Advice service manager volunteer roles

GFS is a charity dedicated to enabling girls and young women to become unstoppable. We are seeking people who are committed to gender equality, passionate about youth development, and who value safe, inclusive spaces for girls and young women. 

Roles: Various Trustee positions, including Safeguarding, HR and Treasurer

As a Trustee you will provide leadership and contribute to the Board of Trustees enabling the fulfilment of responsibilities for the overall governance and strategic direction of GFS.

We are looking for Trustees who care deeply about our mission and who bring experience, skills and enthusiasm to help steer the charity into its next chapter.

• The Treasurer is a member of the GFS Board of Trustees and is responsible for leading the Board’s oversight of the organisation’s financial strategy, governance, and sustainability.
• The Safeguarding Trustee provides strategic leadership and assurance on all aspects of safeguarding across GFS. They ensure that the Board of Trustees fulfils its collective duty to protect all children, young people, and adults at risk who come into contact with GFS’s activities.
• We are also looking for Trustees with experience in Human Resources and being part of People teams.
• See Treasurer and HR Trustee roles for more details.

Overall Purpose

Provide leadership and contribute to the Board of Trustees enabling the fulfilment of responsibilities for the overall governance and strategic direction of GFS. Assist in developing GFS’s aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the Memorandum & Articles, Bye-Laws and legal and regulatory guidelines. Help drive the organisation forward, increasing its effectiveness for the benefit of girls and young women.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensuring that the values and mission of GFS are upheld in all of the decisions and decision-making processes of the Board.
• Contributing actively to the Board’s discussions on the strategic plans for GFS and supporting the Leadership Team to implement them.
• Ensuring that GFS operates in accordance with its governing documents, charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations.
• Maintaining oversight of GFS’s performance, safeguarding, finances, and risk management.
• Supporting the CEO and Leadership Team by providing constructive challenge and guidance as required.
• Acting as an advocate for GFS, promoting its work and representing the organisation externally when appropriate. 

Time Commitment

• GFS’s Board Members serve an initial three-year term and are eligible for reappointment for an additional term.
• Three Virtual Board meetings and an in person in either in Central London or a central city (meetings are currently held on Saturdays).
• Occasional strategy days, workshops or working groups.
• Quarterly Sub - Committee membership depending on skills and capacity.
• Ad-hoc support to the GFS Staff team in line with personal experience 

Closing date: Monday 16th February, 9am 

Optional Q&A Session: To be booked individually by contacting our recruitment team. 

Interviews: Thursday 26th and Friday 27th February 

Become a Trustee of Young Citizens and help light the spark of active citizenship for children and young people 

With citizenship education set to become statutory in primary schools, votes at 16 on the horizon, and growing concern about the health of our democracy, this is a pivotal moment to join Young Citizens as a Trustee. 

For over 35 years, Young Citizens has helped children and young people understand society, engage in democracy and make a positive impact in their communities. Through flagship programmes like The Big Legal Lesson, The Big Democracy Lesson, the Make a Difference Challenge and the National Mock Trial Competitions, we bring citizenship to life in classrooms and communities across the UK – reaching 300,000+ young people every year. 

Our five-year strategy, Lighting the Spark, is focused on making sure every young person in the UK experiences powerful, practical and immersive citizenship learning. As a Trustee, you will help shape this next phase of growth, strengthen our financial sustainability, and ensure we make the most of the opportunities ahead.

This is a voluntary role (reasonable expenses reimbursed) and a chance to play a strategic part in strengthening UK democracy through education. 

Role Snapshot 

• Shape Young Citizens’ strategic direction and monitor performance 
• Ensure compliance with charity law and our governing document 
• Safeguard the charity’s values, reputation, and financial integrity 
• Oversee effective use of resources and long-term sustainability 
• Support and advise the CEO, ensuring delivery against agreed objectives 
• Act as an ambassador, promoting Young Citizens and building relationships with partners, funders, and supporters 

Why join as a Young Citizens Trustee? 

Being a Young Citizens trustee is a strategic and deeply rewarding opportunity. You will: 

• Help steer a national charity at a pivotal moment for citizenship education and democracy 
• Collaborate with fellow trustees bringing expertise in education, law, finance, communications, governance, and public affairs 
• See our impact first-hand by attending key events such as programme launches and the National Finals of our competitions 
• Support a small but highly skilled staff team (around 13 colleagues across the UK) and a network of 1500+ professional volunteers 
• Contribute to decisions on resource investment, digital development, programme growth, and deepening impact 

In short, you’ll help ensure hundreds of thousands of young people every year gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to participate meaningfully in society. 

What We Are Looking For 

We’re seeking two trustees who can help Young Citizens expand our reach, influence, and financial resilience. You don’t need prior trustee experience, we provide a full induction, safeguarding training, and ongoing support.

We’re especially interested in those with expertise in one or more of the following areas: 

• Citizenship teaching or school leadership – understanding how schools work and how to embed civic learning and active citizenship across the curriculum. 
• Marketing, communications and influencing – building brands, running campaigns, shifting perceptions and engaging educators, young people and supporters. 
• Business growth, strategic partnerships and business development – scaling organisations, securing strategic partnerships and growing mission-aligned income streams. 
• Digital transformation or innovation – using digital tools, products or platforms to grow impact. 
• Fundraising and income generation – philanthropy, trusts and foundations, corporate fundraising or individual giving. 

We continue to welcome applications from those experienced in leadership, public service, law, finance, policy or youth engagement.

If you’re ready to help steer a national charity at a pivotal moment for citizenship education, influence strategy and strengthen UK democracy through education, we’d love to hear from you!

Role Requirements 

The role requires around 4–6 hours per month, including preparation and engagement between meetings. Trustees attend four board meetings a year at our St Paul's office (usually weekday evenings), monthly online finance updates, and an annual Away Day. Appointments are for an initial three-year term, with potential renewal. While day-to-day operations are led by the Chief Executive and senior team, trustees hold ultimate responsibility for governance and compliance.

To learn more about the role and the application process, please refer to the job pack for full details. 

Do you want a career in the Charity Sector? Why not take part in our Virtual Career Taster Week!

The British Red Cross is offering a Career Taster week which will give you an insight into the world of work with world’s biggest humanitarian organisation and the charity sector. The week will include workshops, training and a virtual networking event at the end of the week!

Work experience placements give an opportunity to gain experience within different departments and an insight into the work of the British Red Cross.

The placement will run from the 23rd February to 27th February 2026, from 10.00 - 13.00 each day. The sessions will be online via teams.

The scheme is predominantly open to young people aged 15- 25 year olds and there are 30 places available.

The week will cover the following:

Induction to the British Red Cross: You will learn about the history of the movement, our work and fundamental principles as well as gaining First Aid skills.

Career Development Workshop: In this workshop you will learn about career opportunities, be able to develop your CV and application writing skills as well as learn interview skills.

Digital Media: You will learn about how to keep yourself safe online and what different annotations me in the social media world.

International Humanitarian Law: You will learn about humanitarian law and what it means in today’s society.

Networking Event: You will meet staff members from different teams and learn about their career journeys!

Do you want to join an organisation committed to addressing low literacy and numeracy?

Volunteers are essential to Shannon Trust and bring their energy, ideas and skills to train mentors in prisons, support learners in the community and enhance our business support team.

We are looking for volunteers to provide training and support to our mentors in prison. There may be some additional preparation and/ or administrative tasks in between volunteering days at the prison.

Our prison volunteers nurture the growth of the Shannon Trust in their prison. They help unlock the power of reading by delivering training sessions for prison mentors and offering ongoing advice, guidance and support through mentor meetings.

Volunteer recruitment dates

The closing date for applications to attend our next round of training is 3 May 2026. In some circumstances, volunteer vacancies may close early. Successful applicants will be sent interview questions in advance with notice to prepare. We will respond to all applications. Successful applicants will be invited to an interview between 4 May and 15 May 2026. This is an opportunity for you to meet our regional team, to find out more about you and for us to share more information about the volunteering role.

Training:

You'll be given high quality training to prepare you for volunteering with Shannon Trust. This takes place over 4 training sessions and via our online training portal. We ask that volunteers aim to complete the training in one course as this means that you will be ready to start actively volunteering. The next training sessions for volunteering for people applying to be a prison based volunteer will take place as follows.

Please check that you can attend all of the training the dates prior to applying:

• 27 May 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom)

• 3 June 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom)

• 10 June 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom)

• 1 July 2026, 10am-4pm (in person session, London)

You’ll also receive the opportunity to attend ongoing training sessions and peer support meetings during your time as a volunteer to build your skills and experience.

Why we want you

Shannon Trust’s vision is of a future where everyone can experience the positive impact of learning. As a prison volunteer your role will be at the heart of our organisation as you support our mentors in prisons. This will include delivering training to new mentors and supporting existing mentors to develop and deliver our Turning Pages and Count Me In programmes. You will be volunteering alongside Shannon Trust facilitators and / or frontline prison staff to empower mentors and ensure no one is left out of learning.

What you will be doing

• Delivering initial, and ongoing, training to mentors in prisons
• Supporting and encouraging the Shannon Trust facilitator and mentors to attract new learners and expand the reach of the Shannon Trust programme
• Arranging and leading mentor meetings to develop mentors’ skills, share good practice and to provide support to mentors to find solutions to concerns
• Supporting facilitators to engage prison staff and people in prison to set-up, maintain and develop the Shannon Trust reading and numeracy programmes across the whole prison, and contributing to progress planning for how to progress and achieve this
• Using your skills to build positive relationships with frontline prison staff, people in prison and other organisations
• Training and supporting mentors to collect and submit data and learner feedback
• Supporting with the planning of, and attendance at, celebration events
• Collecting and sharing good news stories and feedback
• Attending area meetings and sharing good practice with other volunteers
• Engaging with quarterly reviews to receive support and discuss progress
• Acting as an ambassador for Shannon Trust in all that you do, sharing the vision and values of the charity throughout your volunteering

The skills you need

• A commitment to providing non-judgemental support to people in prison
• Able to give a regular, reliable commitment for ideally two years and have flexibility to visit the prison at times required
• Strong communication skills and are able to use these to inspire others
• Able to deliver engaging training and identify training and support needs for mentors
• Able to manage own time and prioritise
• Able to keep up to date with Shannon Trust news and communications and share relevant information with the wider prison team
• Able to use IT

What's in it for you

• Developing and growing your understanding of the HMPPS structure and prison system
• Reasonable, out of pocket, volunteering expenses are
• You will receive induction training and ongoing training to support and develop you in your role
• All volunteers receive ongoing support and quarterly reviews to enable you to gain the most from your volunteering experience
• We recognise and are grateful for the added value that volunteers bring to our organisation
• We provide flexible volunteering opportunities, subject to the requirements of your role

Disclaimer

In some circumstances, volunteer vacancies may close early.

Become a Young Trustee of Young Citizens and help light the spark of active citizenship for children and young people!

With citizenship education set to become statutory in primary schools, votes at 16 on the horizon, and growing concern about the health of our democracy, this is a pivotal moment to join Young Citizens as a Young Trustee.

For over 35 years, Young Citizens has helped children and young people understand society, engage in democracy and make a positive impact in their communities. Through flagship programmes like The Big Legal Lesson, The Big Democracy Lesson, the Make a Difference Challenge and National Mock Trial Competitions, we bring citizenship to life in classrooms and communities across the UK – reaching 300,000+ young people every year.

Our five-year strategy, Lighting the Spark, is focused on making sure every young person in the UK experiences powerful, practical and immersive citizenship learning. As a Young Trustee, you will help shape this next phase of growth, strengthen our financial sustainability, and ensure we make the most of the opportunities ahead.

This is a voluntary role (reasonable expenses reimbursed) and a chance to play a strategic part in strengthening UK democracy through education.

Role Snapshot: 

• Contribute to shaping Young Citizens’ strategic direction and monitoring performance
• Help ensure compliance with charity law and our governing document (training provided)
• Safeguard the charity’s values, reputation, and financial integrity
• Support effective use of resources and long-term sustainability
• Work with fellow trustees to advise and support the CEO
• Act as an ambassador for Young Citizens, promoting our mission and building connections

Why join as a Young Trustee?

• Play an important role in guiding a national charity at a critical time for civic education.
• Bring your perspective as a young person to Board discussions - your lived experience matters.
• Gain governance experience, develop leadership skills, and learn how charities operate.
• Receive full induction, safeguarding training, and ongoing support, including a mentor trustee.

In short, you’ll help ensure hundreds of thousands of young people every year gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to participate meaningfully in society.

What We Are Looking For

We’re looking for young trustees who bring fresh ideas, big-picture thinking, and a collaborative spirit. You’ll approach the role with openness and integrity, ready to learn, grow, and champion Young Citizens beyond the boardroom.

We welcome applications from young people aged 18–25 who are passionate about active citizenship and youth voice. You do not need prior board experience - training and support will be provided. We’re looking for potential, and learning as you go is part of the role. If you have experience or interest in any of the following areas, that’s great (but not essential):

• Citizenship education or youth engagement
• Marketing, communications, or influencing
• Business growth and partnerships
• Digital innovation or technology
• Fundraising and income generation

We also welcome diverse experiences or educational backgrounds, including leadership, public service, law, finance, policy, or community involvement.

If you want to play an active role in guiding strategy and making decisions that matter, ensuring hundreds of thousands of young people every year have the skills and confidence to engage fully in society, we’d love to hear from you!

Role Requirements

The role requires around 4–6 hours per month, including preparation and engagement between meetings. Trustees attend four board meetings a year (usually weekday evenings in London), monthly online finance updates, and an annual Away Day. Appointments are for an initial three-year term, with potential renewal. While day-to-day operations are led by the Chief Executive and senior team, trustees hold ultimate responsibility for governance and compliance. 

To learn more about the role and the application process, please refer to the job pack for full details.

Are you passionate about Jesus and gospel outreach into London?

Are you looking for a rewarding opportunity to serve as a Trustee or as an Independent Sub-Committee Member?

Then London City Mission would like to hear from you!

London City Mission serves the church of London in sharing the love of God and the good news of Jesus Christ with the communities least likely to hear the Gospel.

One in three people don’t have a Christian friend to invite them to church, open a Bible with them, or tell them the good news of Jesus. We want to see that change. The poor areas of London are incredibly diverse, in fact London is the most ethnically diverse in the world, growing at over 100,000 people a year. The world has come to London – we long to see the Gospel taken to the world by working alongside churches to visit homes and go out into the streets of London with the good news of the Gospel.

Our monthly team gatherings are full of testimonies of how God is working amongst the communities least likely to hear the Gospel, and our deep conviction is that much more needs to be done – and can be done – at this urgent hour for London.

We are seeking to make up to five appointments; a mixture of Trustees (likely time commitment: 10-12 days a year) and Independent Sub-Committee Members (likely time commitment: 4 days a year). Individuals who bring expertise in one or more of the following areas:

Safeguarding – someone with safeguarding expertise who can provide strategic oversight, ensure robust policies and reporting procedures, and champion a culture of safety across the organisation.

HR - someone with HR expertise who can support organisational people practices, strengthen workforce policies, and provide strategic insight on recruitment, performance, and staff wellbeing.

Fundraising – someone with fundraising expertise who can guide income-generation strategy, strengthen donor relationships, and support LCM to diversify and grow its funding base.

Property – someone with professional property expertise who can advise on asset optimisation, and support strategic decisions regarding sales, leases, and maintenance.

Finance – most likely a qualified Accountant with strategic financial leadership skills and a passion to see resources deployed for Kingdom-purpose.

Through these roles the successful candidate will be able to make a difference in London for the salvation of souls and to the glory of God.

We appreciate the rich diversity of our Trustees, Sub-Committee Members and Staff and seek to create a culture where everyone develops and fulfils their potential. We recognise the immense value of different perspectives brought by those with varied backgrounds, characteristics and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented sections of the community (specifically in our context, individuals of Global Majority Heritage and those at an earlier stage of career).

In order to support greater diversity of experience and career stages, we encourage those earlier in their career to consider an Independent Sub-Committee Member role as a pathway to Trusteeship.

These posts are subject to an occupational requirement that the postholders are practising Christians under Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010.

We are looking for horse-experienced volunteers and/or volunteers with experience working with people with disabilities to help support our RDA participants during their weekday riding as therapy sessions.

Horse-based roles would include:

1) Support catching and bringing horses in from field or stable.

2)Helping groom and tack up

3)Leading horses (if experienced with horses or have completed internal training) 

4)Side-helping - Walking alongside the participant on the ride to support them emotionally and help pass on instructions given by the Coach

Other roles would include:

1)Meets and greets with participants and parents and/or carers as they arrive for activities

2)Setting up the school before sessions and helping break down the school after sessions

3)Completing registers and helping with rotas

There are also opportunities for volunteers to undertake further training towards becoming a registered RDA Instructor. Our sessions are run entirely by volunteers. We are looking for positive, friendly and forward thinking individuals to join us!

Inclusive Boards is delighted to support Bowel Cancer UK in their search to appoint three new Trustees. 

Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. They support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease, and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

Bowel Cancer UK is entering a defining period for the charity. Their strategy places bold focus on early diagnosis, improved treatment and care, accelerating research, and ensuring that every voice—especially those less often heard—shapes their direction.

About the Trustee opportunities:

We are seeking three talented and committed Trustees with a particularly interested in hearing from candidates with experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Professional healthcare (not only medics) with experience in research and caring for bowel cancer patients
• Fundraising / income generation

The charity is also keen for the Board to reflect more fully the UK-wide nature of their role and work, noting particularly that they don’t currently have a Board Member from Wales, as well as groups disproportionately affected by bowel cancer. For example, research shows that:

• Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with bowel cancer in an emergency setting. These are often at a later stage, when bowel cancer is harder to treat.
• Black people are more likely than white people to be diagnosed in an emergency setting, when bowel cancer is harder to treat.
• People from ethnic minority groups have a lower participation rate in the bowel cancer screening programme than white people.

Bowel Cancer UK is committed to widening the diversity of the Board to reflect a broad and inclusive range of backgrounds and skills, and would welcome applicants who reflect the diverse communities that they serve.

Are you based in the West or East Midlands and looking for an opportunity to create positive social change, meet new people and learn new things? Music Therapy Works is looking for three-to-four committed, motivated people to join the Board as Trustees, enabling even more people to benefit from Music Therapy.

We are looking, in particular, for one or more of the following skills/experience to complement our existing Trustees:

• Finance
• Digital
• Safeguarding
• Fundraising
• Company Secretary
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• Environmental sustainability

If you don't have any of these skills or experience please consider applying anyway! We're keen to hear from people with time and energy to commit to the valuable work of our charity.

We also want our Board to reflect the diverse community that Music Therapy Works supports.

We would really like to hear from you if you:

• Have a background in social care and/or safeguarding     
• Have a background in Music Therapy or a related field 
• Reflect MTW’s beneficiaries. For example: are you a disabled person? Do you have mental health needs? Are you a parent or teacher of a young disabled person, or a young person with mental health needs? Are you part of an adoptive family or do you work with children in care? Are you a carer for a person with dementia?

This Role Protects Our People and Our Purpose

At Tell My Truth and Shame the Devil C.I.C., our work intersects with survivors of CSA, vulnerable young people, and marginalised communities. Content, engagement, and community interaction can surface trauma, risk, or harmful behaviours. The Community Moderation & Safeguarding Officer ensures that all digital and community spaces operate safely, ethically, and responsibly, protecting members, volunteers, and the CIC itself.This is not a passive role. It is a high-responsibility, systems-driven position where vigilance and structured response are critical.

Purpose of the Role

This role is responsible for:

• Protecting members from harm
• Preventing retraumatisation
• Upholding community standards
• Supporting moderators and volunteers
• Ensuring safeguarding procedures are followed in real time

The role-holder ensures that the community does not drift into chaos, harm, or uncontained disclosure.

About the role:

To manage safeguarding and moderation protocols across all digital platforms and community touchpoints, acting as the first point of escalation for risk, abuse, or harmful content.

To uphold UK safeguarding compliance, maintain accurate records, support moderation teams, and advise leadership on risk trends, mitigation, and community safety — protecting trust and ethical engagement.

Experience Qualification and Requirements

Essential experience

• Practical experience in safeguarding, child protection, or vulnerable-adult contexts, or closely related roles involving risk assessment and duty of care.
• Background in social care, youth work, education, community services, mental health, or survivor-support environments with sensitive disclosures.
• Experience moderating online communities or managing safety in digital spaces, particularly those involving vulnerable or at-risk groups.
• Proven ability to identify risk, assess severity, and respond appropriately, including recognising when immediate escalation is required.
• Experience handling incidents and maintaining clear, factual documentation and records in line with safeguarding expectations.
• Experience contributing to or applying safeguarding policies, protocols, or guidance in real-world settings.

Essential skills

• Strong understanding of safeguarding principles, boundaries, confidentiality, and safe handling of disclosures.
• Ability to apply a trauma-informed approach, communicating calmly and respectfully while prioritising safety and dignity.
• Clear written communication skills for incident logs, escalation summaries, and internal reporting.
• Sound judgement and emotional resilience when working with distressing or sensitive material.
• Ability to support and guide volunteers, providing clear advice and reassurance on moderation decisions.
• High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy, confidentiality, and safeguarding compliance.
• Confidence following structured protocols, checklists, and escalation routes without deviation.

Desirable (not required)

• Experience with CSA, exploitation, domestic abuse, or safeguarding-led community organisations.
• Experience delivering safeguarding or moderation training to volunteers or staff.
• Familiarity with UK safeguarding expectations and referral processes.
• Confidence using shared digital tools such as Teams, spreadsheets, forms, and incident trackers.

Formal qualifications

• Formal qualifications are not required; equivalent professional experience is essential.
• Full training will be provided on CIC-specific safeguarding and moderation protocols.

Main Responsibilities/ Key Duties

• Develop, implement, and maintain clear moderation and safeguarding frameworks that are trauma-informed, practical, and consistently applied across all CIC platforms.
• Monitor all community spaces to identify harmful or abusive behaviour, boundary violations, and high-risk disclosures involving children, survivors, or vulnerable adults.
• Take timely moderation action in line with protocols, including content removal, access restrictions, warnings, or escalation to safeguarding leads.
• Escalate safeguarding incidents promptly and accurately in accordance with CIC procedures, prioritising cases involving immediate or serious risk.
• Maintain accurate, confidential records of incidents, actions taken, outcomes, and follow-ups to ensure accountability and audit readiness.
• Support a safe and respectful community culture by reinforcing behaviour standards, tone-of-voice guidance, and survivor-centred practices.
• Train and support volunteers in trauma-informed moderation, safeguarding awareness, confidentiality, and correct escalation pathways.
• Review incident trends and recurring risks, recommending improvements to moderation systems, guidance, and preventative controls.
• Liaise closely with Social Media Engagement Officers, Campaign Managers, and Membership & Community Directors to ensure joined-up safeguarding practice.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by supporting updates to policies, protocols, response scripts, and internal safeguarding documentation.

This role is not suitable if you:

• Avoid conflict or risk
• Seek casual, low-commitment volunteer work
• Are unable to follow structured protocols
• Prefer creative or posting roles over operational responsibility
• Expect immediate paid employment

Important to Be Clear

• This is a volunteer role during the build phase
• It carries real responsibility and accountability
• Paid roles will emerge as funding and sustainability allow

Next Steps

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to:

• A values-led and ethics conversation
• A practical safeguarding scenario discussion

If you believe that safety and ethical oversight are as important as strategy and content, this role is for you.

A Final Word

Safeguarding is about people, not procedures.

If you know that:
Protection requires vigilance and structure
Documentation is a safeguarding responsibility
Ethical oversight keeps trust intact

Make a difference – become a school governor

You do not have to be a parent or member of staff to be a school governor – applications are appreciated from all with an interest in the local community. School governors come from all walks of life and specialist knowledge is not always needed. What IS essential is a desire to get involved in children’s education and make a difference to their lives.

We welcome applications from those with educational, health & safety and safeguarding experience but school governors are all volunteers and training and support is provided. The University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust partners new governors with a ‘buddy’ – a trusted and more experienced colleague on the governing body – who initially acts as their mentor. Briefing information and assistance is also available through newsletters, websites and helplines provided by the Department for Education.

The Politics Project is looking to expand its board and bring in new perspectives, skills and experience to support the next phase of our work.

We are at an exciting point in our development. We have funding secured for the next 2–3 years, a growing staff team, and a strong national profile. This period of growth coincides with a pivotal moment for democratic education in the UK. As Votes at 16 is introduced, The Politics Project is playing a leading role in supporting schools, youth organisations, civil society and policymakers to ensure young people are equipped to participate meaningfully in democracy. We are seeking new Non-Executive Directors to help guide our strategic direction, strengthen our governance, and support our long-term impact.

About The Politics Project

Established in 2015, The Politics Project is a Community Interest Company (CN: 09413132) that supports young people across the UK to use their voice by providing them with outstanding democratic education.

We are a non-partisan organisation working with young people, teachers, youth practitioners and elected representatives to help young people learn about, experience and engage in democracy and politics in meaningful ways.

We currently employ 11 full-time members of staff and work in partnership with schools, youth organisations, civil society organisations, and democratic institutions across the UK.

Our work aims to: 

• Support young people to meaningfully engage in politics by building their confidence, knowledge and skills.
• Train and support teachers, youth practitioners and professionals working with young people to deliver high-quality democratic education.
• Support politicians and decision makers to engage constructively with young people to co-create policy. 

Youth voice is embedded in this work through our Youth Steering Group, which brings together young people from across the UK to shape and inform The Politics Project’s programmes and priorities. 

Non-Executive Directors sit on The Politics Project Board and share collective responsibility for the governance, strategy and long-term sustainability of the organisation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Ensuring The Politics Project meets its legal and regulatory responsibilities and delivers its aims.
• Working with the Director to develop and realise the organisation’s vision, values and strategic direction.
• Supporting financial planning and oversight.
• Contributing to organisational policies and good governance.
• Providing strategic challenge, insight and support to the senior leadership team.
• Attending 3–4 Board meetings per year (with additional meetings if required). Meetings are primarily remote, with occasional in-person meetings.
• Acting as an ambassador for The Politics Project and advocating for its work.

Non-Executive Directors are registered as directors with Companies House and are appointed for a three-year term, renewable up to two times.

The role is unpaid, but reasonable expenses agreed in advance will be reimbursed. Time commitment is approximately one day per month.

In line with our safeguarding responsibilities, all Non-Executive Directors are required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.

Who are we looking for? 

We are particularly interested in applicants with experience or expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Democratic education or civic engagement (including academic expertise).
• Education (secondary, further or informal education).
• Network development and leadership.
• Youth sector practice or leadership.
• Business, charity or non-profit development.
• Communications, media or public engagement.
• Digital, data or technology strategy.
• Finance, financial strategy, budgets and governance.
• Fundraising and grant-making.
• Legal and governance expertise.
• Evaluation, research and impact measurement.

We are especially keen to hear from applicants from underrepresented groups and from those whose perspectives are currently less represented in the democracy and education sectors.

You do not need to have previous board experience to apply.

How to apply

To apply please submit a CV and a covering letter via Charity Jobs. The covering letter should be no longer than one side of A4  / a maximum of 500 words. Please apply through Charity Jobs.

In the letter can you explain why you are interested in becoming a Non-Executive Director of The Politics Project and describe how your experience and skills would contribute to our work.

We will conduct interviews as we receive suitable applications.

We are looking for one Trustee & Deputy Chair to join our Charity Trustee Board to support the Union through its next steps. A strong and active Board is crucial for us as we develop and implement our strategy, face challenges, maximise opportunities and endeavour to create an even better Union; one that continues to be flexible and agile enough to react quickly to the changing needs and interests of our student members and achieve our vision.

The Person

The right candidate will thrive in a student led, highly responsive environment and have an enthusiasm for supporting and guiding a student organisation. They will command confidence, have sound judgement and strong communication and leadership skills. We are looking for a trustee with the following skills/experience

Finance Experience: 

• Preferably financial experience from a charity outside of the SU sector
• Understanding of financial oversight
• Ability to interpret financial information to support strategic decision-making
• Awareness of charity finance and regulatory requirements

Chairing Experience: 

• Ability to deputise for the Chair, and chair meetings of the Board
• Ability to build a strong and effective working relationship with the Board of Trustees Chair
• Ability to foster, maintain and ensure that constructive relationships exist with and between the Trustees
• Assist and support the Chair in providing leadership to the Board, through the governance arrangements, and also acting as a ‘sounding board’ and confidante to the Chair in the execution of their role

Due to the current make-up of our Trustee Board, we are not actively searching for candidates with skills, knowledge and experience related to the Student Union and HE sector and we would welcome candidates from other sectors or regions to apply. That said, we would very much like to encourage anyone who feels that they could bring something to our Board to apply, regardless of experience - our purpose and values also lead us to welcome first time Trustees too!

We are strongly dedicated to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within our community and we are passionate about creating a welcoming and inclusive environment which supports everyone from recruitment through to appointment, regardless of your background. We welcome applications from all talented people and as part of this commitment, we are working to improve the diversity of our Trustee Board to ensure that it is as relevant and representative of our student community as possible and are actively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups.

Further Information

Application is via a comprehensive CV plus a supporting statement (of no more than two sides of A4) detailing why you are applying for the position and what requirements you meet to carry out the role

Do you have experience in digital and social media? Can you help us improve our communications and raise the profile of the work we do?

We are seeking an expert, creative Volunteer Digital and Social Media Lead. You will help us promote our programmes supporting people in prison and young people at risk of entering the justice system, as well as our Community Bike Shop, which funds and strengthens this work.

What you’ll do:

• Design and schedule engaging posts, stories, and reels across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more to grow our audience.

• Develop strategies for viral campaigns and collaborations to boost awareness and donations and share your expertise with our team.

• Analyse metrics (engagement, reach, growth) and refine tactics based on what resonates.

• Create eye-catching visuals using tools like Canva.

• Update our website as required and make suggestions for improvements.

• Work with our expert Trustee to consider how we can use online retail platforms to sell our refurbished bikes.

What we’ll provide:

· Creative freedom within agreed priorities and tone of voice.

· Access to the right tools plus shared photos, stories and impact stats.

· A named contact, light-touch sign-off, and occasional check-ins to remove blockers.

Time commitment: we’ll agree a realistic scope with the right volunteer based on their availability.

Reasonable agreed expenses will be paid.

Thank you

Mark Flannagan
Chief Executive

About us

UpCycle, works with individuals in prisons and young people at risk in marginalised communities.  We use bicycle maintenance workshops to help build life skills, enhance employability, prevent offending and reoffending, and foster social reintegration.  We also offer lead rides, bike fit-it sessions and other ways to engage with vulnerable people.

In prisons

· We delivered 956 un-refurbished bikes and received back 768 refurbished bikes across eight prisons and one Young Offenders Institution, training over 238 individuals.

In the Community

· Over 1034 bikes were donated to our Community Bike Shop, of those we refurbished and distributed more than 612 to underserved communities locally and overseas.

· Workshops in Bradford engaged 361 participants in diverse cycling-related activities across the area.

· "Bike to the Future" and other initiatives reached 220 young people with more complex needs.