Volunteer it support volunteer roles in bedford, central bedfordshire

Thank you for your interest in joining our board of trustees. Blue Ventures is an award-winning charity working to rebuild coastal fisheries. We are committed to making conservation work for people, demonstrating powerful win-wins for marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods.

We have a bold ambition: we’re working to create a world where small-scale fishers have bigger catches, better livelihoods and improved food security, and where healthy oceans teem with life for generations to come.

We are a diverse family of conservation and development professionals. Across 13 countries, our 300+ staff put fishers first. We fight for their rights, support them to fulfil their potential, and supply them with everything they need to manage and protect our oceans in ways that benefit people and nature alike. Our decentralised structure keeps us close to the coastal communities we serve and ensures our work is effective and sustainable.

Blue Ventures is going through rapid and sustained growth and is uniquely positioned to drive impact at scale in the marine conservation sector. We seek new board members to help maintain our commitment to strong and inclusive governance. We are truly committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our global organisation and board and welcome applications from candidates with lived experience in the countries and communities we serve.

If you believe you have what it takes to succeed in this role and share our values and ambitions, we would love to hear from you. You will find more information about the role in the rest of this pack and on our website, along with further information about our work and our plans for the future.

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Sincerely,

Fiona Holmes
Chair, Board of Trustees

Location: Global, preferably in locations that intersect with BV’s work in our programmatic countries. (Bristol or London - UK, Madagascar, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal)

Closing date for applications: 15 May 2025, 12:00 A.M GMT.

Start date: June 2025

Term duration: 3 - 6 years

We rebuild tropical fisheries with coastal communities

Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organization that puts people first. We support coastal fishers in remote and rural communities to rebuild fisheries, restore ocean life and build lasting pathways to prosperity. Our work began two decades ago in Madagascar’s remote coastal communities and is growing globally.

Across a dozen countries, we’re partnering with traditional fishers and community organizations to design, scale, strengthen and sustain fisheries management and conservation at the community level. We bring partners together in networks to advocate for reform, and share tools and best practices to support fishing communities across the globe. 

Summary Terms of Reference

We currently have nine trustees on our board and three established subcommittees. One is tasked with overseeing our People and Culture function, and the other is Finance, Risk, and Audit. We also have a Safeguarding Reporting sub-committee.

We seek a trustee with expertise in data governance, digital oversight, and Data Protection compliance to support Blue Ventures as we scale our digital infrastructure and strengthen our organisational technology capability. This trustee will provide strategic guidance and assurance over our digital transformation, particularly as we implement changes across enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms. The role will also be key in helping to ensure that data governance frameworks uphold compliance, integrity, and ethical standards across all operating regions.

The ideal candidate will have strong knowledge of data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018, and practical experience advising on digital risk, cybersecurity, and data architecture in complex, international environments. Experience in the charity or international development sector is welcome but not required.

Experience in governance and compliance oversight relating to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of core systems across Blue Ventures is key.

Knowledge of Technology, Service and Change best practice frameworks, including ITIL, TOGAF, APM would be an advantage.

We know that thousands of people in need of bereavement support are waiting to access ongoing bereavement support. We are now recruiting for additional volunteers, if you would like to know more about volunteering for this popular service, we would love to see you at our UYBO Open Day.

What will you be doing:

• Presenting and facilitating one off online group sessions for bereaved people with fellow volunteers
• Creating a safe, confidential, non-judgemental space to deliver practical bereavement information and guidance
•  Facilitating peer engagement in small discussion groups
• Delivering clear messaging for onward signposting

Skills and experience you’ll need:

• Effective listening and communication skills
• Good IT literacy or an ability to learn (training will be provided)
• Access to a computer
• Comfortable talking about grief and death
• Empathetic and warm
• Confident facilitating discussion in a group setting

Want to find out more? 

Join us for an Open Day on Wednesday 28th May 2025 (2:00pm to 3:30pm or 6:00pm to 7:30pm) to learn more, talk to current UYBO volunteers and find out about our training programme and the support we offer volunteers.

Please note that should you wish to become a UYBO Volunteer after attending the open day, we will be holding informal interviews from Monday 2nd June.

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

Volunteer Helpline Advisor – Role Description 

Purpose of role:

As a Volunteer Helpline Advisor, responding to Helpline enquiries from parents and carers, you will be playing a part in helping ERIC to achieve its key goal of reaching even more families.

You will work remotely, with equipment and training provided.

If you are passionate about helping to improve the lives of families whose children are affected by continence issues, and can commit your time on a regular basis, we’d love to hear from you.

Terms:

Due to the nature of the work, our helpline volunteers are continence nurses or qualified healthcare professsionals.Volunteer sessions are a full day of 5 hours, on the same day each week, please note that currently we need more volunteers on Mondays & Tuesdays only. We ask volunteers to commit to this regular weekly pattern, ideally for a period of one year or more. This helps to maintain consistency and a high standard of professional practice. 

Expenses may be paid, subject to agreement in advance . 

Tasks could include:  

· Answering calls on the Helpline

· Signposting to information on our website

· Responding to & following up enquiries by email  

· Entering information onto our IT system

Skills and qualities:

· Professional qualification and/or clinical experience

· Enjoy working as part of a team

· Friendly and positive with a can-do attitude

· Well organised with good time management skills

· Empathetic and non-judgmental

· Able to use standard IT packages including Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and Outlook)

· Able to follow ERIC’s policies, including safeguarding and confidentiality 

· Willing to continuously develop professional practice.

Do you want to join an organisation committed to addressing low literacy and low numeracy amongst people across the UK?

Shannon Trust’s vision is of a future where everyone can experience the positive impact of learning. We recently developed an online version of our Turning Pages reading programme, and we are currently in the process of doing the same with our Count Me In numeracy programme. As a community admin support volunteer, your role will help support the day to day running and ongoing development of both these platforms, ensuring that we are effective in responding to the needs of our users.

This is a new role to Shannon Trust and we are open to developing the role with the volunteer.

‍We welcome job applications from people with lived experience of the criminal justice system and do not routinely ask for details of any criminal convictions. 

‍Closing date for applications 26 May 2025. In some circumstances, volunteer vacancies may close early. Successful applicants will be sent interview questions in advance with notice to prepare.

Interview date: 2 June 2025

The aim of our People Team Volunteer is to support our team with administrative support across people projects and day-to-day activity within the department, across recruitment, onboarding, and exit processes.

Key tasks

• Supports with People project administration.
• Supports with recruitment and onboarding, including references, supporting with pre-employment checks and issuing documentation.
• Supports the People Team in answering emails from the shared inboxes.
• Assists with ensuring that the People files are well organised and that documents are easy to locate.
• Assists with the maintenance of employee records within our People system.
• Supports with the completion of written reference requests, flagging any potential issues to the People Advisors for prompt action.
• Sends out recruitment materials to shops & the field teams in a timely manner (e.g. posters)

· Send out induction materials to shops & field teams in a timely manner (e.g. induction workbooks)

· Demonstrates our values of: We put people first, We’re stronger together, We speak up for what’s right, We never stop learning and We demand better for mental health

About You

· Good communication skills

· IT literate & able to use the MS office applications – Outlook, Word, Excel

· Good organisational skills

· High attention to detail

Experience & skills you will gain

· Experience of working as part of a team

· Experience of working within a People/HR administrative role

· Exposure to key stages of the employee lifecycle and the relevant processes

· Understanding of key processes within the recruitment cycle

· Exposure to employee relations cases and how these are managed in accordance with policy & procedure

Background to the role:

Keep Active is a volunteer-delivered project at The Creighton Centre, which aims to provide support to older people (60+) who have had a fall, stroke or other illness.  We work in partnership with the NHS Community Rehabilitation Service across Hammersmith & Fulham. As a Keep Active Volunteer you would visit an older person (the average age is 84) once a week for up to nine weeks to help them with improving mobility indoors with exercises, or outdoors with walks in their community. This project aims to empower people to get back to independence, access community once more and reduce risks of future falls and hospital re-admittance.

Availability/commitment:

· To live in or near Hammersmith and Fulham, or travel regularly through

· To be able to spare 1-2 hours a week, preferably during working hours

Role of the Keep Active Volunteer:

· To attend an initial one-off training session [with Volunteer Coordinator and therapists from NHS rehabilitation teams].

· To visit an older person’s home once a week for up to 9 weeks to supervise and motivate them to continue practicing their exercise and walking goals, as prescribed by NHS rehabilitation teams.

· Support might include:

- A walk around their local community possibly going to the park or visiting shops.

- Encouraging them to complete a prescribed gentle exercise program.

- Keeping an older and sometimes isolated person company.

- Visiting someone in their homes to help them reach their exercise goals.

NB: Please note that this is a volunteer role and you will not be expected to provide any physical support. This is a motivational role only.

We will provide:

· Induction training and NHS Community Rehabilitation led training (weekday training).

· Regular contact and support from the project staff.

· Occasional social events for volunteers

· Occasional training opportunities for volunteers

· A reference after 3-6 months of volunteering with us

· An enhanced DBS check

· Reimbursement of travel expenses incurred during your volunteering

Skills needed:

· Good listening and communication skills and a good level of spoken English.

· Empathy and a kind and patience approach.

· Enthusiasm and commitment.

· A friendly personality.

· The desire to make a positive difference to someone’s health and wellbeing

· Ability to cope with clients who are unwell.

· A positive attitude towards empowering and improving the lives of older people

· An understanding of and commitment to our policies (including: Confidentiality, Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities)

Accountable to:

Keep Active Coordinator

Volunteer role: Phone Operator Assistant - Volunteer

Hours : Minimum of 1 day a week (hours negotiable)

Location: Kentish Town, Camden

Department: Support and Wellbeing

Reports to: Volunteer Lead

Benefits: Training provided, Travel costs, £5 for lunch for volunteers who work over 4 hours

Job Role Summary

Camden Carers is committed to equality, diversity and anti-racism. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and aim to make sure everyone can access our services in a fair and inclusive way.

As a volunteer phone operator assistant, you will help with answering incoming calls and handle a range of enquiries from Carers. You will be working closely with staff and other volunteers.

With training, you will:

- Answer incoming calls

- Help with queries

- Record information on our database (Charity Log)

- Transfer calls to the relevant staff member

- Book carers onto activities

- Schedule call backs

- Signpost carers to relevant organisations that provides services that Camden Carers does not provide.

Every day a staff member will be available to support you with any calls you’re unsure about. Your will make a difference by helping carers get the support they need.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Answering Incoming Calls:

· Maintain professional boundaries

· Observe and comply with our GDPR and confidentiality policies

· Work alongside Camden Carers Staff and volunteers to manage incoming calls and enquiries

· Accurate data entry in database (Charity Log)

· Provide carers with information about Camden Carers and the services available

· Refer carers to relevant services internally or externally

· Follow Camden Carers’ policies and procedures

Security and data:

· Attend relevant GDPR training

· Assist in ensuring database records are up to date and accurate

Note: All volunteers are expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their post and may be asked to perform other duties and comply with our GDPR guidelines at all times.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Knowledge:

· Understanding of GDPR and confidentiality (D)

· Understanding of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (D)

· Understanding of what Anti-racism is (D)

· Office 365 (D)

Skills:

· IT skills (MS Word and Excel) (D)

· Ability to use own initiative (D)

· Trustworthy and reliable (E)

· Good at managing tasks and meeting deadlines (D)

· Clear spoken and written communication (E)

· Confident with making calls, using computer systems and databases (D)

· Ability to pay close attention to details when inputting data (E)

· Reliable and a commitment to working on volunteering day/s (E)

Relevant Experience

· Experience in a similar admin role (D)

· Experience of using databases (D)

· Experience of handling sensitive information (D)

· Microsoft experience with Word & Excel (D)

· Knowledge of local support services in the Borough of Camden (D)

Training will be provided (E= Essential D= Desirable)

Shannon Trust fulfils an unmet need around adult learning, supporting people who’ve fallen through the cracks in formal education.

We know a lot of people have had negative learning experiences in the past, so our programme is designed to be different, with no exams and no classrooms. Our unique, evidence-based Turning Pages reading manuals are used by thousands of learners in prisons and the community to improve reading skills. 

Prison volunteers live near to their local prison so that they can visit about once a month during the working week to nurture the growth of the Shannon Trust in their prison. They help unlock the power of reading by offering advice, guidance, training and support to prison staff and prisoner mentors who help other prisoners to improve their skills 1 to 1.

We are looking for volunteers who are able to work alone, able to give a regular, reliable commitment for ideally two years and able to deliver engaging training to groups of people in prisons.  Due to the nature of the role, prison security vetting will be required.

We provide training for the role via e-learning and 4 training sessions which are a mix of live, online and group training.

We are looking for someone to lead a support group for people both living with and affected by Motor Neurone Disease, at our local in person support group meeting in Waltham Forest, 9.30am to 12.30 midday on the last Saturday of every month

What’s involved?

• Co – lead, with existing lead support group volunteer

• Organise once a month in person support group meetings, held on the last Saturday of the month, or drop-ins for people living with MND, their families and carers

• Send invites - where appropriate

• Arrange, organise and serve refreshments (all expenses can be claimed back of course!)

• Ensure that all who attend the events feel welcome, included and have an enjoyable social experience

• Regular check in' and communication with Community Support Coordinator

• Lead and manage, group support volunteers

This role will suit me if I:

• Am a good communicator

• Have good organisational skills

• Have warm and empathetic manner

• Am a team player

• Am able to encourage people to come along and meet others

What’s in it for me?

• Become part of a friendly and dedicated team

• Make a positive impact to the lives of people affected by MND

• Get access to a range of workshops and events

• Update your skills and experience

• Paid expenses for example travel

How flexible is the role?

Support Meeting Co - Lead, work from home for approximately 1 to 2 hours a week and attend in person monthly support group meetings (approx. 3/4 hours).

What sort of training/induction will I receive before starting?

You’ll be inducted into the role and receive training and informed about the Association, with full support from the Community Support Coordinator.

We are looking for someone who is dedicated and committed, that will work with the Community Support Coordinator to establish an in person support group in Waltham Forest.

The volunteer group support lead, must be committed to this role and attend every in person monthly meeting, with exceptions of holidays/sickness, where conversations with the Community Support Coordinator must take place in order to arrange appropriate cover in a timely manner.

We are looking for someone to be a part of the recruitment process when looking to expand the group volunteer support team. We are looking for someone that is comfortable with initial expenses of refreshments and biscuits for each group, which will be reimbursed upon submission of expense form and receipts

Would you like to work at the frontline of suicide prevention? 

At our sanctuary (Finsbury Park, North London) for those in suicidal crisis, we offer a potentially transformative experience with a once-only 4-night stay at our non-medical, family-style house. Through respite, time and space for reflection and compassionate and nurturing care, our Volunteer Befrienders and Lead Befrienders support an opportunity for the revival of hope and resilience.  

Volunteer Befrienders are key to Maytree and work alongside Lead Befrieders to provide an open and containing space for people who are feeling suicidal. Befriending is as its sounds: sitting alongside our guests as a compassionate, confidential, and non-judgemental friend. Through active listening and human warmth our volunteers enable our guests to explore their feelings and their options in their own way and in their own time. This face-to-face support is not therapy; it is about being calm and committed and not afraid of difficult subjects, including suicide.  

Salusbury World is a small refugee-support charity working in Brent and neighbouring London boroughs. We support refugee and migrant children and families to develop the skills and confidence needed to thrive in London. We believe every refugee should be given the chance to come to terms with the loss they have experienced and to build a hopeful, fulfilling life in the UK. We exist to help overcome practical challenges - and to give opportunities to experience joy, intellectual and creative fulfilment, and hope for the future. 

Aim 

We haven’t been able to devote enough time to developing our digital presence. We’d love your help to spread the word about the great work we do and the impact it has. 

We are looking for a passionate and creative volunteer to help us plan, update and deliver our social media strategy, specifically focusing on Instagram, X and LinkedIn. The role involves contributing to our social media strategy and developing content that tells the story of Salusbury World’s mission, projects and impact in an engaging way. 

Skills and Experience 

• Experience in social media content creation and strategy, preferably in a nonprofit or community-focused environment. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills,

• Ability to create compelling and persuasive content 

• Ability to write content for a range of platforms 

• Confident and competent IT skills including MSOffice, Canva, Mailchimp and digital platforms 

• Basic video editing skills are a plus. 

Tasks will involve: 

• Collaborating with the Salusbury World team to understand our mission, values, and target audiences. 

• Collaborating with the team to develop a strategic plan for social media, including content themes, posting frequency, and engagement tactics. 

• Creating engaging social media content

• Creating content for use on our website, leaflets, fundraising/promotional materials etc. 

• Support with our branding initiatives 

***This is an unpaid voluntary role***

A crucial volunteer role at the centre, volunteer Reception Helpers help out at least one morning per week to warmly welcome members to the centre, help with queries (in person, by email and over the phone) and direct people to our various activities. This is an active and varied way to volunteer where no two days are the same!

Qualities you need for this role

• Confidence and communication skills in person and over the phone
• Reliable, dependable and a good sense of humour
• Flexibility, happy to support staff as needed
• Able to think on your feet 
• Basic IT skills

When you'll be needed

• A morning per week: volunteers must commit for at least six months
• Monday-Friday between the hours 9:30am – 1:00pm

Applicants must live in Watford, Hertfordshire or the surrounding area.

At Watford & Three Rivers Refugee Partnership, our objective is to provide practical and emotional support, ultimately helping our clients achieve a sustainable position as full members of our society. Many of our clients are destitute, homeless and have no access to assistance from the government. Our mission is to provide access to advice and essential services until statutory services are in place.

Volunteering at the Drop-In centre provides an opportunity for you to help our refugee clients with any issues they might have. We have sessions running every Tuesday between 11:30am and 1:30pm at St Mary’s Church, High Street, Watford. The Drop-In provides an opportunity for refugee clients to come and discuss any issues they have and to be listened to by one of our volunteers. Many of our clients are likely to have lived here for a while but an issue or crisis in their lives means that they need to discuss it and seek some help. They may also be in the process of seeking asylum. We can provide advice and sometimes resolve their issue there and then and at other times we refer them to another agency or invite them to come back once their issue has been looked into.

The Drop-In Centre could not function without our team of committed volunteers, and we are always looking for additional help.

Full training given on starting the role as well as regular training sessions and continual support from more experienced volunteers.

Responsibilities:

· Help with filling in forms and interpreting official documents.

· Liaising with statutory and voluntary agencies.

· Referring clients for follow up action by our Case Review Team and linking them with a befriender.

· Referring clients to our partner solicitor who specialises in immigration law and comes to the Drop-In 4th Tuesday of the month.

· Advice on how to access appropriate housing and free food in the area.

· Access to the charity’s other services, such as free English classes.

Requirements:

· Able to attend at least one Tuesday Drop-In a month.

· Complete training as required and attend bi-monthly volunteer support meetings.

Skills:

· An ability to communicate and empathise with people from a variety of backgrounds and needs.

· Basic IT skills.

· Assist clients in accessing essential services such as legal, housing, financial and food.

· Can work well as part of a team.

· Enthusiasm to help refugee clients.

Desirable experience: 

· Previous volunteering experience.

· Previous experience working in a people-facing role.

If you are interested in becoming a Drop-In volunteer please apply via Charity Jobs or contact us and a volunteer coordinator will contact you to discuss this further.