Head of governance and compliance volunteer roles in Preston, lancashire

Role Purpose

This is a senior volunteer leadership role designed to provide strategic and operational resilience across the department.

The Deputy Head works across both the Ethics Team and the Research Reporting Team, ensuring that ethical standards, research integrity and high‑quality reporting are upheld across all departmental activity.

Core Duties

• Support the Head of Department in delivering strategic and operational leadership.

• Provide continuity, stability and leadership resilience across the department.

• Lead delegated strategic initiatives or operational areas as assigned by the Head of Department.

• Share responsibility for departmental planning, performance monitoring and reporting.

• Support Senior Managers and Managers, offering guidance, oversight and problem‑solving support.

• Contribute to departmental policy development, risk management and quality assurance.

• Act as a key point of contact for cross‑departmental collaboration and organisational alignment.

• Step into leadership when required to ensure smooth, uninterrupted departmental operations.

Competency Requirements (Deputy Head)

To succeed in this senior volunteer leadership role, the Deputy Head should demonstrate:

• Strategic leadership capability, with the ability to translate organisational goals into departmental plans.

• Advanced ethical awareness, including deep understanding of research ethics, integrity and responsible data management.

• Clear, confident communication, suitable for volunteers, senior leaders and Trustees.

• Collaborative leadership, fostering a positive, inclusive and supportive departmental culture.

• Professionalism and integrity, modelling fairness, consistency and ethical behaviour.

• Sound judgement and decision‑making, especially in complex or sensitive ethical scenarios.

• Operational oversight skills, including planning, resource management and performance monitoring.

• Risk awareness, with the ability to identify, assess and mitigate ethical, operational and reputational risks.

• Ability to support and develop others, including Senior Managers, Managers and wider volunteers.

• Commitment to GDPR compliance, responsible data handling and good governance practices.

• Adaptability, particularly during the interim leadership period and subsequent transition.

Role Requirements (Deputy Head)

Given the seniority and responsibility of this volunteer role, the following experience is required:

• A PhD is required, along with postdoctoral research experience, or significant academic or practical research experience at an equivalent level, demonstrating advanced expertise in research design, ethics, governance or reporting.

• Substantial experience in research ethics, research governance or research leadership, ideally across multiple projects or teams.

• Experience in strategic planning, departmental oversight or senior‑level decision‑making, whether in a volunteer, academic or professional context.

• A strong track record of ethical decision‑making, particularly in roles where judgement, integrity and risk assessment were central.

• Experience with research reporting, research communication or academic publication processes is highly beneficial.

• A strong interest in ethical governance, research integrity and maintaining high standards across research projects.

• Familiarity with GDPR and responsible data management practices, or willingness to develop this knowledge quickly.

• Experience working with volunteers or mixed‑experience teams is advantageous.

Head of Operations (Volunteer Role)

Organisation: The Lysene Foundation

Location: Remote (global)

Time Commitment: Approx. 8 hours per month

About the Lysene Foundation

The Lysene Foundation is a start‑up charitable organisation inspired by the micronation known as the Principality of Lys — a creative community rooted in the classical arts, architecture, and beauty of the French Renaissance, Baroque, Beaux‑Arts, and the age of Humanism and Enlightenment.

We believe in a new Renaissance for Europe and the wider world. Our mission is to bring the cultural and community spirit of Lys to life through accessible public programmes, including community events, educational initiatives, exhibitions, publications, artistic opportunities, and more.

All activities and resources are open to the public without restriction.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a highly organised, strategic, and solutions‑driven Head of Operations to build and oversee the operational backbone of the foundation. This is a senior volunteer role ideal for someone who enjoys creating structure, designing systems, and ensuring that a growing organisation runs smoothly and efficiently.

You will establish our operational frameworks, develop internal processes, and support the coordination of teams across the foundation. As we grow, you will build and lead an operations department, ensuring that our programmes, volunteers, and leadership have the systems they need to thrive.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the operational future of a cultural charity at an early stage.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the foundation’s operational strategy, systems, and workflows.

• Create and maintain organisational policies, procedures, and best‑practice frameworks.

• Oversee internal coordination across departments, ensuring smooth communication and alignment.

• Support project planning, scheduling, and cross‑team collaboration.

• Establish tools and platforms for internal operations (project management, documentation, communication).

• Monitor organisational performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Work closely with senior leadership to ensure operations support strategic goals.

• Build and lead an operations team as the foundation grows.

• Ensure compliance with relevant governance, data protection, and safeguarding standards.

• Support risk management, reporting, and organisational planning.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience in operations, project management, organisational development, or a related field.

• Strong ability to design systems, processes, and structures in a start‑up environment.

• Excellent organisational, analytical, and problem‑solving skills.

• Confident using digital tools and platforms to streamline workflows.

• A proactive, hands‑on approach with strong attention to detail.

• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams.

• Passion for arts, culture, education, or heritage is a bonus.

• A calm, supportive leadership style.

What You’ll Gain

• The chance to build the operational foundations of a global cultural organisation.

• Senior‑level leadership experience within a growing foundation.

• The opportunity to shape systems, strategy, and long‑term organisational impact.

• A creative, mission‑driven environment where your ideas genuinely matter.

• A meaningful role that strengthens your CV and professional profile, with a reference after a minimum of 6 months commitment to our Foundation.

Time Commitment

Approx. 8 hours per month, fully remote, with flexibility around your schedule.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a short statement explaining why you’re interested in this role and what you would bring to the foundation.

We Are Lys

We Are The Lysene Foundation

Head of Marketing and Communications (Volunteer Role)

Organisation: The Lysene Foundation

Location: Remote (global)

Time Commitment: Approx. 8 hours per month

About the Lysene Foundation

The Lysene Foundation is a start‑up charitable organisation inspired by the micronation known as the Principality of Lys — a creative community rooted in the classical arts, architecture, and beauty of the French Renaissance, Baroque, Beaux‑Arts, and the age of Humanism and Enlightenment.

We believe in a new Renaissance for Europe and the wider world. Our mission is to bring the cultural and community spirit of Lys to life through accessible public programmes, including community events, educational initiatives, exhibitions, publications, artistic opportunities, and more.

All activities and resources are open to the public without restriction.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a visionary and strategic Head of Marketing and Communications to build and lead our global communications function. This is a senior volunteer role ideal for someone who enjoys shaping brand identity, crafting compelling narratives, and establishing a strong public presence for a cultural organisation at an early stage.

You will design and launch our marketing and communications strategy, develop our brand voice, and oversee all public‑facing messaging across digital, print, and community channels. As we grow, you will build and lead a dedicated communications team.

This is a rare opportunity to define the public identity of a cultural foundation from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the foundation’s global marketing and communications strategy.

• Establish a clear, compelling brand identity aligned with our mission and aesthetic values.

• Oversee all external communications, including website content, newsletters, press releases, and social media.

• Create and manage content calendars, campaigns, and storytelling initiatives.

• Lead the development of marketing materials, visual assets, and promotional resources.

• Build and manage a communications team, including future volunteer writers, designers, and social media leads.

• Develop media relationships and seek opportunities for press coverage and partnerships.

• Ensure consistent, high‑quality messaging across all platforms and programmes.

• Monitor performance metrics and continuously refine communications strategies.

• Work closely with senior leadership to support organisational goals and public engagement.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience in marketing, communications, branding, PR, or digital media.

• Strong understanding of content strategy, audience engagement, and storytelling.

• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills.

• Ability to create structure, processes, and systems in a start‑up environment.

• Strategic thinker with a hands‑on, proactive approach.

• Passion for arts, culture, education, or heritage is a bonus.

• A collaborative, supportive leadership style.

What You’ll Gain

• The chance to build a global marketing and communications function from the ground up.

• Senior‑level leadership experience within a growing cultural foundation.

• The opportunity to shape brand identity, public voice, and long‑term impact.

• A creative, mission‑driven environment where your ideas genuinely matter.

• A meaningful role that strengthens your CV and professional profile, with a reference after a minimum of 6 months commitment to our Foundation.

Time Commitment

Approx. 8 hours per month, fully remote, with flexibility around your schedule.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a short statement explaining why you’re interested in this role and what you would bring to the foundation.

We Are Lys

We Are The Lysene Foundation

Head of Programmes & Events (Volunteer Role)

Organisation: The Lysene Foundation

Location: Remote (global)

Time Commitment: Approx. 8 hours per month

About the Lysene Foundation

The Lysene Foundation is a start‑up charitable organisation inspired by the micronation known as the Principality of Lys — a creative community rooted in the classical arts, architecture, and beauty of the French Renaissance, Baroque, Beaux‑Arts, and the age of Humanism and Enlightenment.

We believe in a new Renaissance for Europe and the wider world. Our mission is to bring the cultural and community spirit of Lys to life through accessible public programmes, including community events, educational initiatives, exhibitions, publications, artistic opportunities, and more.

All activities and resources are open to the public without restriction.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a creative, organised, and visionary Head of Programmes & Events to design and lead the foundation’s cultural and educational activities. This is a senior volunteer role ideal for someone who enjoys shaping meaningful public experiences, curating cultural content, and bringing ideas to life through events and programmes.

You will develop our programme strategy, design a diverse calendar of events and initiatives, and oversee their delivery with the support of volunteers and partner organisations. As we grow, you will build and lead a dedicated programmes and events team.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the cultural output of a new foundation from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the foundation’s global programmes and events strategy.

• Design a varied programme of cultural, educational, and community activities aligned with our mission.

• Oversee planning, coordination, and delivery of events, workshops, exhibitions, talks, and public initiatives.

• Collaborate with artists, educators, cultural partners, and internal teams to create high‑quality programming.

• Establish processes, templates, and best‑practice frameworks for programme delivery.

• Manage programme timelines, budgets (where applicable), and volunteer involvement.

• Evaluate programme impact and continuously refine offerings.

• Build and lead a programmes and events team as the foundation grows.

• Work closely with senior leadership to ensure programmes support organisational goals.

• Ensure all activities reflect the aesthetic and cultural values of the Principality of Lys.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience in programme development, event management, arts administration, education, or cultural production.

• Strong organisational and project‑management skills.

• Creative thinker with the ability to turn ideas into well‑structured, engaging experiences.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

• Ability to design systems and processes in a start‑up environment.

• Passion for arts, culture, education, or heritage.

• A supportive, inclusive leadership style.

What You’ll Gain

• The chance to build a global cultural programme from the ground up.

• Senior‑level leadership experience within a growing cultural foundation.

• The opportunity to shape public engagement, artistic direction, and long‑term impact.

• A creative, mission‑driven environment where your ideas genuinely matter.

• A meaningful role that strengthens your CV and professional profile, with a reference after a minimum of 6 months commitment to our Foundation.

Time Commitment

Approx. 8 hours per month, fully remote, with flexibility around your schedule.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a short statement explaining why you’re interested in this role and what you would bring to the foundation.

We Are Lys

We Are The Lysene Foundation

Girls in Sport: Fundraising Trustee 

Note this in an unpaid role

Role Specification

1. Introduction from the Board

Thank you for your interest in joining Girls in Sport as our new Fundraising Trustee. Established in 2017, we are a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) dedicated to improving the lives of young people.We are currently working in West Africa.

Sport for Social Impact

We believe that sport can be a powerful conduit for social change - from the grassroots.In sport we are challenging gender stereotypes. With a focus on locally led interventions in protected settings, our initiatives integrate physical activity and nutrition, that focuses on facilitating grassroots initiatives in driving forward attitudes to gender in communities, by sport empowerment, and fostering literacy outcomes for girls at risk, or affected by GBV, trauma, FGM, and child marriage. We work to empower girls in some of the world's hardest to reach settings. 

As we move through 2026, we are looking for a strategic leader to help us diversify our funding and scale our impact in Sierra Leone and wider communities where we replicate our model.

2. About Girls in Sport

Our Mission:

We use the soft power of locally led sport programmes to promote sustainable development in advancing gender parity in communities facing poverty, conflict, and gender-related risks. Our Sponsor a Champion initiative uses sport and access to education to foster equal opportunities and support safeguarding awareness, literacy, and child protection.

Key Areas of Impact:

• Sport for Social Impact: Using sport to challenge attitudes to gender, and to empower young women to build self-reliance, resilience, and confidence to achieve the same aspirations as the boys. 
• Education & Literacy: Closing the gap in literacy between boys and girls through targeted school sponsorship interventions. 
• Social Welfare: Beneficiary and community sensitisation in safeguarding and protection, targeting the most at-risk beneficiaries, and signposting pathways to social welfare and trauma-support stakeholders in-Country. 
• Location: Remote:Secretariat - Girls in Sport UK (GISUK)

3. Job Description: Fundraising Trustee

Role Purpose:

The Fundraising Trustee will advise the board and head of programmes in the provision of strategic oversight of our income generation, ensuring Girls in Sport has the resources needed to sustain its international programmes. You will oversee the development of a diverse funding mix, with a specific focus on high-value partnerships and institutional grants.

Key Responsibilities:

• Governance: Act as a member of the Board of Trustees, sharing legal and financial responsibility for the charity’s management.
• Fundraising Strategy: Provide advice and support on strategy, focusing on Trusts & Foundations, Major Donors, and Corporate Partnerships.
• Income Generation: Champion fundraising at Board level and encourage supporters to contribute to income-generation efforts.
• Compliance: Ensure all activities adhere to fundraising regulations and best practices, including the Code of Fundraising Practice.
• Ambassadorship: Act as a spokesperson for the charity, promoting its work and helping to raise its profile within philanthropic networks.

4. Person Specification

Essential:

• Commitment to the charity’s mission and values regarding gender equality, sustainable development, and youth empowerment.
• Robust knowledge and experience of fundraising (e.g., trusts, corporates, or major donors).
• Strategic thinker, able to balance long-term planning with practical advice.
• Understanding of the legal duties and responsibilities of charity trusteeship.
• Experience of fundraising in an international development or small charity context.
• Existing networks that could support the charity’s fundraising efforts.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with Sierra Leone, West Africa or regional sub-Sahara socio-economic contexts and cross-border programming challenges in navigating funding and grant-making agencies 
• Existing networks that could support the charity’s fundraising efforts.

5. Commitment & Timeline

• Time Commitment: Approximately two hours per month.
• Meetings: We currently hold bi-annual Board meetings (online/in-person mix) plus occasional sub-group meetings.
• Term: two years, renewable three times. 

6. How to Apply

To apply, please submit a CV including relevant expertise, and an expression of interest and commitment to the mission.

Girls in Sport (Charity No. 1175997). Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation in England and Wales.

African Development Choices (ADC) is a UK-registered charity on a mission to reduce poverty by empowering communities to make more informed choices in the management of public resources.

ADC’s purpose is to enable communities to independently meet their needs for essential services, such as clean water and safe sanitation, and improve lives in Africa.

At ADC we encourage a working culture of seeking and giving input, showing and taking initiative, and commitment to the organisation and its purpose.

We now have an exciting opportunity for a volunteer Senior AI Agent Architect to join ADC and help build a live prototype of MajiGuard AI.

Main purpose of job:

To lead the technical design and hands-on development of MajiGuard AI, an agentic AI prototype that helps ADC identify underused WASH resources, structure recovery and reallocation cases, and verify that recovered value reaches facility upgrades and operations and maintenance.

Division: Technology / AI Innovation

Department: Product & Engineering

Position reports to: Head of AI Innovation

Direct reports for the position: Volunteer AI engineers, developers and technical contributors

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end architecture of MajiGuard AI, including the selection and integration of models, agent workflows, orchestration tools, retrieval systems, data structures and human-in-the-loop controls appropriate for a live prototype.

• Translate ADC’s operational goals into practical AI workflows, especially for identifying underused WASH resources, standardising evidence and case preparation, supporting recovery and reallocation decisions, and verifying delivery of value to facility improvements and ongoing operations and maintenance.

• Build and iterate a live prototype using pragmatic, cost-effective tooling, with strong attention to reliability, traceability, security, maintainability and ease of future scaling.

• Design structured inputs, prompts, evaluation criteria and decision logic so that outputs are useful to non-technical ADC teams working across programmes, research, partnerships and leadership.

• Establish a technical roadmap for the prototype, including architecture choices, milestone planning, testing priorities, deployment options and documentation for future funders, partners and developers.

• Work closely with ADC leadership to shape the product vision and ensure the prototype aligns with ADC’s wider governance and public service innovation model.

• Advise on suitable approaches for data governance, privacy, model risk, hallucination control, auditability and responsible AI use in the context of public-resource management and service delivery.

• Define and monitor prototype success metrics, including usefulness, accuracy, turnaround time, workflow fit, and operational learning that can strengthen grant applications, partnerships and future product development.

• Support the transition from local experimentation to a live prototype environment, including basic cloud or hosted deployment thinking, version control practices and engineering handover readiness.

• Mentor and coordinate other volunteer technical contributors where relevant, helping ADC build a small but high-quality AI capability around MajiGuard AI.

Knowledge, skills, and experience:

Essential

• 8+ years of relevant experience in AI, machine learning, applied NLP, intelligent automation, agentic systems, or modern software engineering for production-grade data or AI products

• Strong hands-on experience designing and building AI systems, including LLM-based applications, retrieval-augmented generation, agent workflows, orchestration frameworks, evaluation pipelines and API integrations

• Experience taking ideas from concept or prototype stage into a usable live product, pilot or production-like environment

• Excellent technical judgement on model selection, system design trade-offs, latency, reliability, observability and cost-conscious engineering

• Strong programming ability, ideally including Python and modern backend tooling, with the ability to work across architecture, implementation and troubleshooting

• Experience designing structured workflows where AI outputs must be reviewable, auditable and useful for operational decision-making
• Ability to simplify complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and translate mission goals into practical product choices
• Interest in using AI to strengthen public service delivery, accountability, governance, resource allocation, or adjacent social impact problems
• Ability to actively take initiative and help set things up in a start-up environment
• Ability to actively seek and give input in a collaborative team environment
• A committed team player with good communication skills
• Available to volunteer at least 8-12 hours a week

Desirable

• Experience with agentic AI products involving workflow automation, task routing, multi-step reasoning, document intelligence or evidence-based case management
• Experience with cloud deployment, containerisation, CI/CD, databases, vector stores, authentication and production monitoring for AI systems
• Experience working on civic tech, govtech, development, WASH, infrastructure, audit, compliance or public-finance-related products
• Experience working in an early-stage start-up or mission-driven organisation and comfortable operating with ambiguity
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading small technical teams across different locations and time zones

What ADC Offers You

This is a volunteer, remote and unpaid position with the following benefits:

• A chance to play a foundational role in shaping MajiGuard AI from concept into a live prototype with real strategic relevance to ADC’s mission
• An opportunity to apply advanced AI and product-building skills to a meaningful public-interest challenge connected to WASH, accountability and service delivery in Africa
• An opportunity to work with a diverse global team and contribute to an organisation seeking systemic social change
• Professional learning, leadership and portfolio-building opportunities through high-ownership work
• Work reference provided

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Here at African Development Choices, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our teams are made up of people from all over the world and we welcome all applications. If you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and you require any reasonable adjustments for your application with us, please let us know by contacting recruitment(at)africandevelopmentchoices(dot)org.