Business operations manager volunteer roles

Hay Festival Foundation Ltd. (HFF) is an internationally recognised charity, founded in Hay-on-Wye in Wales 38 years ago, operating in the UK and abroad. As a charity, we have a commitment to literature, culture, arts, and ideas, expanding, sharing, and contributing to the development of the arts, creativity, talent and skills through our activities (festivals, education, fundraising and trading). We are seeking a dynamic trustee with expertise to join the Board.

Hay Festival editions take place in Wales, UK and internationally, currently in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, USA, Africa, Ukraine and Europe.

We are seeking a trustees with skills in the following areas:

• International experience within cultural or creative sectors

• Digital production and media expertise

• Fund development and high-net-worth access

• Capital project and infrastructure development

We’re looking for someone who believes deeply in the power of creativity and who can help steward the organisation with care, imagination and strategic oversight. It’s a voluntary role, but a hugely meaningful one and a chance to make a lasting difference to the future of the Super Power Agency.

I’ve attached our Chair of Trustees recruitment pack, which gives more detail about the role, the moment we’re in as an organisation and the kind of person we’re hoping to find . You might know someone brilliant who would be a great fit – or you might even feel curious yourself, please get in touchle

JOB PURPOSE:

To support the Finance & Accounting Team by accurately tracking donations and financial transactions, maintaining clear and auditable records, and assisting with routine reconciliations, ensuring transparency, accountability, and timely financial information to support ethical decision-making within the CIC.

About the role:

The Volunteer Finance Associate supports the Finance & Accounting Team by accurately tracking donations and financial transactions, maintaining clean and auditable financial records, and assisting with routine reconciliations. This role is essential in ensuring transparency, accountability, and timely financial information to support ethical decision-making within the CIC.

Experience Qualification and Requirements

Essential Technical Competencies

• Practical experience supporting finance or accounting processes at organisational level.
• Experience recording, tracking, and reconciling financial transactions or donations.
• Familiarity with accounting software such as:
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • or equivalent finance systems
• Ability to maintain accurate, audit-ready financial records and documentation.
• Working knowledge of basic accounting principles and financial controls.
• Strong numerical accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to escalate discrepancies or irregularities clearly and promptly.
• Understanding of confidentiality, ethical finance handling, and data integrity.
• Ability to manage multiple finance tasks while meeting internal deadlines.
• Equivalent professional or voluntary experience accepted.

Desirable Competencies

• Experience working within non-profit, CIC, charity, or community-based organisations.
• Exposure to donation platforms, fundraising tools, or payment processors.
• Experience supporting finance teams in volunteer-led or resource-constrained environments.
• Familiarity with financial reporting for internal or governance purposes.
• Awareness of compliance, audit, or internal controls in small organisations.

Qualifications

• Formal qualifications: Not strictly required.
• Education background: Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business, or related field preferred.
• Professional experience: Equivalent practical or voluntary experience accepted.
• Finance, ethics, or data protection training: Required once in post (training can be provided).

Main Responsibilities/ Key Duties

• Record and track all donations received through approved fundraising and payment platforms in a timely and accurate manner.
• Assist with the reconciliation of donation records against bank statements and payment processor reports.
• Support the maintenance of accurate financial data within accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or equivalent systems.
• Prepare basic financial summaries, donation breakdowns, and internal reports for review by the Lead Financial Accountant.
• Assist with filing, document management, and maintaining audit-ready financial records in line with CIC policies.
• Ensure financial records are complete, clearly labelled, and stored in accordance with internal retention and compliance standards.
• Escalate discrepancies, missing information, or irregular transactions promptly and clearly to the Lead Financial Accountant.
• Adhere strictly to the CIC’s financial policies, ethical standards, and confidentiality requirements at all times.
• Support ad-hoc finance tasks as required to assist with month-end or internal reporting processes.

You must:

• Be aligned with the CIC’s mission, values, and ethical, anti-capitalist stance.
• Be willing to commit at a founding level during the unpaid build phase of the organisation.
• Be comfortable working with evolving or incomplete financial systems and helping to build structure, clarity, and good practice.
• Be able to work responsibly with sensitive financial and donor data.
• Be comfortable collaborating across multiple teams, including Finance, Operations, Fundraising, and Leadership.
• Be able to follow guidance, policies, and controls while also exercising sound judgement.

You should bring experience in some of the following:

• Supporting finance, accounting, or data processes within small organisations or teams.
• Donation tracking, income recording, or financial data management.
• Working with accounting software, spreadsheets, or structured financial systems.
• Reconciliation, data checking, or basic internal reporting.
• Maintaining accurate records in low-resource or volunteer-led environments.
• Working with limited budgets in non-profit, CIC, or purpose-led settings.

Formal qualifications are not strictly required, but relevant education is desirable.
Essential equivalent practical or voluntary experience is mandatory.

Next Steps

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to:

• A values-led conversation focused on ethics, accountability, and mission alignment.
• A practical discussion around financial processes, data accuracy, and working within evolving systems.

If you believe that transparent, well-managed finances are essential to trust, safeguarding, and long-term impact, this role is for you.

A Final Word

Transparency is power and responsibility.

If you know that:

• Financial integrity builds public trust
• Data accuracy protects communities and donors
• Accountability matters more than scale

Then your contribution here will matter.

About us

VoiceAbility is an independent charity and one of the UK’s largest providers of advocacy and involvement services. We deliver a wide range of service contracts funded by local authorities, health trusts and other voluntary and private sector organisations.

We’ve been supporting people to have their say in decisions about their health, care, and wellbeing for over 40 years. We make sure people are heard when it matters most.  For more information on what Advocacy is and the services offered then please visit our website.

About the role?

Our Trustees play a critical role in the organisation, helping set the strategy and review progress in relation to it, providing support, challenge and expertise to the Chief Executive and Directors.

A Trustee plays an essential role in seeking to maximise VoiceAbility’s positive impact as well as to stretch and hold to account the Chief Executive.

The role also has ultimate responsibility for the compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as ensuring that the organisation acts in line with its charitable objectives and is financially stable. Trustees work as a team, applying good judgement and taking collective responsibility.

About you

We are looking for a Trustee with sound independent judgement, strategic vision and the ability to think creatively.  You will embody the organisations values and act in the best interests of the charity at all times. 

You will be engaged and motivated by the work of VoiceAbility and be able to build strong relationships and have experience of working as a non-Executive director or Trustee; however, lived experience is equally important.

We are seeking to recruit Trustees who bring Expertise in Finance, Safeguarding, Human Resources, Commercial and Operational Delivery.

Time commitment

Approximately one day per month.  Please note that this time commitment will be spread across multiple days and is likely to be cyclical.

There are four board meetings per annum.  Board meetings tend to be online, but face-to-face, or hybrid meetings may take place from time to time.  There would also be a commitment of two to four committee meetings per annum, a board strategy or development day and site visits.  Each trustee will also belong to at least one committee.

Equality and Diversity

VoiceAbility believes in fostering an inclusive workplace which welcomes, values, and celebrates the diversity of its staff and partners, treats all on a basis of equality and encourages all to meet their maximum potential.

VoiceAbility are a Disability Confident employer, any applicant that identifies themselves as having a disability and can demonstrate that they meet all the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.  If you need to apply in a different way, please contact HR for further options.

How to apply

Please follow the link to our latest vacancy page

Important Dates:

Closing date for applications: 

28 February 2026

 Interviews to be held: ongoing

Become a Trustee at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Newcastle Theatre Royal is one of the best loved and most recognised large scale, regional theatres in the UK creating moments of magic both on and off-stage. Our iconic Grade I listed building sits in the heart of Newcastle city centre and presents a diverse programme showcasing world class musicals, dance, opera and drama as well as our annual show-stopping pantomime, entertaining people of all ages from across the region.

Committed to creating a love of theatre for everyone, that lasts a lifetime, our wide-ranging Creative Engagement programme is central to our creative and artistic programme and provides pathways and opportunities to access, explore and enjoy creative activities for people of all ages, and support talent development in Newcastle and across the North East.

As an independent charity which receives no regular funding, ensuring financial resilience by broadening our income streams is key to our long-term future. Our Executive and staff team are supported by a committed and ambitious Board of Trustees.

We seek new Trustees to join our board – individuals who bring skills and lived experience to broaden the range of voices and perspectives in our leadership. We are looking to appoint a number of Trustees across a range of skill sets to complement the make up of our current board members, but in this round of recruitment, we are specifically looking for trustees with experience in:

• HR and overseeing People & Culture Strategies
• Creative, artistic or engagement experience in large scale cultural venues
• Catering and retail
• Capital Projects and Fundraising (related to listed buildings or cultural venues)

This is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful difference and support our aim to be a theatre for everyone. We encourage and welcome interest from candidates who will bring different lived experiences and perspectives to the Trust.

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.