Volunteer and regional office administrator jobs in Birmingham, west midlands

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people who are life limited or life threatened. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.

Over the past three years, Acorns’ leadership has enhanced collaboration and innovation across the charity and embedded an organisation-wide fundraising culture.

With a newly integrated Partnerships Team spanning corporate partnerships and community fundraising, and an ambitious £5m appeal ahead, Acorns is now seeking a Senior Community Partnerships Manager to oversee and deliver the charity’s community fundraising strategy, driving c.£1m of income. The strategic focus will be on building more commercially productive relationships with SMEs, community groups, and associations across the West Midlands.

Reporting to the Head of Partnerships,  you will personally manage a portfolio of key community partnerships while leading and developing a team of three Community Partnerships Managers. While the team operates on a patch basis (Birmingham/Black Country and Worcester), you will take a lead on integration across Acorns, working closely with Retail and Care colleagues.

This is a superb opportunity for someone who has evolved from traditional community fundraising into more commercially-focused, regional partnerships.

About the role

As Senior Community Partnerships Manager, you will:

• Report to the Head of Partnerships and line manage three Community Partnerships Managers, ensuring plans are focused, targets/KPIs are set and met and ROI is prioritised
• Oversee key accounts worth circa £1m across the team, seeking opportunities to uplift/evolve, whilst delivering exceptional donor experience for SME, community group, and association partners
• Be the key account manager for a range of partnerships that have the potential for growth, are higher profile or have a wider geography than one patch alone
• Work closely with the Corporate Team to ensure smooth handover of partners with higher value potential or commercial complexity or in reverse for those that focus more on staff fundraising alone
• Network map and build relationships across key sectors, utilising Acorns senior leaders to open doors
• Contribute to the development of fundraising products and campaigns that appeal to community audiences
• Collaborate with Retail, Care and other fundraising teams to maximise referrals and cross-team opportunities

About you

Essential skills and experience: 

• Proven experience of growing income through regional community engagement, ideally within a charity setting
• Either line management or substantial coaching/mentoring experience
• Experience of working with community leaders
• Experience and evidence of first-class relationship management techniques and donor care
• Experience of organising events, managing volunteers, risk assessments and health and safety requirements
• Track record of cross-team working with examples of impact, ideally this will include collaborating with corporate partnerships teams

Desirable: 

• A blend of regional corporate relationship management and community fundraising experience, reflecting the strategic direction of the role

Employee benefits include:

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• 5 days holiday buyback scheme starting from April 2026
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
• Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support

Purpose of the role:

Back Up courses are a vital part of what we do and have been transforming lives for almost 30 years. You will play a critical role in making this fantastic service work as well as supporting the wider team.

You will be the main support and liaison for participants, buddies and care team volunteers, ensuring that everyone feels supported and knows what to expect. You will ensure courses run smoothly and effectively through an effective, efficient administration service.
 

Key stakeholders:

People with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their families; professionals and organisations working with people affected by SCI; Back Up staff

Contract:  Permanent, part time (3 days per week)

Salary:  £14,920 per annum (FTE £29,010 per annum)

Location:Home based within Oxfordshire, ideally within one hour of Burford, with regional travel

Closing date:  Friday 13 March 2026

Interview date:  Thursday 19 and Friday 20 March

As Community Project Coordinator, you will be part of a dedicated team overseeing the efficient day-to-day operation of our Pet Food Bank project and wider community-based initiatives. Working closely with the Community Project Lead, you will help deliver projects that improve the lives of people and pets, with dignity at the heart of everything we do. This includes supporting a national network of pet food banks and partners, increasing awareness of Blue Cross, and ensuring practical, compassionate support reaches pet owners in short term crisis.

More about the role

This is a home-based role within Oxfordshire, ideally located within one hour of our Burford offices, as you will be required to travel to Burford on a weekly basis to manage deliveries at our Warehouse. Due to the rural location and less frequent public transport, travelling by car is often the most practical option. While the role is home based, you will be contractually attached to the Burford site. Travel to Burford will therefore be treated as normal commuting and expenses will not be payable for travel to this site.

Working across a defined geographic region, you will support the development and smooth running of the Pet Food Bank project and other community initiatives. This will involve close collaboration with pet food banks, suppliers, local authorities, community groups and volunteers to ensure effective coordination, communication and logistics.

You will secure donations of pet food and services, oversee the movement of food and equipment, and regularly travel to food bank partners and other organisations. A key part of the role involves liaising with volunteers and colleagues by phone and in person, ensuring everyone is supported, informed and working together effectively.

Alongside core project delivery, you will support the planning, preparation and delivery of a large-scale summer event in June 2026, working in partnership with one of our corporate partners. This event will play an important role in expanding our outreach and support for pet owners in need. You will also provide essential administrative support, contribute to reporting, and help deliver a clear and effective communication plan to support project and event activity.

Occasional travel to other partner organisations or Blue Cross locations will be required. Travel to locations other than your attached Burford site will be claimable in line with Blue Cross expenses policy.

You will act as a positive ambassador for Blue Cross, ensure policies and procedures are followed, and support the Community Project Lead with income delivery and media activity where required. 

About you:

You will thrive in a role where you can see the impact of your work every day. You are an organised, proactive and people focused individual who enjoys building meaningful relationships and working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.

You will be a confident and empathetic communicator, able to engage professionally and non-judgmentally with members of the public, volunteers, partners and colleagues. You will be comfortable managing multiple priorities, adapting to changing deadlines, and handling sensitive information with discretion.

Able to work independently across your region, you will also be a strong team player with good problem-solving skills and the ability to balance day-to-day delivery with forward planning. An understanding of the local areas within your region would be an advantage.

Essential Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Full UK driving licence with access to your own vehicle
• Demonstrable experience of using excellent communication skills to build and maintain effective internal and external relationships
• Proven ability to prioritise and organise work and projects
• Proven administration skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• IT literate with MS Office and web based databases and platforms
• The ability to demonstrate, understand and apply Blue Cross values 

Desirable Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Experience in a similar role
• Experience supervising or managing volunteers
• Previous experience working in the charity sector

How to apply 

To apply, please click the apply button and submit your application. As part of the application process, you will be asked to indicate your preferred base site. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. 

Blue Cross benefits   

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it weren’t for their amazing efforts and commitment, we wouldn’t be able to make the difference that we do today.  In return, we want to provide you with the best working environment we can.

With a wide range of perks aimed at enhancing your life both inside and outside of work, you'll
thrive in a supportive and rewarding environment.

Our generous benefits package includes:  

• 38 days per year, increasing to 43 with service (including bank holidays). For part-time roles, holiday entitlement is calculated pro-rata.
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution 
• Life assurance 
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via MetLife
• Recognition scheme
• Annual volunteer days 
• Claim for professional fees
• Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers. 

We want you to feel valued and supported throughout your career with us. For more details on our benefits and to see how we invest in our team, visit the 'Why Work for Us' page on our website.

To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website. 

Contract type

Permanent – ST Giles Hospice Shops

Location

Bloxwich

Hours

15 hours (2 days out of 7) 8:55am – 5:05pm trading over 7 days.

Annual salary

£9633 (Retail Band AA)

Review date

08/03/2026

As an Assistant Community Shop Manager (ACSM) for St Giles Hospice you will take lead when the Community Shop Manager is away, ensuring smooth operations and delivering excellent customer service. You’ll be empowered to make decisions locally whilst working within a supportive framework, working within and for your local community ensuring that engagement and support is understood and promoted. 

You’ll have excellent leadership skills and want to be part of a successful team. Ideally, you’ll have previous fashion retail experience with the ability to manage and lead the store in the absence of the Community Shop Manager (CSM).

Reporting into the CSM and working closely with the Retail Regional Manager you will aid in supporting your store to run efficiently and deliver a positive financial contribution to the Hospice.

The estate includes 26 shops and e-commerce operation with a turnover of approx. £3.5million which supports the overall income generation strategy. 

Do you want to work in a role that combines retail, community and purpose, St Giles Hospice is the place that will allow you to thrive.

Qualifications

Essential

·Qualifications in English and Maths

·Minimum Level 2 Key Skills or Grade 4 (A-D) GCSE

Knowledge and experience

Essential

·Ability to lead and motivate others

·Previous retail experience

·Understanding of health and safety regulations

·Ability to plan and priorities workloads and delegate accordingly

·Outstanding communications skills

·Excellent customer focus

·Knowledge and understanding of sales management, profit and loss

Desirable

·Local community knowledge

·Previous line management experience

·Experience in achieving goals and identifying opportunities

·Has the ability to implement and enforce policies

·A desire to work as part of a team to generate fresh and innovative community-based ideas

·Some experience of Gift Aid

·Some experience of working with volunteers

Values

·Exhibits our hospice values and behaviours

Skills

Essential

·Proven customer service skills

·Flexible and be able to adapt to change on a daily basis

·Able to complete physically demanding work in the form of standing for long periods and moving stock

·Ability to handle administrative task, such a cash handling

·Be a keen problem solver

·Ability to follow organisational policy and procedures

·IT and numeracy - understanding of Office 365 and the ability to complete IT based tasks

Desirable

·Ability to work on own initiative and prioritise workload

·Team Management skills

·Experience in training and developing staff and/or volunteers

Personal Attributes

·Strong communicator 

·Customer focused

·Willingness to learn

·Flexible and adaptable to change

·Good interpersonal skills

·Goodtime keeping and strong work ethic 

·Conducts themselves’ in a professional manner

·Good organisational skills

·Inclusive and diverse in their approach

·Empathetic

·Team Player

·Able to work under pressure

·Collaborative

·Ambassador for St Giles Hospice

Other requirements

·Valid driving licence

·Eligibility to work in the UK

·Please note that St Giles Hospice does not hold a sponsorship licence and is therefore unable to accept sponsorship requests

Just so you know:

This post is subject to a Disclose and Barring Service (DBS) check.

We may review applications before the application review date, however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role; this may be earlier than the closing date.

If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time.

As part of your application your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. If you would like to see this in full, please visit our website for our Privacy Policy. This is in extension to Charity Job Privacy Policy.

This is a home-based role, working Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Applications are welcome from candidates based outside Belfast, provided they are resident in Northern Ireland and able to commute to the Belfast office if required.

The External Affairs Manager plays a pivotal role in empowering people with sight loss to live the life they choose. This position leads the development of policy and campaigns within the country, aligning with Guide Dogs’ strategic objectives. Working collaboratively with the central policy, public affairs, and campaigns team, as well as the country leadership team, the role builds strategic partnerships with government bodies, local authorities, societies, and other key organisations. This ensures Guide Dogs remains informed and influential on all policy initiatives affecting the organisation and its stakeholders.

The post holder will be responsible for the day‑to‑day leadership, management and oversight of a team.

The post-holder is responsible for shaping policy positions, drafting responses to consultations from councils, combined authorities, and devolved governments, and driving impactful campaigns at a regional level. A key focus is increasing the involvement of blind and partially sighted people in advocacy and campaigning.

Additionally, the role leads the implementation of Guide Dogs’ regional marketing and communications strategy across the Devolved Nations. This includes raising brand awareness, engaging diverse audiences—service users, families, volunteers, donors, and the public—and delivering integrated communications plans that strengthen Guide Dogs’ presence and impact.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Development

• Lead the creation of country-specific policy and position papers, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy.
• Prepare responses to consultation papers from devolved administrations, local government, and regional bodies.
• Represent Guide Dogs on committees, working groups, and forums, staying informed on policy issues impacting the organisation and its service users.

Public Affairs

• Build and influence relationships with key stakeholders, including elected representatives and senior officials.
• Represent Guide Dogs at Government Scrutiny Committees and cross-party groups.
• Act as the primary liaison with local government and statutory agencies.

Campaigns & Influence

• Strategically lead and coordinate campaigns at a country level, ensuring alignment with devolved policy priorities.
• Develop and deliver campaigns addressing local needs of the visually impaired community.
• Foster partnerships within the Third Sector to build consensus and amplify Guide Dogs’ strategic aims. 

Leadership & People Management

• Provide strong leadership to local staff and volunteers, promoting best practice and knowledge-sharing.
• Oversee recruitment, performance management, and compliance with safeguarding policies.
• Ensure high levels of engagement through effective communication and leadership.

Financial Accountability

• Support fundraising initiatives and monitor operational budgets to ensure efficiency and compliance.

Diversity & Inclusion

• Champion Guide Dogs’ diversity agenda, ensuring services are inclusive and accessible.
• Work with external partners to create a more inclusive environment for people with sight loss.

How to apply 

Further details on the full role are attached below. When you are ready to apply, submit an online application form via this page.

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, or require any accessibility support to apply, our friendly recruitment team is ready and waiting to help.

As part of your application ensure you provide evidence and examples of how your skills & experience meet the criteria as set out in the attached job description. You will also be asked to complete a few job-specific questions as part of this application process, so please be prepared to write your answers to these questions.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Guide Dogs welcomes applications from all sections of the community and actively encourages diversity to maximise achievements, creativity and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality. 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are proud, whenever possible, to offer an interview to all candidates that meet our selection criteria, and who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident interview commitment. For more details, visit our careers site.

If you are successful you will need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK via our digital ID checking supplier; in addition, we cannot offer visa sponsorship at this time.

Safeguarding

Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm with whom we work. We expect all our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment.

At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually, taking into account the nature of the offense, its relevance to the role, and the time that has passed since the incident. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly.

Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service.

For high volumes of applications, we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than advertised.

Role

The Programme Officer will manage day-to-day relationships with Degrees’ research groups based in the Latin America and Caribbean region, ensure smooth grant administration, and support regional events.

Key Responsibilites

Grantees

• Being the first point of contact for our grantees and stakeholders, including volunteer research collaborators. 
• Supporting research teams to gain access to, for example, modelling data. 

Grant management 

• Grant management, including onboarding and ongoing administrative support for the grantees of the various research funds at Degrees. 
• Processing payments.  
• Supporting the monitoring, evaluation and learning process in relation to programmatic activities. 

Events

• Working closely with the Events Manager, other regional Programme Officers and Policy Engagement staff to organise international events, including regional workshops in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

Administration

• Support the building and improvement of internal processes. 
• Contributing to the monthly call and research seminars. 
• Provide ad-hoc support as needed, for example, financial administrative support for grants and programmatic events, note-taking, organising travel, inputs to communications, working with Degrees’ senior management, board, volunteers, and partners. 

Key relationships

• Within the Programmes team forge close working relations with Programmes Director, Programmes Manager, other Programme Officers, Events Manager, Staff Scientist and Scientific Writing and Publishing Lead.
• Develop strong working relations with colleagues from the following teams i) Operations, ii) Policy & Engagement and iii) Communications. 
• Provide ongoing support for Degrees funded scientists based in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Qualifications

We are seeking a dynamic self-starter based in the UK, with experience in planning and running international events as well as academic workshops. As Degrees is still operating as a relatively small but growing team, the successful candidate will be flexible and motivated – prepared to turn their hand to whatever needs doing to deliver Degrees’ programme of work.

Essential

• A university degree in a relevant subject such as international development, international relations, public policy or earth sciences.
• At least two years’ experience.
• An understanding of climate change science and associated development challenges.
• Fluent in English and Spanish. 
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.  
• Good analytical skills with an ability to distil key messages from complex information. 
• Strong digital skills.
• An ability to multitask, to set and deliver on priorities, and to work under pressure.  
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work with people of all levels and backgrounds.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, remote start-up environment.  
• Ability to travel overseas for up to a week per visit as required. 
• A commitment to the mission and values of the Degrees Initiative. 
• Legal right to work in the UK.  

Desirable

• A master’s degree in a relevant subject. 

• A degree in environmental science or international development.  

• Five to ten years of post-university professional experience 

• Proficiency in Portuguese. 

• Advanced digital skills, such as proficiency with advanced spreadsheet functions.

• Experience using CRM systems and Microsoft Office applications, with strong proficiency in Excel.

• Experience working in or with developing countries. 

• Experience in event organisation, workshop facilitation, grant administration, impact monitoring and evaluation, and/or budgeting and financial management.