values of excellence, respectful, sustainable and student-focused.

Led by our Chair, James Bromiley, we have recently completed an external review of governance in which our Corporation was recognised as high performing, and one which puts the success and well-being of students first.

As a governor of East Durham College, you will have the chance to shape the future of education and training across the region, supporting Scott Bulllock and his senior leaders to develop and deliver a strategy which positively impacts the futures of thousands of students, local employers and our local communities.

You’ll have the chance to be involved in the further growth of our college, support the development of new and innovative curriculum and help safeguard the financial future of the organisation.

Who we are looking for

As we enter a new academic year, and having already appointed new Governors recently, this recruitment process represents an opportunity for us to identify new board colleagues who can help bring the skills and expertise we believe we are still lacking as a board. We plan to welcome new candidates to our full Corporation as well as to our Audit & Risk Committee.

Firstly, we will be welcoming applications from qualified, experienced finance professionals. You will be working at a senior level and be able to bring a curious approach to our financial position and related reporting.

In addition to this, we will also be welcoming applications from candidates who have experience in the following areas:

• Qualified audit, risk and compliance professionals to help us safeguard our financial health and remain compliant.
• Those with business development acumen who have experience of income diversification.
• Candidates with expertise in cyber security, data protection and IT systems.

Candidates could have experience at a senior level in a range of sectors and professional contexts, which may include educational settings, the public sector, corporate settings and those based within local employers.

Peridot Partners and East Durham College are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

Please click 'Redirect to recruiter’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Friday 3rd October 2025.

National Ugly Mugs (NUM) is seeking people with a passion for sex workers’ rights and
safety to join our Board of Trustees.

About NUM and the role of trustees
NUM is a UK-wide charity working with sex workers to end all forms of violence against them. We design and deliver safety tools, carry out research, and provide specialist support services for people in adult industries. We serve sex workers of all genders, ages, abilities, cultures, and modes of work. Our secure digital reporting and alerting system warns communities about dangerous individuals, while our experiential support staff and trained Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) offer one-to-one, trauma-informed advocacy. We ensure sex workers have the information and resources they need to make informed choices about their lives.

Our wellbeing drop-in service (first launched in Glasgow) has now expanded to Manchester and London, alongside the addition of our dedicated vocational support programme for people looking to transition, diversify, or leave sex work. Our racial justice programme reclaims narratives on sex work and race through in-depth conversations, research, and collaborations between racialised sex workers and anti-racist activists, focusing on experiences across five key areas of public life. We conduct research, deliver education packages for professionals, and advocate for policy change to improve safety, rights, and recognition for sex workers across the UK.

We place lived experience at the heart of all services and decision-making, ensuring our
work reflects the needs, priorities, and expertise of the communities we serve.

Trustees at NUM play a vital role in helping us fulfil our core mission of ending all forms of violence against sex workers. They support NUM as an organisation and the members of the NUM team by providing support, advice and guidance through our day-to-day operations and the overall strategic vision of the charity. Some of that takes place at quarterly trustee meetings, where the CEO reports on NUM’s work and brings decisions and choices to the board for discussion and advice, and some takes place between meetings when individual trustees have skills or experience that can support team members and have the time to take on a supportive or mentoring role. Our current trustees bring with them a wide range of
experience from sex worker organising and advocacy, media and public engagement,
campaigning and social justice, academia, finance, and other aspects of the third sector.
They also oversee legally required duties such as approving the annual report, reviewing
risks and finances, and ensuring the charity complies with the law and meets its charitable
objectives.
Trustee roles are voluntary positions. However, NUM will pay for any reasonable expenses incurred as part of the role.

Who we’re looking for
The most important thing is that you believe in NUM’s work and want to join us to help us
continue this. We need people willing to volunteer their time to shape our practice and our services, and guide the charity as we continue to meet the needs of sex workers across the UK.

We particularly welcome applications from those with:

• Lived experience within sex worker communities
• Legal expertise (particularly relating to organisations, governance, and charity law)
• HR expertise (including recruitment, compliance, and employment law)
• Fundraising and income generation expertise

This experience may come from trustee roles, management positions in third-sector organisations, or other relevant voluntary or lived experience. You don’t need prior trustee experience — what matters most is commitment, skills, and a willingness to learn.

We value skills, competencies, and lived experience over job titles, and encourage applicants to draw on the full range of their background — including voluntary roles or sex work-based examples from their working history. We are looking for people who understand the realities of working within a charity and who can bring fresh ideas, insight, and expertise to support NUM’s mission.
If you don't have the specific skills listed above but believe you could contribute in other ways, we’d be happy to hear from you — please get in touch to discuss.

We are looking for Trustees who are proactive and solutions-focused. Individuals who, when they see a challenge, are willing to take the lead in mobilising others and driving practical action. Someone who doesn’t wait to be asked, but steps in with energy, clarity and a positive mindset to help move things forward collectively for NUM and in the pursuit of our
charitable goals.

Other skills and attributes that we would like from any prospective trustees are:

• A strong commitment to the mission and core values of NUM
• A high degree of integrity
• The ability to think strategically and plan for the future with good judgement
• Critical thinking skills
• Creativity
• The ability to work well as part of a team to collectively make decisions surrounding
• NUM’s future work, vision and strategy
• A willingness to undertake any necessary training
• An understanding of safeguarding
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of being a charity trustee

We know that great boards bring together a mix of perspectives, skills, and experiences - both lived and learned. We’re especially keen to hear from people whose voices are often underrepresented in leadership, including (but not limited to) people with experience in the sex industry, people of colour, LGBTQIA+ people, disabled people, people under 30 years old, and those from working-class backgrounds. If you care about our mission and meet the core criteria, please consider applying - even if you don’t tick every single box.

The responsibilities of trustees at NUM include:

• Attend four regular board meetings a year (online and/or in person)
• Advise on, and help develop, organisational strategy and delivery, including policies that fall within your expertise
• Ensure compliance with governing documents and the law
• Ensure accountability to funders, NUM members and wider movement
• Maintain proper fiscal oversight, signing off and scrutinising reporting against budgets
• Oversee the management of risks to NUM’s funding, reputation and delivery
• Exemplify NUM’s values and culture through ways of working and interacting
• Maintain effective board performance (including appointing new board members)
• Effectively work with, and respect the expertise of the NUM staff and volunteer team

We estimate that the role will require approximately 1–2 days per month, including quarterly meetings and some responsiveness between these. The standard term for a Trustee is 3 years.