264 Delivery volunteer roles

Role summary

We run two flagship events each year, Surrey's Big Poetry Weekend and the End-of-Year Showcase Gala, creating celebrations of poetry and shared cultural moments for our community. As our Events Manager, you’ll lead and coordinate every aspect of event delivery to create welcoming, meaningful and memorable experiences that bring people together.

The Showcase Gala is on Saturday 14 November 2026 and Surrey's Big Poetry Weekend is likely to happen in May 2027.

What will you be doing?

Key responsibilities include:

• Conceptualise ideas and improvements for these two events to enhance the experience for attendees
• Planning effective timelines and project plans
• Taking an operational lead to ensure events run smoothly
• Ensuring events are adequately staffed with volunteers
• Assisting leadership on collaboration with venues, artists, facilitators, and partners
• Working closely with our Volunteer Co-ordinator to support volunteers
• Helping ensure events are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible

You’ll be supported by the President and Vice President, gaining first-hand insight from two experienced leaders who are genuinely committed to making your volunteer experience brilliant, rewarding and enjoyable.

You’ll join a high-performing, ambitious and deeply committed team of volunteers who deliver an overachieving, community-focused arts organisation. Working closely with senior volunteers and programme leads, you’ll have the support, trust and clear decision-making authority to make a real impact - particularly around events. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn from experienced people, build your skills and play an active role in shaping an exciting programme for the community.

What are we looking for?

This volunteer role would be particularly well suited to a student or someone at an early stage of their career who is looking to gain practical experience in event management. It’s a great opportunity to develop your skills, build your confidence and gain valuable insight into what happens behind the scenes of events - including fundraising events.

You don’t need to be a poetry expert to get involved! No previous experience in poetry is required; what matters most is your enthusiasm for events and willingness to learn and develop practical experience in event planning, coordination and delivery.

We’re looking for someone who is organised, reliable, proactive and enthusiastic about getting involved. You’ll be comfortable staying calm and solution-focused in a live event environment, enjoy working with others, and care about creating inclusive, welcoming events that bring people and communities together.

As a small organisation, there is always plenty happening, so this is a hands-on role where you’ll have the opportunity to get involved, take initiative and make a real contribution. You’ll be supported and mentored by our leadership team, who bring extensive experience across the events and fundraising landscape.

What you’ll gain

This is a valuable chance to build real-world event experience that you can take forward into your studies, CV and future career. You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Gain hands-on experience supporting and delivering events from behind the scenes.
• Develop practical skills in event planning, coordination, communication and problem-solving.
• Learn from experienced leadership team and gain insight into the wider events and fundraising sector.
• Build your professional network and make valuable connections with people working in the sector.
• Develop your confidence in a live event environment and learn how to respond calmly and creatively when things change.
• Put your own ideas into practice and see your contribution have a direct impact on our events and the organisation’s growth.
• Strengthen your CV with meaningful, practical experience and examples of your contribution to real events.
• Gain a better understanding of how a small organisation operates and how events can support wider organisational goals.

If you’re self-motivated, keen to learn and looking for an opportunity to gain genuine events experience, we’d love to hear from you.

What difference will you make?

This role will play a vital part in maintaining and strengthening the reputation of the Surrey Poet Laureateship as a high-quality, trusted and inclusive cultural programme across Surrey.

The Events Manager will ensure our events are consistently well planned, professionally delivered and welcoming, creating positive experiences for audiences, poets, volunteers and partners. The quality and professionalism of our events will be central to how the Laureateship is perceived by communities, venues, funders and stakeholders.

By delivering an outstanding events programme, the role will help build strong partnerships, increase visibility and credibility, and strengthen the foundations for the Laureateship’s long-term sustainability and growth.