Volunteer Roles in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
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This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
At Doorstep Library, we’re dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children who need our support.
With 1 in 4 children in the UK leaving primary school unable to read or write properly, we recruit and train in-person and online volunteers to introduce children from under-resourced areas to the pleasure of reading.
What’s Involved?
As a Doorstep Library reading volunteer, you’ll visit the same families via Zoom every week with eBooks to share with the children and encourage their love of reading.
You will:
- Handpick eBooks from our online portals based on the children’s age, interests, and reading level
- Join families via Zoom with your volunteer partner for 20-minute reading sessions
- Make notes after the session to keep track of how the child/ren are progressing
Our unique home-based approach allows our volunteers to build trusting relationships with families, helping them to connect with the community and equip them with the skills they need to succeed later in life.
When and Where?
You can be based anywhere in the UK to become a Doorstep Library online volunteer.
- Time commitment: One evening a week, or once every 3 weeks as a Stand-In Volunteer
- Hours per week: 2
- Days: Our projects run on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays from 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Skills/Experience Needed
- Be able to make a regular weekly commitment or once every 3 weeks for a Stand-In Volunteer during school term time
- Be compliant with our safeguarding procedures, complete an Enhanced DBS, Child Barred List check, and provide 2 references
- Enjoy spending time with children and believe in education for all
- Have comfortable fluency in English
- Be non-judgmental and respectful of a variety of lifestyles and children’s learning
- Have excellent communication skills – be able to listen to families and communicate effectively with Project Leaders (including via text/emails/calls with Doorstep Library staff)
- Be confident using technology – for connecting with families via Zoom and completing records
- Be organised – be able to multi-task in a multi-faceted role comprising of much more than solely reading to children
- Be reliable – always attending a pre-agreed session and giving plenty of notice in advance of absences
- Be friendly – to build good relationships with families, your volunteer partner and the rest of the team
- Be confident – to lead the session or mentor a new volunteer
- Be patient, persistent and flexible – tailoring your approach to each family’s needs
Doorstep Library is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and all those it comes into contact with. All volunteers undergo rigorous safer recruitment processes including specified interview questions, a DBS check, and the collection of written and/or verbal references. Safeguarding training is a mandatory part of the induction process for all volunteers, and they are expected to always adhere to our safeguarding policies and procedures.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Could you make a significant contribution to help people live later life well?
Are you a member of the Methodist Church in Britain seeking to use your skills, expertise and gifts in a new way?
We are seeking a Methodist Church nominee to join the board of Methodist Homes (MHA).
You will be working collaboratively with other MHA trustees to help shape MHA’s future strategy and ensure good governance across the charity.
As a Board Member you will have passion for the wellbeing of older people and will bring a wide-ranging skills and experience.
Expressions of interest are invited from both lay and ordained members of the Methodist Church in Britain. You're encouraged to apply if you feel that overall, your skills and experience meet the role requirements.
Reflecting the diverse communities that MHA are proud to serve, MHA is committed to widening the diversity of its leadership and board. Therefore, we actively and warmly encourage applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences.
If you would find it helpful to discuss the role before applying, please contac us to arrange a phone conversation with a member of the Nominations Committee.
Closing date: 28 May 2024
Short listing 30 May
Interviews /exploratory conversations – Date to be confirmed
The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are looking for Volunteers based in either:
Gloucester, Bristol., South Wales, Devon, Somerset, Hertfordshire and Leicester.
To help run our family hubs, where tasks involve making refreshments and interacting with families.
Help with fundraising events: include selling raffle tickets, helping at the charity awaremeness stand, talking to people etc.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
A bit about this role
If you enjoy driving and would love to use those skills to help our cats, this could be the role for you. Our transport volunteers provide vital assistance to our teams and volunteer groups in the local area by transporting equipment, litter, food– and even cats! They have the essential role of connecting our network of volunteers, sites, vets and supporters.
Without the passionate and committed teams of volunteers across Cats Protection, we wouldn’t be able to help the thousands of cats and kittens each year that rely on us for help.
What can you expect to be doing?
- Arranging and transporting equipment, litter and cat food
- Transporting cats to and from vets, foster homes and centres
- Transporting equipment to and from events
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
BCHA is a dynamic, charitable housing association providing housing, support and employability & skills services to people who are experiencing homeless or other forms of social need. We manage around 1400 short-stay and long-stay homes in Plymouth, Exeter, Yeovil, Wiltshire, Dorset and Bournemouth-Christchurch-Poole with a strong mission to provide accommodation and services for those most in need.
We have just launched our new 5-year Strategic Plan and welcome you to join us work towards our exciting new vision that everyone has a home nd the opportunity to thrive.
We are currently seeking to recruit non-executive board members to fill current and future vacancies. These roles are unpaid.
Along with a passion to make a difference, we are especially looking to attract candidates who have strong experience of any or all of the following:
· Charity/not-for-profit governance
· managing growing organisations
· health and social care commissioning
If have the right motivation and skills to offer and want to join us on our journey in delivering our new Strategic Plan, BCHA would love to hear from you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
We’re a charity awarding £1,000 grants to people of colour based in the UK who want to bring a new creative project to life. We support creativity in all its forms including: poetry, paintings, fashion, zines, music, food, flowers, photographs, workshops, events or something else completely.
Brief:
We need a volunteer to help neurodivergent applicants or applicants with long term illness write their applications.
An important distinction is to be made here - your role is to help someone write a clear application. You are not here to help them develop their idea or to turn it into something it’s not.
Applicants answer these questions:
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What is their Grand Plan? (300 words)
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Why is now the right time to do it? (100 words)
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What is your budget?
These answers are then marked against a criteria which can be found on our website (which we can share with you).
Process:
We will ask applicants to come to you with bullet points for ideas of what their project is. This is the minimum; some may come with a written application that needs tweaking.
You will then read through what they have and help write clearer sentence structures. While we try not to judge on things like grammar and spelling, this does often help clarify the project’s ambitions.
The aim is to work in a collaborative Google Doc, but if that is not possible, we will explore other options.
Keep sentences simple and to the point. We need to be sold on your vision, but it doesn’t need to be overwritten. Using simple and straightforward language helps give us clarity on your project.
We will allow applicants up to two rounds of feedback - meaning you can work on the application a maximum of three times. We ask applicants to group their feedback.
Applicants
This will be open to applicants who are disabled, including those with dyslexia or dyspraxia. So it’s important to be patient and anticipate that they may not have the clearest written communication.
Skills
- Copywriting/Proofreading
- Desireable: Experiance of working with people who have long term illnesses or are neurodivergent
Please send us a short paragraph about why you're interested in this role.
Grand Plan is a fund run by creatives, for creatives. We award £1,000 grants to artists and creative people of colour.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Are you passionate about law, policy, and effective communications? Statewatch, a small team dedicated to promoting civil liberties and human rights through research, reporting and analysis, is seeking a motivated volunteer to assist in our efforts to make legal and political information accessible to all.
Terms
Time commitment: Approximately 2-3 hours per week, including a 1/2 hour check-in with the communications worker, for a 3-month period (with the possibility of extension).
Starting date: Immediately.
Compensation: This is an unpaid volunteer position.
Location: Remote
About Statewatch
Statewatch produces and promotes critical research, policy analysis and investigative journalism to inform debates, movements and campaigns on civil liberties, human rights and democratic standards. We began operating in 1991 and are based in London.
Our vision: An open Europe of democracy, civil liberties, personal and political rights, free movement, freedom of information, equality and diversity.
Our mission: To monitor, analyse and expose state activity that threatens civil liberties, human rights and democratic standards in order to inform and enable a culture of diversity, debate and dissent.
About the position:
In this role, you will work closely with the communications specialist to conduct the following.
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Archive review and cataloguing:
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Review Statewatch's archive of work, including reports, articles, and publications.
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Identify content with continued relevance based on ongoing policies or contemporary issues.
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Catalogue relevant content by both topic/context and type of relevance (e.g., policy implications, historical insights).
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Organise the catalogued content for easy reference and retrieval.
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Social media messaging:
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Draft ideas for social-ready messaging in various length by distilling relevant information from the catalogued content.
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Assist with translating legal and political language into accessible and accurate information suitable for social media platforms.
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Ensure messaging aligns with Statewatch's mission and messaging guidelines.
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Language guide development:
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Identify key terms and phrases commonly used in Statewatch's external messaging.
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Research and provide guidance on the relevance and appropriateness of certain statements or terminology.
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Assist with developing a language guide for discussing specific topics, including examples and explanations.
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Collaborate with Statewatch team members to ensure consistency and accuracy in messaging.
Key results
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Catalogued archive of relevant content, organised by topic/context and type of relevance.
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Social media messaging templates and content suitable for various platforms.
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Comprehensive language guide for discussing specific topics, including examples and explanations.
About you
We are looking for someone who:
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Has an understanding of legal and political language, with an interest in translating complex concepts into accessible information.
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Research and analytical skills.
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Is proficient in written communications in the English language
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Interest in the political and social context in which Statewatch operates
Benefits:
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Gain hands-on experience in legal research, policy analysis, and accessible communications.
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Work closely with a dedicated team passionate about civil liberties and human rights.
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Make a meaningful contribution to Statewatch's mission of promoting transparency, accountability, and democratic standards.
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Develop valuable skills in communication, research, and advocacy.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
A bit about this role
At Cats Protection we help thousands of cats and kittens each year thanks to our dedicated and passionate volunteer groups. We have over 250 branches across the UK, all of which help our feline friends in different ways. Branches take in stray and abandoned cats and ensure they receive the veterinary care and attention they deserve, help raise funds, promote neutering and help spread cat welfare messages. Our branch team leader volunteers lead their local team by supporting and managing volunteers within their group, maintaining communications with both volunteers and staff, and helping promote a positive and professional image of Cats Protection.
What can you expect to be doing?
- Supporting your team of volunteers in all aspects of their roles, making sure volunteers are happy and confident
- Making sure the team observes charity best practice and compliance
- Collaborating with your Branch Development Manager (BDM) to plan volunteer activity
- Leading the team to follow Cats Protection policies, procedures and guidelines
- Monitoring expenditure and helping ensure long term financial stability of the volunteer group
- Organising and chairing team meetings
- Acting as an ambassador for Cats Protection
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are looking for self-motivated and compassionate individuals to help facilitate our support groups and make a difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.
Support Groups offer those with cancer a chance to share their feelings and experiences in a safe and welcoming environment. Support Group Facilitators listen, provide emotional support and share approved cancer related information.
No special qualifications are needed for this role, but being able to devote time to setting up and maintaining a group is essential.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reach crisis point.
Remote Family Support Volunteer – Live Chat
We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference. Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling.
Organisational values:
Mission: We build better family lives together.
Vision: Families should have access to active support and understanding.
Values: Trustworthy, Compassionate and Collaborative
Purpose of the role: To be part of a flexible team providing empathic, caring and informed support to families, carers and others who use our services.
Live chat: is a free confidential service that is accessed via our website. Service users are offered emotional support, information and advice and guidance on a broad range of family issues.
Supervised by: The Shift Supervisor
Activities: The volunteer will be fully supervised, supported and trained to provide the following activities:
·Provide emotional support to family members via our live chat service
·Use the Family Lives support model and tools to provide an empathic responses
·Ensure that all service users receive a high quality experience
·Sign post users to other agencies for information and additional support
·Complete conversation data records
·Alert the shift supervisor to any difficult situations
General: Volunteers should be willing to:
·Attend the relevant volunteer training
·Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the other policies and procedures of the organisation
·Participate in regular support, supervision meetings and learning sessions as agreed
For home based volunteers only:
·Volunteers will need a Laptop/PC, plug in headset with microphone, fast broadband and a private place to work from home
·Volunteers need to be IT/PC literate and confident troubleshooting should they have technical difficulties
Time: We would be looking for volunteers to commit to one four-hour shift per week, plus attending training and supervision.
Location: working remotely from home
You need to be a UK resident
Supervision and Support:
·Supervision during shifts
·Debrief after every shift
·1 to 1 supervision every 6 months
·Staff available outside of shift within office hours
·Annual review
The Benefits of Volunteering:
·Satisfaction in making a real and lasting difference to families who are struggling
·An opportunity to develop experience for CV and references. Family Lives is committed to helping volunteers develop their own learning and development, gaining new skills, knowledge or work experience
·Being part of a team of Family Lives volunteers and staff
·Personal development
·Opportunities to meet and interact with a wide range of people
·Out of pocket expenses reimbursed to a maximum of £10 per session if working from a centre
·Flexible hours
Volunteer Person Specification. We are looking for individuals who:
·Have experience of parenting/being in a parenting role or demonstrable experience of working with parents or children e.g. in their work, previous volunteering or a previous role
·Have an ability to respond empathically to emotional content
·Good written and verbal communication
·Have good keyboard skills and IT skills, with a minimum of 50 wpm
·Can demonstrate a willingness to question their own attitudes e.g. toward different forms of parenting
·Have a fluent, descriptive and expressive use of English
·Can remain open minded and non-judgemental
·Willing to commit to work within Family Lives’ policies, in particular our Confidentiality Policy and Risk of Harm Procedures
·Willing to commit to attending regular supervision and support sessions
·Willing to work as part of a team
·Willing to commit to a mutually agreed period or ideally a 12 months commitment to the organisation.
Typing Task Prior to Application for Live Chat
Prior to you submitting your application for a Live Chat Volunteer, we will require you to do a speed test, we ask for a minimum speed of 50 words per minute.
Please take a screen shot and send it across with your application
You can have up to 3 attempts and decide which result you would like to forward as part of your application
Typing task
Go to the website typingtest
You are required to take the one minute typing test recording all of the results (speed, number of errors and adjusted speed).
We have remote voluntary call taker training groups the dates are below are you would need to be able to attend all 5 Modules from the training group.
Our next training groups are:
June Saturday training dates:
Module 1 – Saturday 8th June
Module 2 - Saturday 15th June
Module 3 – Saturday 22nd June
Module 4 – Saturday 29th June
Module 5 – Saturday 6th July
10am to 2pm
Please note that all roles offered are subject to a satisfactory DBS being obtained, you will receive details of documentation required prior to your training and this must all be in no later than the second session of your training.
Typing Task Prior to Application for Live Chat
Prior to you submitting your application for a Live Chat Volunteer, we will require you to do a speed test, we ask for a minimum speed of 50 words per minute.
Please take a screen shot and send it across with your application
You can have up to 3 attempts and decide which result you would like to forward as part of your application
Typing task
Go to the website typingtest
You are required to take the one minute typing test recording all of the results (speed, number of errors and adjusted speed).
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are recruiting volunteers who enjoy volunteering in their community to help raise the charity’s profile at a local level. Everyone has their own community and we would love to work with people who can share their passion, interest and enthusiasm for Yes to Life with people in their communities who could benefit from our work. The role descritption provides a list of ways you can do this but we are very happy to listen to your suggestions and ideas too. The role is flexible and you can choose how many hours you dedicate to the role.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
African Development Choices (ADC) is a UK-based Social Enterprise on a mission to reduce poverty by empowering communities to make informed development choices in the management of public finances and resources.
ADC’s purpose is to enable communities to independently meet their needs for essential services, such as clean water and safe sanitation and improve lives in Africa.
At ADC we encourage a working culture of seeking and giving input, showing and taking initiative, and commitment to the organisation and its purpose.
We now have an exciting opportunity for a volunteer Head of Policy & Research (Remote) to join ADC.
Main Purpose of Job: Lead the development of policy positions through research to strengthen our evidence base and help ADC act as a thought leader in shaping debate and dialogue around key policy issues relevant to ADC’s work
Division: Operations
Department: Policy & Research
Position Reports to: Chief Impact Officer
Who Reports to this Position: TBC
Main Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop policy positions and commission new research and policy outputs and harness the data and stories from across ADC’s work to strengthen our evidence base
- Develop a stakeholder outreach strategy aimed at building key relationships with local and international stakeholders in parliament, civil service, think tanks, peer organisations, universities/colleges and research community
- Analyse data and put together detailed research reports, executive summaries, briefings, factsheets, white papers and policy papers for internal and external audiences
- Put together emotive case studies and stories which demonstrate positive impact on communities and ensure project data is gathered for impact reporting and creating infographics for business development
- Set up externally funded research projects and apply for funding
- Recruit additional volunteers for the Policy & Research team when needed
Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
Essential
- At least 5 years of experience in senior policy and research management
- Experience of strengthening evidence and influencing policy agendas
- Significant senior policy and research development experience, ideally in international development
- Background in policy and stakeholder relations with a good general understanding of the workings of government, parliament and civil service
- Significant experience in developing and implementing policy and research strategies
- A creative and strategic thinker, with the ability to develop innovative policy solutions to complex challenges
- Ability to actively take initiative and help set things up in a start-up environment
- Ability to actively seek and give input in a collaborative team environment
- A committed team player with good communication skills
- Available to volunteer at least 7-10 hours a week
Desirable
- Experience of influencing the formation or revision of international development policy at an institutional, national, or inter-governmental level
- Experience working in an early stage start-up and gone through a scaling phase
- Passion for the start-up life and comfortable in a role with a little ambiguity
What ADC Offers You
This is a volunteer, remote and unpaid position with the following benefits:
- Professional learning and career development opportunities
- An opportunity to build on your work experience within your profession
- An opportunity to be part of a diverse team representing different parts of the world that is helping to deliver systemic social change in Africa
- An opportunity to help shape a start-up social enterprise
- We provide work reference
This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.
Here at African Development Choices, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our teams are made up of people from all over the world and we welcome all applications. If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and you require any reasonable adjustments for your application with us, please let us know by contacting recruitmentatafricandevelopmentchoicesdotorg
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are looking for self-motivated and compassionate individuals to help deliver our Helpline service and make a difference to the lives of anyone affected by cancer.
The Helpline offers those with cancer a chance to share their feelings and experiences with someone who has empathy for what they are going through. Helpline Volunteers create a safe and welcoming environment, listen, and provide emotional support and signposting individuals onto further information.
No special qualifications are needed for this role, but access to a telephone in a comfortable quiet setting is essential.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
ADC’s purpose is to enable communities to independently meet their needs for essential services, such as clean water and safe sanitation and improve lives in Africa.
At ADC we encourage a working culture of seeking and giving input, showing and taking initiative, and commitment to the organisation and its purpose.
Main purpose of job: Develop and implement effective financial strategies in order to optimise the organisation’s financial performance and strategic position.
Division: Operations
Department: Finance
Position reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Position is responsible for: TBC
Main Duties and Objectives:
- Lead the strategic and operational financial planning of the organisation by analysing and reporting on financial performance and risk management, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory financial reporting requirements
- Ensure that the organisation is financially sound by advising on the best path of growth and assisting in organisation-wide forecasting and budgetary planning
- Develop and manage financial systems and control, using the accounting software Xero and ensure that all controls are adhered to at all times
- Oversee payroll, internal audit and tax functions, as well as the preparation of the organisation's financial accounts to ensure that these are presented and filed accurately and on time
- Provide leadership in applying for pre-seed funding from impact investors with the aim of financing our revenue-generating initiatives in line with our strategic objectives as a Social Enterprise
- Help to define market relevant value propositions for consulting services to generate revenue for the organisation
- Take responsibility for monitoring cash flow and expenditure, maintaining a healthy financial position, as well as engaging with investors and enhancing investor confidence
- Participate in the development of business planning tools to steer the organisation towards long-term financial health and sustainability
- Contribute fully to the development of organisation strategy across all areas of the business, challenging assumptions and decision-making as appropriate and providing financial analysis and guidance on all activities, plans, targets and business drivers
- Manage the life cycle of individuals within the team from pre-recruitment to exit, including performance management processes
- Ensure that team members are given opportunities for training and career development by working with HR to support the capacity building planning
Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:
Essential
- Fully qualified accountant with over 10 years of senior level managerial experience in finance
- Proficiency in accounting software and accounting principles
- Track record of providing financial advice and support to help senior executives make key decisions
- Demonstrated leadership ability, including the ability to build and develop a team of highly motivated and well qualified staff/volunteers to achieve results
- Ability to actively take initiative and help set things up in a start-up environment
- Ability to actively seek and give input in a collaborative team environment
- A committed team player with good communication skills
- Available to volunteer at least 7-10 hours a week
Desirable
- Experience as a Head of Finance
- Experience of setting up a finance department
- Experience working in an early stage star-tup and gone through a scaling phase · Passion for the start-up life and comfortable in a role with a little ambiguity
What ADC offers you:
This is a volunteer, remote and unpaid position with the following benefits:
Professional learning and career development opportunities.
An opportunity to build on your work experience within your profession.
An opportunity to be part of a diverse team representing different parts of the world, that is changing lives in Africa.
An opportunity to help shape a start-up social enterprise.
We will provide work reference for you.
This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.
Here at African Development Choices, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our teams are made up of people from all over the world and we welcome all applications. If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and you require any reasonable adjustments for your application with us, please let us know by contacting recruitmentatafricandevelopmentchoicesdotorg.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Ensuring that all community fundraising supporters receive an outstanding level of service.
Support our aim to build a strong community network of local fundraisers, committed and inspired to raise money to help us achieve our mission of supporting people with cancer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.