Community education manager volunteer roles

Dive into lasting impact: Fundraise for East London Waterworks Park to create and shape natural swimming ponds, ecological habitats and community gardens

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

If you would like to help us develop our digital fundraising and our online offer, would you like to join our fundraising and communications teams in creating and implementing a strategy? We would love to hear from anyone with experience of fundraising online or with enthusiasm and a desire to test things out and learn as you go along. Recently we raised over half a million pounds through our Crowdfunder. Now we are looking to create a sustainable medium term income stream online.

The Fundraising Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Thursday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely. We understand that people may not have a lot of time to give, so we want to find volunteers who could give us one-off or ongoing strategic advice and support.

If you have experience in writing grants and funding applications, corporate fundraising, philanthropy, or any other aspect of fundraising, it would be great to hear from you. 

We are keen fundraisers but we are lacking professional in digital fundraising expertise and experience and we would love your help and input. We would welcome one-off advice on the phone or in person, as well as longer term volunteers. 

East London Waterworks Park is an exciting and ambitious project that offers many rewarding opportunities for our volunteers. You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds and forest schools. 

By leading fundraising projects that explore how diverse professionals (architects, ecologists, web developers, community researchers etc.) collaborate to shape community infrastructure, volunteers will directly contribute to the development of a park that truly reflects the needs and desires of the local community. 

Without funding we won’t be able to make it happen. Your input will help us craft experiences that inspire, educate, and engage our service users, stakeholders, funders, and the general public, ultimately driving support for the park's mission and ensuring its long-term sustainability. So you will be directly contributing to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds.

We are seeking a new Treasurer with experience as a qualified accountant, to drive the financial sustainability our charity supporting unpaid carers.

What will you be doing?

Our Board of Trustees is made up of 11 trustees from a range of backgrounds including, health, social care, education and the private sector. 

Demand for our services is higher than it has ever been. Cases are increasingly complex and resources stretched. Changes to the funding landscape, including the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and North East Combined Authority (NECA) present both challenges and opportunities for the organisation.  As the ICB looks to make savings, new regional opportunities are arising with NECA, which require collaboration across a number of carer organisations. 

We are one year into our 5 year strategic cycle, which sets out clear priorities and goals. To help us grow and thrive, and, deliver our Corporate Strategy, we need a Treasurer who can:

• Oversee our finances and keep us sustainable
   
• Ensure we meet charity requirements 
   
• Support the management team with budgets, reporting, and good financial practice.

The Treasurer will play a vital role in guiding our Trustees in overseeing our finances and helping us succeed. We’re looking for someone who is a qualified accountant and is willing to give a few hours a month to support the work we do.

This is a great opportunity to put your skills to use in a meaningful way, and work with a committed and motivated board of trustees and senior leadership team, to help meet the needs of unpaid carers and work towards a more sustainable future.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for someone who is a qualified accountant who can oversee the organisation's finances and provide sound financial advise to aid the board of trustee in their decision making. 

Ideally we are looking for a Treasurer who has lived experience as a unpaid carer, but this is not essential.

What difference will you make?

As Treasurer, this is a great opportunity to put your financial skills to use in a meaningful way, and work with a committed and motivated board of trustees and senior leadership team, to help meet the needs of unpaid carers and drive our strategic vision and priorities. 

Before you apply

We will contact potential applicants, within 5 working days of their expression of interest, to arrange an informal meeting with the Chief Executive to talk through the role.

Following this and upon receipt of an application form, an interview will be arranged within 4 weeks.

Description: Generally, interns assist the Legal Director and Legal Project Managers with all aspects of preparatory work for the AIRE Centre's legal advice services and cases, including:

· Legal research in support of cases.

· Correspondence with the client, the court or other legal professionals.

· Accompanying the legal team during hearings.

· Keeping effective files.

· Drafting advice letters for the advice service on the EU Settlement Scheme and associated areas, including eligibility for benefits.

In addition to the above, interns may be requested to assist with:

· Undertaking research for articles, both for publications of the AIRE Centre, and for outside journals/publications.

· Undertaking projects in which the AIRE Centre is asked to take part.

· Attending meetings/conferences/seminars on behalf of the AIRE Centre.

All Legal Work is supervised.

To be eligible you must:

· Have a completed law degree/GDL or equivalent

· Have a good understanding of the areas of Law in which the AIRE Centre works (EU Free movement, EU Migration, asylum etc)

· Have a good standard of written and spoken English.

All our internships are unpaid; however, we do cover up to £30 of expenses for travel and lunch

Teachers and educational facilitators wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are seeking experienced teachers and educational facilitators to lead workshops and deliver engaging environmental education sessions to children and young people. Sessions may take place at schools or around the perimeter of the site we want to transform into East London Waterworks Park.

This role would include:

• Leading hands-on outdoor learning workshops
• Delivering nature-based activities to school groups
• Supporting the creation of ELWP’s Under 18s volunteering policy
• Supporting outreach efforts to promote ELWP’s existing learning programmes

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely

You should be an experienced teacher, educational consultant, forest school leader, training and development specialist, learning designer, facilitator or any other kind of role creating learning projects, programmes and experiences. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

At St John Ambulance, we are looking to develop our volunteering offer and become an even more integral part of our communities through delivering community first aid and education. 

We need people who have a passion for helping others, care about their communities and want to make a difference. Through volunteering as an Emergency Responder, you’ll get a huge sense of satisfaction and pride delivering essential first aid and lifesaving clinical care at community and major events in your areas, including at sporting events, concerts, community festivals.

We will make sure you will have access to a proper induction to volunteering with SJA and the training you need for the role you take on. We will also provide you with a supportive environment while you are volunteering with us. Information about our volunteer roles are included in the role descriptions. What you can expect from SJA, and what we expect from those who volunteer with us, is included in the volunteer charter.

Volunteers would be expected to commit 100 hours of volunteering a year in a clinical capacity. They will also be expected to keep in regular contact with their line manager and keep up to date with their training.

This role will require an in-person interview, which will take place provisionally in Birmingham City Centre. Interview dates/times will be emailed to you should your application be successful. Please ensure that you are able to attend an in person interview in Birmingham before submitting your application.

Once your screening for role has been completed, you will be invited to attend your local St John Ambulance Network for a Welcome and Induction.

Training for this role consists of online learning modules and a 6 day in-person course, normally spread across three weekends. Your local Network will support you through the training process.

Closing date for these opportunities is: 01/12/2026

To apply for this opportunity please follow the link below:

Dive into lasting impact: Fundraise for East London Waterworks Park to create and shape natural swimming ponds, ecological habitats and community gardens

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

If you are a good writer and seller of ideas, would you like to join our mini-team of funding bid writers? We would especially love to hear from you if you have experience of writing funding applications, and we are happy to share the skills we have developed with you if you would like to learn.

The Fundraising Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Thursday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely. We understand that people may not have a lot of time to give, so we want to find volunteers who could give us one-off or ongoing strategic advice and support.

If you have experience in writing grants and funding applications, corporate fundraising, philanthropy, or any other aspect of fundraising, it would be great to hear from you. 

We are keen fundraisers but we are lacking professional expertise and experience and we would love your help and input. We would welcome one-off advice on the phone or in person, as well as longer term volunteers. 

We would also love to hear from potential volunteers without experience but with transferable skills.

East London Waterworks Park is an exciting and ambitious project that offers many rewarding opportunities for our volunteers. You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds and forest schools. 

By leading fundraising projects that explore how diverse professionals (architects, ecologists, web developers, community researchers etc.) collaborate to shape community infrastructure, volunteers will directly contribute to the development of a park that truly reflects the needs and desires of the local community. 

Without funding we won’t be able to make it happen. Your input will help us craft experiences that inspire, educate, and engage our service users, stakeholders, funders, and the general public, ultimately driving support for the park's mission and ensuring its long-term sustainability. So you will be directly contributing to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds.

Fundraising volunteer

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is and always will be at the heart of Cats Protection. It is joyful and inclusive. As a charity, working in partnership, together we transform the lives of cats, people and communities.

The difference you will make to cats and people

As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising volunteers use their passion for cats and people to raise the vital funds needed to help more cats and kittens in need. As a fundraising volunteer we want to support you to fundraise in whatever way suits you best, whether that’s organising a fundraising event, fundraising online, promoting fundraising activities on social media, completing administration or supporting the development of new fundraising ideas! Whatever your skill set, this could be the role for you! 

You can expect us to

• Make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• Support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• Cover agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• Provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

What we need from you

This is a really flexible role, you can choose what you’d like to get involved with, for example: 

• face-to-face fundraising. Organising or helping with fundraising events, running supermarket collections and fundraising stands, monitoring collection tins 

• online fundraising. Setting up online appeals and writing impactful cat case studies that maximise donations

• marketing. Spreading the word about our fundraising activities, for example on social media and with the local press  

• completing administration. Processing donations, sorting and recording donated goods, completing Gift Aid paperwork

● championing our work. Getting involved with developing new fundraising ideas and increasing community engagement

● photography. Capturing images of cats in care, cats we are helping, events and all things Cats Protection

Time expectation

This is a flexible role that can fit around your other commitments to suit you. You’ll be part of a team raising vital funds while having fun in the process!

You may be just the volunteer we’ve been looking for!

We are committed to building a diverse, compassionate and inclusive organisation where everyone can be themselves and do their best. We are courageous and compassionate in our purpose of helping people see the world through cats’ eyes. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we are all for cats. Join the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and help make a better life for cats, because life is better with cats

Fundraising volunteer

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is and always will be at the heart of Cats Protection. It is joyful and inclusive. As a charity, working in partnership, together we transform the lives of cats, people and communities.

The difference you will make to cats and people

As a charity we are able to help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations we receive from members of the public. Our fundraising volunteers use their passion for cats and people to raise the vital funds needed to help more cats and kittens in need. As a fundraising volunteer we want to support you to fundraise in whatever way suits you best, whether that’s organising a fundraising event, fundraising online, promoting fundraising activities on social media, completing administration or supporting the development of new fundraising ideas! Whatever your skill set, this could be the role for you! 

You can expect us to

• Make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• Support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• Cover agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• Provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

What we need from you

This is a really flexible role, you can choose what you’d like to get involved with, for example: 

• face-to-face fundraising. Organising or helping with fundraising events, running supermarket collections and fundraising stands, monitoring collection tins 

• online fundraising. Setting up online appeals and writing impactful cat case studies that maximise donations

• marketing. Spreading the word about our fundraising activities, for example on social media and with the local press  

• completing administration. Processing donations, sorting and recording donated goods, completing Gift Aid paperwork

● championing our work. Getting involved with developing new fundraising ideas and increasing community engagement

● photography. Capturing images of cats in care, cats we are helping, events and all things Cats Protection

Time expectation

This is a flexible role that can fit around your other commitments to suit you. You’ll be part of a team raising vital funds while having fun in the process!

You may be just the volunteer we’ve been looking for!

We are committed to building a diverse, compassionate and inclusive organisation where everyone can be themselves and do their best. We are courageous and compassionate in our purpose of helping people see the world through cats’ eyes. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we are all for cats. Join the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and help make a better life for cats, because life is better with cats

Outdoor Learning Volunteer Officers are a key part of our team at Skelton Grange Environment Centre and are involved in:
- Supporting and leading environmental activities with young people and the local community.
- Planning and preparing sessions - and sometimes even developing new activities to help young people connect with nature.
- You will be trained and supported by experienced project staff and work as part of a team with paid staff, trainees and other Volunteers.

Typical activities for the Outdoor Learning Volunteer role include:
- Running environmental education sessions for school visits during term time.
- Running play activities for groups of children and young people during the school holidays.
- Keeping education day resources up to date and developing new resources, activities or materials as required.
- Helping with the general running of the centre and the project, including both development work and routine maintenance to ensure we are an inspiring location for visitors to experience nature.

Benefits to you:
We aim to involve our Outdoor Learning Volunteer Officers in:
- Running a range of outdoor education and play activities and events with schools and community groups on the Skelton Grange Environment Centre site.
- Planning, risk assessing and running safe and engaging activities outside for children.
- All the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to run the sessions, from bushcraft skills to plant identification to working with children.

The role will give you the opportunity to use your skills and experience in a supportive environment and aims to support you into being able to run activities and lead groups independently.
It's a chance to do something very satisfying and worthwhile and have lots of fun with some great people!
If you want to use this role to move on into employment in the environmental sector we can also provide you with a range of useful training courses, job opportunity information, interview guidance and references.

We will provide expenses to cover volunteer travel costs.

What you need:
We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who are keen to work with young people and to connect people with green spaces.
People volunteer with us for all sorts of reasons: you may have lots of skills that you are keen to share, or you might be looking for something worthwhile to do with your time, or you might be wanting to launch a career in the environment sector.

Are you passionate about empowering communities with life-saving first aid skills? 

Join St John Ambulance in our mission to ensure every community and young person is first aid confident. Use your leadership and creativity to raise vital funds and awareness, helping us deliver emergency response and life-saving education across Cumbria & Lancashire

About the Role Do you have the skills, motivation, and leadership to raise the public profile of this goal and grow relationships with both current and potential supporters in Cumbria & Lancashire? 

This is a chance to use your talents to raise the vital funds that enable us to deliver emergency first aid and educate communities in how to save lives. At the same time, you’ll support the wider work of the Order of St John. Key Impact and Responsibilities – Fundraising 

• Work with the Community Fundraising Manager and County President to develop and deliver a fundraising plan for Cumbria & Lancashire. 

• Coach and support our Cumbria & Lancashire volunteer leaders to implement and achieve local fundraising targets, ensuring all activity aligns with our fundraising policy.

 • More details are available in the role description attached to this advert. Key Impact and Responsibilities – Priory

 • Ensure appropriate local recognition events for our members and supporters, including an annual Organ Donor Award presentation in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant. 

• Support the local St John Fellowship to develop a vibrant ‘Friends of St John’ offer across Cumbria & Lancashire.

 • More details are available in the role description attached to this advert. 

Development and support available We are committed to providing ongoing support and development for the right candidate in this volunteer role, offering opportunities to grow and succeed as a leader. 

This role is open to job-sharing. 

If you are passionate about either the Priory or Fundraising side but not both, please still apply and indicate your preference in your application. You will be part of a county team, likely also including officer roles to support you, such as for fundraising, coordinating honours and awards, events, the St John Eye Hospital, and the St John Fellowship etc. 

The closing date for this vacancy is the 15th February 2026 

Learning and curriculum designers wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for volunteers to develop learning content and resources, such as lesson plans and educational materials, to support our environmental learning goals. This role will focus on creating school-friendly resources for our website and collaborating with educators to enhance our offerings.

The role would include:

• Developing online learning resources for our website (on-going project)
• Designing or tailoring existing lesson plans and activities for schools 
• Supporting the creation of ELWP’s Under 18s volunteering policy
• Supporting outreach efforts to promote ELWP’s existing learning programmes

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

Ideal candidates have experience in curriculum design, teaching, or educational resource development. Creativity, strong writing skills, and an understanding of outdoor or environmental education will be valuable. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role.  

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

Learning and curriculum designers wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for volunteers to develop learning content and resources, such as lesson plans and educational materials, to support our environmental learning goals. This role will focus on creating school-friendly resources for our website and collaborating with educators to enhance our offerings.

The role would include:

• Developing online learning resources for our website (on-going project)
• Designing or tailoring existing lesson plans and activities for schools 
• Supporting the creation of ELWP’s Under 18s volunteering policy
• Supporting outreach efforts to promote ELWP’s existing learning programmes

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

Ideal candidates have experience in curriculum design, teaching, or educational resource development. Creativity, strong writing skills, and an understanding of outdoor or environmental education will be valuable. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role.  

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

Do you have a passion for African and Diaspora history and a vision for empowering communities through knowledge? Tell My Truth and Shame the Devil C.I.C. is seeking a dynamic Book Club Coordinator (African & Diaspora History Lead) to join our founding volunteer team. This role is central to curating, facilitating, and promoting a transformative learning space that nurtures understanding, critical thinking, and cultural pride for survivors, young people, and community members.

As Book Club Coordinator, you will design, manage, and facilitate a structured book club programme focused on African and Diaspora history, literature, and thought leadership. You will work closely with the Membership Director and Community Engagement Manager to ensure the club fosters critical reflection, inclusive discussion, and actionable learning. This role combines operational coordination, educational facilitation, and community engagement, offering a unique opportunity to impact knowledge sharing and collective empowerment.

Experience Qualification and Requirements

Essential / Highly Valued Experience

• Strong knowledge of African and Diaspora history, literature, political thought, and cultural movements
• Experience in facilitation, teaching, programme coordination, or group learning environments
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and group leadership skills
• Ability to engage diverse participants in respectful, inclusive, and meaningful dialogue
• Confidence holding complex conversations around history, power, identity, and resistance
• Ability to motivate participation and sustain group energy over time
• Strong organisational skills, including session planning and follow-up
• Ability to document discussions and translate insights into learning outcomes
• Experience working in community, grassroots, or culturally rooted spaces
• Commitment to collective learning, cultural integrity, and community-centred education
• Reliability, consistency, and a collaborative approach to programme delivery

Desirable / Can Be Developed

• Competence with digital tools for scheduling, virtual engagement, and content sharing (e.g. video platforms, shared documents, community spaces)

Qualifications

• Formal qualifications in history, education, cultural studies, or related fields are welcome but not required; equivalent professional or lived experience is equally valued

Main Responsibilities/ Key Duties

• Curate reading lists and learning materials: Develop thoughtful, accessible reading lists focused on African and Diaspora history, literature, political thought, and cultural movements. Select texts that reflect diverse geographies, time periods, and perspectives, balancing academic depth with community accessibility.
• Plan and facilitate book club sessions: Organise, schedule, and lead regular book club sessions in both online and in-person formats. Design session structures that support preparation, discussion flow, and inclusive participation. Create a welcoming environment that encourages shared learning rather than hierarchical instruction.
• Lead critical discussion and reflection: Facilitate informed, respectful, and challenging conversations that encourage participants to analyse texts critically, reflect on historical and contemporary relevance, and apply learning to personal, collective, or organisational contexts.
• Participant engagement and learning tracking: Monitor attendance, participation levels, and learning outcomes to assess engagement and identify opportunities for improvement. Adapt facilitation approaches based on participant feedback and group dynamics.
• Coordinate guest contributors: Identify, invite, and coordinate guest speakers, authors, historians, or subject matter experts whose lived experience or expertise enhances discussion and deepens understanding of selected themes.
• Digital collaboration and engagement: Work with digital teams to support virtual sessions, share reading materials, discussion prompts, and supplementary content. Encourage ongoing dialogue through online platforms between sessions.
• Documentation and programme development: Capture key discussion points, insights, and participant feedback. Contribute to reflective summaries and recommendations that inform future reading selections and programme development.
• Link to wider CIC initiatives: Align book club themes with broader CIC educational goals, membership programming, and community initiatives. Support the integration of learning into collective practice, leadership development, and cultural programming.

What This Role Offers You:

• Leadership experience in designing and facilitating an educational programme with social impact.
• Personal growth through engagement with communities, critical reflection, and cultural education.
• Opportunity to shape a flagship learning initiative within a pioneering, values-led CIC.
• The satisfaction of empowering participants to connect with their history, identity, and collective culture.

What This Role Is Not For:

• Individuals seeking purely administrative tasks or content curation without engagement.
• Those unwilling to guide discussions that challenge assumptions and promote accountability.
• People expecting rigid, pre-defined responsibilities—this role requires creativity, facilitation skills, and adaptive problem-solving.

If you are ready to lead learning, inspire critical engagement, and strengthen community knowledge of African and Diaspora history, we want to hear from you. Apply now and become a key driver of transformative cultural education.

A Final Word

Learning is about people, not just books.

If you know that:

• Trust is built through thoughtful facilitation, care, and intellectual honesty
• Respectful handling of stories, histories, and lived experiences is a safeguarding responsibility
• Listening deeply and honouring diverse voices keeps learning communities strong

 …then you understand the heart of leading a book club rooted in African and Diaspora history.

Position Title: Language Programme Lead
Reporting to: Volunteer Leadership Team - Chair
Organisation: Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees (SWR)
Location: Sevenoaks Town and surrounding areas within the district council area
Time Commitment: 3 hours per week
Remuneration: Voluntary Position (Expenses Reimbursed)

Organisation Overview
Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees (SWR) was founded in 2017 and became a registered charity in 2019. Initially focused on supporting Syrian refugees resettling in the Sevenoaks district under the UK Government Resettlement Scheme, SWR’s mission has since expanded to assist 16 refugee families from Syria and Afghanistan, as well as 50 Ukrainian families. In 2023-24, SWR raised over £70,000 to further its work, collaborating closely with local councils and partner organisations to achieve its objectives. With seven trustees, 110 active volunteers, and a supporter base of approximately 750 people, SWR is poised for a new phase of growth.

Role Overview:
As the Language Programme Lead, you will provide leadership in developing and delivering tailored language learning plans for refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Your role is crucial in promoting independence and successful integration into society for these individuals and families, aligning with the charity’s strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities:
● Manage the delivery of language support tailored to the individual needs of each refugee through a team of 30 or so well-motivated language volunteers, usually, but not always operating one to one. This team have delivered at least 8,000 hours of language support since the charity started.
● Be actively involved in the recruitment of new language volunteers as required.
● Oversee necessary training for language volunteers and develop the promotion of best practice across the language programme group.
● Arrange for initial assessments on the arrival of all new families into the area and producing suitable teaching programmes that link with whatever other family support is required and what other stakeholders are providing.
● Work with the Volunteer Leadership Team to provide an effective overall support for our refugee beneficiaries.
● Liaise with key stakeholders such as Kent Adult Education(KAE), and the Kent ESOL Networking Group to maintain good relationships that support the provision of our language programme.

Qualifications
A working knowledge of ESOL and associated exams and qualifications would be beneficial.
Driver’s licence and access to a car would be extremely useful, given the geographical spread of the beneficiaries in the wider Sevenoaks area. This is not a role that can be performed online.

Impact and reward:
The Language Programme Lead will play a critical role in empowering refugees to achieve greater independence and integration within their new communities. You will help our refugee beneficiaries gain the language skills, confidence, and vocational training necessary to navigate daily life, access employment opportunities, and participate fully in society. You will play a big role in transforming the lives of refugees. In some cases of refugees who are illiterate in their own language, this will be genuinely life changing.