Volunteer roles in west midlands

Join the board at Active Partners Trust as we work to address inequality and empower everyone to be active in a way that works for them.

Applications close at 9 a.m. Monday 20th October. 

Time commitment: Equivalent of up to 2 days a quarter

Who we are

Active Partners Trust was set up in autumn 2017 to work in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, bringing together the two county organisations of Derbyshire Sport and Sport Notts.

As one of 43 Active Partnerships across England, Active Partners Trust, working in Derbyshire as Active Derbyshire and in Notts as Active Notts, teams up with local councils, community groups, businesses, healthcare organisations, charities, and more to address inequality and empower everyone to be active in a way that works for them.

This means asking questions, making suggestions, sharing our knowledge, finding the right partners, and spotting opportunities, all to make movement part of everyday life. Because when we all work together, we can better understand, reach, and support the people who need it most.

Our strategy “Making our Move” sets out an approach that will help us to focus our efforts and resources on where we can make the biggest difference; empower our communities; and shape action.

About the role

As a trustee of Active Partners Trust, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the vision, strategy, and impact of our work across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. In this role, you will provide strategic oversight, champion inclusion, and help create the conditions for lasting change, ensuring Active Partners Trust continues to thrive and make a meaningful difference in local communities.

Who we are looking for

While expertise in sport and physical activity is welcome, it is not essential; you don’t need experience in sport and physical activity to join us. We seek an individual who is committed to our mission of promoting inclusion, supporting communities and empowering people to be active. The ideal candidate will bring a mix of strategic perspective, curiosity, and enthusiasm, combined with relevant knowledge, skills, or lived experience.

We are particularly keen to hear from individuals based in Derbyshire with knowledge in:

• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Environmental sustainability

We also welcome applications from those who may not have these specific skills but are passionate about our work and motivated to contribute to our vision. Above all, we are looking for someone who is willing to engage, support positive change, and help shape the future of Active Partners Trust.

We expect the time commitment to be, on average, the equivalent of up to 2 days a quarter. This includes preparing and attending quarterly board meetings, involvement in board sub committees (which generally meet virtually 2 or 3 weeks in advance of the board meetings), engaging in any ad hoc conversations with other trustees or members of the wider team and attending any events that you are willing and able to support throughout the year.

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. Monday 20th October.

Replenishment and Merchandising Volunteer  - We have multiple Volunteer Opportunities in Acorns Children's Hospice Superstore in Harborne

The Role 

To help us to continue to provide the care that we do, we are looking for fun and enthusiastic volunteers to join us in our Harborne Superstore. Our shops are exciting and dynamic, with no two days being the same. From our walk-in customers, to receiving donations, and everything in between.

How much time will it take? 

Our shop is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sundays 10am to 4pm. You can volunteer the hours that suit you, but it would be great if you could support in the shop for at least 3 hours a week.

Why volunteer at Acorns? 

• To help a local charity
• To make a difference in your local community
• To connect with like minded people and make new friends
• Boost your CV
• Opportunities to progress to other roles
• All training will be provided

Am I right for the job?

For this role, you'll need to:

• Be welcoming and friendly
• Have a good eye for merchandising
• Be a team player that thinks of others
• Be sensitive to the needs of our customers/donators

Full training will be providedhe

We’re looking for Pool Spotter Volunteers to support our children, young people and families at our Birmingham Hospice.

At Acorns we provide care and support for life limited or life threatened children and their families.  We have three hospices in the West Midlands, which provide a happy homely environment where children can experience all kinds of great activities, meet new friends or relax and enjoy some quiet time.

Pool Spotter Volunteers need to be lifeguard trained and we provide this training free for our volunteers. Training takes 6 hours over a 1 day period and volunteers are required to retrain every 2 years.

Volunteering with us is flexible. Once sessions are planned, you choose the sessions you help with. We ask that you offer a minimum of two sessions (1-3 hours) per month. You may be asked to attend occasional meetings and additional training sessions

Volunteers are required to complete an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check, which we will pay for and process for you.

Am I right for the role?

Pool Spotter Volunteers need to:

• Be welcoming and friendly
• Have good communication skills
• Be physically fit and a confident swimmer
• Be willing to undertake lifeguard training
• Be reliable
• Be sensitive to the needs of our children, young people and families
  
  What we offer:
   
• Meet new people everyday
• Access to free online courses
• Learn new skills to boost your CV
• We’ll give you a reference for future work or volunteering

We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and therefore any successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check for children and will be asked to provide two satisfactory references.

Do you enjoy outdoor spaces, flowers and nature? Can you appreciate the beauty of a well-maintained garden and enjoy taking care of it?

We’re looking for volunteer gardeners to help us maintain our gardens in our Birmingham hospice.

At Acorns we provide care and support for life limited or life threatened children and their families. We have three hospices in the West Midlands, which provide a happy homely environment where children can experience all kinds of great activities, meet new friends or relax and enjoy some quiet time.

As a volunteer, you’ll get involved in a variety of hands-on tasks such as planting, weeding, path clearing, sweeping, and general garden maintenance. It's a rewarding way to contribute to our hospice community while enjoying nature and staying active.

We are especially looking for help on Mondays and Thursdays, but we’re also open to flexible hours and days to suit your availability.

Am i right for the role

We are currently seeking volunteers with relevant experience in gardening or outdoor maintenance, as their skills and knowledge will be invaluable in helping us care for and maintain our garden to a high standard

Why volunteer at Acorns?

• Achieve a sense of wellbeing that you are helping your local community
• To connect with like-minded people and make new friends
• To enhance your CV by learning new skills and gain valuable experience
• We’ll give you a reference for future work or volunteering
• You’ll get Invites to social events and participation in our volunteer recognition schemes and awards
• You’ll receive free mandatory and role specific training

Full training will be provided.

Our recruitment process includes attending interview, obtaining two suitable references and a clear DBS check (instigated by Acorns)

Why we want you

Our vision is a society in which Armed Forces, veterans and their families can thrive. When anyone in the Armed Forces community finds themselves in need, SSAFA is the charity they can turn to – no one’s service is ever forgotten. More and more people need help, so we are growing our network of dedicated caseworkers.

Come and join our team! You will be making a real difference to the lives of those who need financial, practical, and emotional support. We value all our volunteers and the unique skills and experience they bring.

What you will be doing

• Arranging to talk with potential beneficiaries (on the phone or face to face) at a mutually convenient time
• Understanding peoples’ support needs and gathering information to assess their circumstances
• Typing written case reports to apply for financial assistance
• Sign-posting to services providing specialist support, such as mental health or housing support
• Keeping beneficiaries and the SSAFA regional office up to date with progress

The skills you need

• Friendly and approachable
• Great written and verbal communication skills
• Non-judgemental
• Reliable
• Basic IT skills

What's in it for you

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others
• Be part of a friendly and supportive SSAFA team
• Develop your experience and skills which you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews
• Access a range of training and learning opportunities

Disclaimer

SSAFA is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those involved in our work and expects volunteers to share this commitment. This role qualifies for a criminal record check, which will be carried out at no cost to you. If you have a criminal record, it won't necessarily stop you from becoming a volunteer. Please read our Volunteer Vetting Guidance for more information.

Youth Leaders work directly with young people in St John Ambulance Badger Setts and Cadet Units. By organising a mixed weekly programme, this role will support the learning and development of young people into the next generation of health citizens. Youth Leaders also help young people develop their confidence, teamwork skills, self-discipline, and generally encourage them to strive to be the best they can be, as well as supervise and support other adult volunteers in their team.

You’ll get a huge sense of satisfaction and pride delivering an essential service. It’s great for you, great for your community and great for our nation, and it requires only a small commitment of your time. 

Pursuing the role

Closing date for these opportunities is: 30/08/2026

To apply for this opportunity please follow the link below:

We are recruiting Youth Helpers to assist at our various Cadet and Badger groups in Northamptonsire.

Youth Helpers work directly with young people in St John Ambulance Badger Setts and Cadet Units by supporting our Youth Leaders to deliver a sessions across our range of programmes. In this role, you'll support the learning and development of young people into the next generation of health citizens. Youth Helpers also help young people develop their confidence, teamwork skills, self-discipline, and generally encourage them to strive to be the best they can be, as well as supervise and support other adult volunteers in their team.

You’ll get a huge sense of satisfaction and pride delivering an essential service. It’s great for you, great for your community and great for our nation, and it requires only a small commitment of your time. 

Pursuing the role

If you are successful you will need to undertake induction & training for role at these dates:

• Welcome Event (Induction) - 20/01/2026

Closing date for these opportunities is: 30th November 2025.

To apply for this opportunity please follow the link below:

We are recruiting Youth Helpers to assist at our various Cadet and Badger groups in Northamptonsire.

Youth Helpers work directly with young people in St John Ambulance Badger Setts and Cadet Units by supporting our Youth Leaders to deliver a sessions across our range of programmes. In this role, you'll support the learning and development of young people into the next generation of health citizens. Youth Helpers also help young people develop their confidence, teamwork skills, self-discipline, and generally encourage them to strive to be the best they can be, as well as supervise and support other adult volunteers in their team.

You’ll get a huge sense of satisfaction and pride delivering an essential service. It’s great for you, great for your community and great for our nation, and it requires only a small commitment of your time. 

Pursuing the role

If you are successful you will need to undertake induction & training for role at these dates:

• Welcome Event (Induction) - 20/01/2026

Closing date for these opportunities is: 30th November 2025.

To apply for this opportunity please follow the link below:

We are recruiting Youth Helpers to assist at our various Cadet and Badger groups in Tamworth.

Youth Helpers work directly with young people in St John Ambulance Badger Setts and Cadet Units by supporting our Youth Leaders to deliver a sessions across our range of programmes. In this role, you'll support the learning and development of young people into the next generation of health citizens. Youth Helpers also help young people develop their confidence, teamwork skills, self-discipline, and generally encourage them to strive to be the best they can be, as well as supervise and support other adult volunteers in their team.

You’ll get a huge sense of satisfaction and pride delivering an essential service. It’s great for you, great for your community and great for our nation, and it requires only a small commitment of your time. 

Pursuing the role

If you are successful you will need to undertake induction & training for role at these dates:

• Welcome Event (Induction) - 08/10/2025

Closing date for these opportunities is: Thursday 9th October 2025

To apply for this opportunity please follow the link below:

Nina Energy

At Nina Energy, we believe that some of the world’s most inequitable regions hold the greatest potential for climate solutions. Across the Global South, smallholder farmers struggle with low incomes, high costs, and limited access to technology — yet they live surrounded by abundant biomass that today is often wasted or burned.

Our vision is to democratize access to biorefinery technology, enabling rural communities to transform agricultural residues into biochar, renewable energy, and carbon credits. By doing so, we turn environmental liabilities into local assets: healthier soils, cleaner air, reduced fossil fuel dependence, and new revenue streams.

As a volunteer, you will join us in building this movement from the ground up — not only developing technology, but also co-creating training programs, cooperative models, and inclusive businesses where women and youth lead. Your skills can directly help us design, scale, and share solutions that bring climate justice and economic resilience to the communities that need them most.

We are not just building machines. We are building a network of community-owned biorefineries across the Global South — hubs of climate action, education, and empowerment. With your support, we can ensure that carbon-negative technologies are not reserved for the wealthy few, but become tools for the many.

Join us to make this vision real — to turn abundant biomass into opportunity, and inequity into resilience.

Finance Assistant (Financial Planning & Analysis)

We are Nina Energy Limited (UK) with operations in Ecuador. We seek a volunteer passionate about climate finance to build an integrated financial model for our modular biorefineries and products (biochar, thermal energy, biocoke/torrefied biomass, pellets, carbon credits).

You will: Build a 3-statement + project finance model (P&L, CF, BS) with scenarios. Model unit economics and cash-flow waterfalls per product/site (CAPEX, OPEX, MRV/issuance fees, pricing, offtakes). Quantify IRR/NPV/Payback by line of business; sensitivity analyses (capacity factor, feedstock cost, heat sales, credit price). Produce investor-ready outputs: summary dashboard + 2-page investment memo. You are not doing bookkeeping; this is an analytical FP&A/project-finance role.

Minimum Hours per Week

7-9 hours per week

Duration

1-2 months

Sharing Seeds

We are a non-profit organization empowering rural communities in Nepal through organic Arabica coffee farming, beekeeping, and women-led community tourism.

Across Nepali villages, many young people migrate to other countries in search of better income, often working in harsh, risky conditions for very little pay—and sometimes losing their lives. At Sharing Seeds, we encourage local youth and women to rediscover opportunities at home by engaging in sustainable cash crop farming and community-based enterprises.

By promoting modern agricultural practices, we help farmers transform unused land into thriving organic coffee and beekeeping ventures. At the same time, we create fair-wage opportunities for rural women, enabling financial independence and stronger families.

Based in Sarangkot Pandeli village near Pokhara, Nepal’s tourism capital, Sharing Seeds is building a future where communities flourish through sustainable farming, women’s empowerment, and authentic tourism experiences.

Graphic Designer (Leaflet)

This is the role for the interested creative volunteer with great experience in graphic design, who can create an outstanding tour flyer for our day tour, which will be combined of mountain biking and visiting our community for the local Nepali lunch and coffee tasting experience, which is produced locally by us. We need this sticker to design and print as a flyer, which will be (12 inch by 18 inch ) and one-third of an A4 design leaflet.

Minimum Hours per Week

2-3 hours per week

Duration

3-4 weeks

Do you want to play your part in supporting one of the UK’s leading disability charities to achieve its ambition for growth, providing more education and long-term living opportunities for people with complex disabilities?

We are seeking several people who share our vision of a world in which people with disabilities are able to realise their potential as equal and active citizens in control of their lives. As a member of our Board, you will also be a company director as the charity is also a registered company.

You will be part of a highly respected national charity, investing in services that will enhance the lives and independence of young people with complex disabilities and learning disabilities.

Our ideal Trustees will:

* Adhere to our values
* Have personal integrity and be able to demonstrate a passion and commitment to National Star
* Prepare and participate actively in meetings
* Work collaboratively with fellow Trustees and Governors, demonstrating empathy and awareness of the needs of others
* Have good communication skills, tact and diplomacy
* Have experience, or a willingness to learn, about strategic thinking and risk
* Have knowledge, or a willingness to learn, about issues affecting people with disabilities and the specialist education sector
* Be prepared to commit time to conduct the role well, including travel and attending events out of office hours.

What you will bring:

We are looking to recruit people with a broad range of experience and are particularly interested in attracting candidates with knowledge / experience of:
* Company law and the specific legal requirements for charities in special needs and social care sectors
* Marketing and communication expertise including networking and fundraising
* Business acumen with a strong financial background

National Star is a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community, including those currently under-represented on our Trustee board, which includes women, people with disabilities and members of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Your commitment to us: 

The Trustee Board meets four times a year, generally during the week between 4pm – 7pm. In addition, Trustees are expected to become active members of a sub-committee. Board papers are distributed in advance to allow Trustees to prepare for each meeting.

We encourage Trustees and Governors to attend annual leavers’ ceremonies in Ullenwood, Wales and Hereford, as well as the colleague recognition awards and colleague long-service awards.

Benefits of joining our Trustee board:

By joining our Trustee board, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are playing a part in the future development of one of the leading disability charities in England and Wales as well as being able to develop your own skills in board level discussions, executive decision making and strategic planning. Your fresh perspective could help us to see things in a different light and your professional expertise could be utilised to support our staff team in delivering our vision and values.

You will gain a broad understanding of the challenges faced by young people with complex disabilities and be able to build your professional network.

Trustee roles at National Star are volunteers. Out of pocket expenses are reimbursed. New Trustees are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check. 
Please note this role is voluntary and therefore not eligible for the full range of staff benefits.

To discover more about our Trustees and Governors please visit our website. 

Join us as a Governor and you will be part of a highly respected national charity, investing in services that will enhance the lives and independence of young people with complex disabilities and learning disabilities.

We are seeking several people who share our vision of a world in which people with disabilities are able to realise their potential as equal and active citizens in control of their lives to become Governors at National Star.

As a Governor you will work with others to oversee and monitor college activities and ensure safeguarding policies for students and employees are maintained. You will ensure students have every opportunity to achieve the best outcomes they can, with access to a personalised, broad and balanced curriculum which prepares them for life after college. 

The Governing body approves the quality strategy of National Star and agrees targets and monitors progress to achieve continuous improvement.

Our ideal Governors will:

* Adhere to our values
* Have personal integrity and be able to demonstrate a passion and commitment to National Star
* Prepare and participate actively in meetings
* Work collaboratively with fellow Trustees and Governors, demonstrating empathy and awareness of the needs of others
* Have good communication skills, tact and diplomacy
* Have experience, or a willingness to learn, about strategic thinking and risk
* Have knowledge, or a willingness to learn, about issues affecting people with disabilities and the specialist education sector
* Be prepared to commit time to conduct the role well, including travel and attending events out of office hours.

You will bring: 

We are looking to recruit people with a broad range of experience and are particularly interested in attracting candidates with knowledge / experience of 
* Special Educational Needs sector
* Policy and Legislation with regard to special needs
* A strong interest in and experience of promoting the learner voice

National Star is a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community, including those currently under-represented on our Governing body, which include people with disabilities and members of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Your commitment to us:

Governors typically devote around 12 hours a month to their roles at National Star. Some months are busier than others, due to the cycle of meetings but generally you will have 3 formal meetings (termly) plus 2 informal development sessions each year.  To help you to plan your time all meetings are set by July for the next academic year. Each Governor has a lead responsibility which will involve them having contact/ meetings with key staff between meetings.

Papers are distributed in advance to allow Governors to prepare for each meeting.

We encourage Governors and Trustees to attend annual leavers’ ceremonies in Ullenwood, Wales and Hereford, as well as the colleague recognition awards and colleague long-service awards.

Benefits of joining our Governing body:

By joining our Governing body, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are playing a part in the future development of one of the leading disability charities in England and Wales as well as having the opportunity to expand your own skills, knowledge and professional development with the support of the whole team.

Your fresh perspective could help us to see things in a different light and your professional expertise could be utilised to support our staff team in delivering our vision and values.

You will gain a broad understanding of the challenges faced by young people with complex disabilities and be able to build your professional network.

Governors at National Star are volunteers. Out of pocket expenses are reimbursed. New Governors are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check. 

Discover more about becoming a Governor at National Star by visiting our website.

 Please note this role is voluntary and therefore not eligible for the full range of staff benefits. 

Work and Skills in an online personal development programme aimed at providing people living with HIV who are unemployed or in unsuitable work with online peer support, online work ready workshops and online 1-2-1 employment mentoring.

The online employment mentor is an integral part of the support structure for each individual, providing space for the participant to ask questions, set goals and plan how to achieve them, explore work and volunteering ideas, reflect on their skills and gain feedback on job/volunteering applications and interview technique.