Health volunteer roles in Ottershaw, surrey

 Welcome to the NHS Retirement Fellowship

Thank you for your interest in becoming the new chair of the NHS Retirement Fellowship. We are halfway through a five-year plan which is transforming the way we operate, how we engage with the NHS and other key stakeholders, and how we support our members currently and in the future. We have already come a long way from where we started and we are now beginning an ambitious plan of doubling our membership and raising awareness so we can continue with our mission of supporting retired and retiring NHS, health and social care staff. We are seeking a dynamic and professional chair with significant senior leadership experience in the NHS (or the broader health and social care sector) and/or extensive experience of governing a charity to work with us to deliver our vision.

Our Board is made up of a variety of professionals from across the NHS and beyond, a number of whom are members of the Fellowship. We work closely with our dynamic senior leadership team, branch officers and volunteers and have fostered an excellent working relationship for the benefit of our members.

The Fellowship has a small executive team of seven part time staff who all work remotely from home.

The potential for the NHS Retirement Fellowship is immense, and I very much look forward to welcoming you and working with you on this exciting journey.

Julia Hickey

Acting Chair

NHS Retirement Fellowship.

About the NHS Retirement Fellowship

“One of things that makes the NHS a special place to work is the sense of togetherness, belonging and family. So, when colleagues come to retirement, the Fellowship is a wonderful way of maintaining these things and allowing colleagues to continue their connection with the service. I think more can be done to help retired colleagues share experiences, perspectives and support and the Fellowship is ideally placed to do this.” Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive, NHS England

Our motto is fun, friendship and fellowship and it sits at the heart of everything we do.

The NHS Retirement Fellowship began in 1978 when retiring nurse Irene James recognised that for significant numbers of retiring NHS staff, their colleagues and friends had also become their family and that those pivotal connections could be lost. Our role has changed during that near 50 years as the NHS has changed and more latterly with the seismic transformation into a digital world. We now have almost 100 branches from the Highlands of Scotland to the north Devon coast and from Swansea in west Wales across to Norwich in East Anglia. About a third of our members are now national members, often choosing to engage on a more remote, digitally based basis. All our members have access to a portfolio of benefits which we offer, including our flagship travel insurance policy, and we are actively pursuing a partnership which would bring a huge range of benefits and discounts to our members. We also have a special fund to support members at a time of need.

Our branches run semi independently from our main charity with their own committees and bank accounts. Volunteers arrange a variety of activities for their members at local and regional level. National members, who choose not to join a specific branch, can join in with local activities and also have access to an increasing number of online based activities. We also hold an annual conference and AGM where the Board, staff and our members can all come together.

We are increasingly working with the NHS and other stakeholders in partnership to see how we can support employers and retain connections, experience and expertise at local level. We’re helping foundation trusts with governors, hospitals with volunteers and NHS charities with supporters. We’re looking to grow so that we are the voice of the retired NHS and wider health service community and see how our members can offer mentoring, support and guidance to the younger generations of NHS staff. 

Our charity is looking to become a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) over the next year.

Our values and mission are unchanged from when Irene James recognised the need to continue to support NHS staff when they retired to enable them to retain links, mutual support and understanding and friendships built over the years in their shared working lives. The NHSRF supports people in retirement to maintain friendships and make new ones, from the NHS, health and social care sectors from a diverse background irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and to support each other through friendship.

Role description and time commitment

Our Chair will lead the Board in developing and delivering our strategy, working closely with, and providing line management and support to, our chief executive. They will also support our chief operating officer in preparation for Board meetings and our head of communications in the planning of our conference and other duties. Our Chair will also be a key representative of the Fellowship in meeting and liaising with key stakeholders.

Our Board meets remotely three times a year and once a year in person. We also have two strategy days a year and our AGM and conference which takes place over a weekend in October. There is also a standing invitation to our Members Council meetings, which are three times a year remotely and once a year in person.

Timeframes

The closing date for applications is noon on Monday 1 June. Shortlisting will take place in the following week with interviews to take place in London on Thursday 2 July.

Term of office

We are looking to appoint for a three-year period initially. This will take us through 2028 when the NHS will mark its 80th anniversary and the NHS Retirement Fellowship will celebrate its 50th birthday.

Our chair role is unpaid, but we will reimburse you for reasonable travel expenses.

MiMIAT Health

We empower patients with mobile/SMS tools to build continuous health records for proactive chronic care​

�� Who are we?
MiMIAT Health is building the patient-anchored operating system for chronic disease management.
We help patients capture longitudinal health data in a structured way, and enable clinicians to review disease evolution more clearly over time. Our first live module focuses on gastrointestinal health, and we are already working across healthcare and institutional environments.

�� What are we looking for?
We are looking for a Business Development Associate (EU Market) to help us drive outreach and early commercial conversations with dietitians and nutritionists across the EU market.
This is a focused volunteer role for someone who is comfortable opening conversations, building trust, following up consistently, and helping move interest toward real opportunities. We are looking for someone who wants direct exposure to early-stage commercial execution inside a meaningful HealthTech startup.

��️ What will you do?

• Identify relevant dietitians and nutritionists across the EU market and build targeted outreach lists
• Reach out through Instagram, TikTok, email, and other relevant channels to generate qualified first conversations
• Follow up consistently with interested leads and help move them toward concrete next steps
• Help refine outreach messaging, positioning, and commercial approach over time
• Support the conversion of promising conversations with dietitians and nutritionists into demos, pilots, or paying opportunities

�� Who might be a good fit?

• You are comfortable with outbound outreach, follow-up, and relationship-building
• You are able to help move conversations from first interest toward real commercial opportunities
• You communicate clearly and confidently in written and professional settings
• You are proactive, organized, and consistent in execution
• You are interested in digital health, nutrition, chronic care, or patient-centered innovation
• You can commit around 4 to 6 hours per week
• Bonus if you have experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or healthcare-related commercial outreach

✨ Why join?

• Contribute to a real HealthTech startup already active in the market
• Work directly with the Founder & CEO
• Play a direct role in opening and shaping commercial opportunities
• Gain hands-on exposure to early-stage business development and commercial execution
• Be part of a mission focused on making chronic care more connected, dignified, and patient-centered

�� Interested?
Send us a short note about yourself through WeMakeChange. We’d love to hear from you.

Minimum Hours per Week:

4-6 hours per week

Duration:

3-5 months

Would you like to lead an innovative health think tank - enabling it to achieve more of its potential and encouraging a more preventative approach to mental and physical ill-health in the UK?

As Chair you’ll:

• Help Health Action Research Group develop more of its potential as an independent health think tank, on a sustainable basis

• Ensure effective governance, including chairing Trustees’ meetings and leading the recruitment and induction of new Trustees

• Represent Health Action Research Group, where appropriate, at external meetings and events

We'd like to hear from you, if you have:

• Experience of being a Trustee

• Experience of helping organisations grow and develop

• At least five years relevant UK experience of health research, health policy and/or health interventions - with a focus on preventing (as opposed to treating) ill-health

• Enthusiasm for our guiding principle that prevention is better than cure and that health in the UK should be more than a postcode lottery.

• The ability to build relationships and advocate for and champion our work.

Our partner is a UK-based health justice charity working to improve health and wellbeing by addressing issues such as housing, energy, migration and state violence.

The Treasurer will join the Board of Trustees and provide oversight of financial management and governance. Working closely with the Executive Director and Head of Finance, the role includes monitoring financial performance, supporting budgeting and reporting, ensuring appropriate controls are in place, and helping trustees interpret financial information. You will also advise on the financial implications of strategy and support strong financial decision-making at Board level.

The ideal candidate will bring strong financial expertise, with a recognised qualification or equivalent experience, and an understanding of charity finance and governance. You will be comfortable operating at Board level, able to communicate financial information clearly, and willing to contribute to wider strategic discussions. An interest in health justice or social impact would be beneficial.

This role involves four Board meetings per year, alongside some ad hoc support between meetings.

_____________________________________

For more Trustee and Treasurer roles please visit the AfID website

Lead a small trusted local mental health charity at an important moment of growth.

The Counselling Partnership provides affordable, professional counselling to adults across North Surrey, and will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary next March.  Our dual-impact model supports both individuals facing mental health challenges and trainee counsellors developing safe and effective practice.

The charity is entering a period of expansion in the scope and scale of mental health support to the local community. We are looking for someone who has big picture thinking to help provide strategic leadership and help guide the organisation sustainably into its next phase. 

Do you enjoying talking with people and helping them based on your life experiences?

Are you able to volunteer a few hours a week?

Yes? We’d love to hear from you.

What is knus?

knus is the UK’s first free, confidential, mental health peer support and coaching online chat service. knus offers mental health educational plans, relaxation experiences and live workshops.

What does knus mean? 'hug' in Danish.

Here’s some further information on what’s needed:

Are you over 18 and living in the UK?

You must be over the 18 years of age and live permanently in the UK.

Do you have a laptop?

A laptop and a quiet space to volunteer is essential.

How much time can you give?

A minimum of 2+ hours per week is required. We are flexible and like to work around you.

Do you like to learn?

We provide training for all volunteers that join us. Our peer support training is accredited.  20-25 hours of volunteering training is required and is self led online.

If you’re interested head over to our website and we can have a chat or apply here.

Please note - all successful volunteers are required to donate the cost price of £22.60 for an Enhanced DBS check.  If you've got a current Enhanced DBS on the update service, this cost will not apply.

You must be a UK resident to apply for this role.

Chair of Trustees role:

You will be chairing the Board of Trustees, ensuring that we have minimum representation required for decisions to be made, keeping the board aligned in decision-making, ensuring all minutes are recorded and that all decisions by trustees are made with the appropriate context provided.

This is a great opportunity to develop further governance skills and experience, and help steer an important charity in the right direction.

Trustees meetings are usually held every six weeks, plus there is an AGM, away days, and any sub-committee meetings that trustees may be involved in. Most meetings will remain virtual but there will from time to time be a need to attend key meetings and events in Nottingham. The time commitment is approximately 4hours per month, but there may be occasions when more time is required for a short period.

Who are we looking for?

• Previous chairing experience
• Relevant experience in any of the following financial management, HR, charities, fundraising, social prescribing, NHS, health inequalities (including deaf community), local authorities, marketing, business development, governance, strategy or legal
• A willingness to devote the necessary time and effort
• Good, independent judgement
• The ability to challenge and ask questions
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
• A commitment to Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership

NB: We are looking for both a Chair of Trustees and additional Trustees (particularly those with a finance background, but other functions are also welcome). If you are interested in a Trustee role instead of the Chair role, please mention this in your covering letter when applying. 

Both the Chair and Trustee positions are unremunerated, but reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

About Self Help UK

Self Help UK is a leading peer support organisation with over 40 years of experience in developing and delivering peer-led services. Our mission is to empower individuals and communities by embedding peer support principles into health and wellbeing initiatives. We have created a range of innovative programmes that help people living with cancer and other long-term health conditions to navigate challenges and take control of their health and wellbeing.

We work in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support on projects that make a real difference. These include national and local initiatives for the Deaf community, volunteer-led support for anyone affected by cancer, and prehabilitation services for those facing complex treatment. In 2026, we will collaborate with our Integrated Care System to improve health literacy and increase cancer screening uptake among underserved communities in Nottingham. Looking ahead, we are exploring a new direction to position Self Help UK as a holistic, person-centred support provider, embedding peer support and volunteer-led activity at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is to challenge health inequalities and enable people to feel confident, informed, and supported in shaping their own health journey.

A selection of causes covered by Self Help UK

• Peer support
• Long-term health conditions
• Cancer diagnoses and prevention
• Voluntary sector support
• Health inequalities (including the deaf community)
• Under-served communities

What does the role involve?

Working in ever changing environment Active Response Volunteers respond to demands across a site. The role is very varied and involves:

• Helping staff prepare documents at essential times, including creating and printing

• Helping staff with basic information entry and calls

• Helping set up and maintain meeting rooms

• Helping collect/deliver items between teams and nearby sites

• Surge support during event days at the Head office

 • Keeping things organised on the go such as keeping the kitchen area clear, supporting sustainability actions like switching off lights

• Supporting staff with lunch and refreshment runs

• Supporting staff with simple wellbeing initiatives that help break the day via active response initiatives

• Attend a site meeting every 3 months with staff regarding site updates and contribute to ideas for active response volunteering solutions.

• Help develop awareness of the new active response service and proactively find tasks too.

• There may also be opportunities to get involved in other areas of the Trust’s work, including our NHS careers

Exclusions:

• Volunteers will not carry out clinical duties (i.e. doing the tasks which the staff have been trained to do.

• Supporting patients directly (this role is based in the Head office where direct patient care is not delivered).

• We won’t ask you to carry heavy loads

What skills and qualities do you need?

West London NHS Trust is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We are looking for volunteers who are:

• Can do approach and comfortable supporting a new service starting from scratch

• Have a good level of fitness as the role requires lots of walking

• Understand and comply with confidentiality requirements (training on data protection offered)

• Friendly and approachable

• Reliable and willing to help

• Comfortable supporting different teams and tasks

• Able to follow guidance from staff

• Able to work as part of a team

• Organised and able to complete tasks efficiently

• Volunteers are expected to uphold Trust core values (Togetherness, Responsibility, Excellence, Caring) and NHS policies

What we can offer you: 

• A full induction, training or brief to your role

• On-going support and guidance from a designated member of staff

• The opportunity to develop your personal and professional skills

• The opportunity to get involved in other areas of The Trust’s work, including NHS careers

• Provide you with a uniform

• Reimbursement of reasonable expenses

• The opportunity to contribute to our mission supporting outstanding patient care. 

Behçet’s Disease is an auto-immune disorder which is incurable but can be managed by specialist consultants. It is very rare and can affect any part of the body. It often takes years to diagnose and can be debilitating to the patient. 

Behçet’s Patients Centres (BPC), a charitable company, was formed in 2011 to provide the specialist, multi disciplinary care for patients.

We are seeking to recruit a Finance Director to our Board in order to both increase our experience and skills base and to facilitate effective succession management. This is a volunteer role that offers rewarding experience and the chance to make a difference in the lives of those who are affected by this rare condition.

This is a highly autonomous role that will make a big difference to the Board of Directors and their purpose to provide a service to one of the rarest patient groups in England. We’re looking for someone who can come in and help us build on our achievements and do things even better. You will be responsible for the financial management of the charitable company to ensure we successfully deliver our contractual commitments and thus influence the future of our funding, (we have a contract which runs until March 2028). You will play an important role as a member of the Board of Directors, ensuring they are guided by your financial expertise. This will involve preparing budgets; paying salaries and finances owing to HMRC and invoicing the NHS. We also work collaboratively with Behçet’s UK, the registered charity for patients with Behçet’s Disease and you’ll be building relationships with that charity. 

The time commitment for this role is around 2 to 3 days per month on average, with extra time needed around budgeting and year end accounts. 

Experience Required:

• Proven management and leadership skills
• Proven financial skills in budget preparation and management
• Proven communication skills
• Awareness of both Charity and Data Protection Law
• Computer literate in use of Microsoft products
• Experience of contract performance management
• Flexibility of working hours to attend quarterly Director meetings and the Behçet’s UK Annual Conference

Qualifications Required:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent financial experience. 
• Preferably a qualification with CIMA, ACA or ACCA (or working towards) 
• A UK driving licence and the ability to travel 
• A clean Disclosure & Barring Services check will be undertaken 

Would you like to become an Ambassador for knus? We've introduced our new arm-chairing volunteer position.

If you're interested arm-chair volunteering (our most flexible, low commitment role) and applying to volunteer at knus, simply read through the information on this page and apply.

• Are you over 18 and living in the UK? You must be over the 18 years of age and live permanently in the UK.
• Do you have a mobile phone or laptop? You can do this role whether you are, whether it be on a sofa or on a plane.
• How much time can you give? As much as you want to do. We are flexible and like to work around you.
• Do you like to learn? We provide training for all volunteers that join us. You'll have access to our courses to help you advance your knowledge and certificates to add to your CV.

How does it work?

In 2025 we launched our arm chair volunteering initiative to help us spread the word about our service and to give people the opportunity to take part in surveys and projects to help us deliver the best mental health support to the UK public.

We'd like to embrace what you love doing, whether that be sharing on socials, proof reading, surveys, sharing experiences or getting involved in our fabulous projects.

Important information:

In order to volunteer for knus as an ambassador, you will need to complete a brief application form and a ID check. A DBS is not required for this role, however, if you wish to progress to another role you may need a disclosure. We do this to ensure of service remains a safe place to volunteer for all. Please do not worry about this, we will help you as much as we can.

Training is provided by us and our training partners. You will be required to attend this training using online conferencing software such as zoom or teams.

Do you enjoy organising things and making this happen?

Are you able to volunteer a few hours a week?

Yes? We’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking for admin volunteers to help with our daily operations.  We have a variety of ways you can get involved:

• Responding to client requests and enquiries
• Fundrasing and partnership management
• Managing and updating company databases
• Keeping track of partnership enquiries
• Maintaining internal, volunteer, and client records
• Drafting and mailing client correspondence and newsletters
• Organising events, scheduling meetings, and making travel arrangements
• Providing administrative support to other departments or projects as needed
• Performing other duties as agreed in advance

We’ve designed our volunteering programme to be flexible and adaptive to you.  All volunteering is 100% remote and you’re supported fully by our team.  You control what you do and how many hours per week you want to volunteer.  Some roles may require an Enhanced DBS check. If your application is successful, we will ask for a donation towards the cost of your enhanced DBS check if it's required for your role. This cost is £22.60.

Here’s some further information on what’s needed:

Are you over 18 and living in the UK?

You must be over the 18 years of age and live permanently in the UK.  You must be a UK resident to apply for this role.

Do you have a laptop?

A laptop and a quiet space to volunteer is essential.

How much time can you give?

A minimum of 2 hours per week is required. We are flexible and like to work around you.

Training

We provide accredited training with 3 short courses needing to be completed prior starting your volunteer role.  After, you’ll have access to over 90 accredited courses should you want to study further.

Chair

Our client is a long‑established UK charity providing specialist psychoanalytic understanding, treatment of and research into Adolescent Mental Health. With a strong clinical heritage and a deep commitment to addressing social and economic inequality, they support young people experiencing complex and enduring mental health challenges.

We are now seeking a new Chair of the Board of Trustees to lead the organisation through its next phase of development, as the current Chair comes to the end of their term.

This role is unremunerated, with travel expenses paid 
Time commitment: Approximately 0.5 a day per week (hybrid)
Location: Brent, North West London

About us

Founded in 1967 by a group of pioneering, internationally renowned psychoanalysts, the organisation was established with a clear purpose: to transform mental health support for adolescents during the critical transition to adulthood, and to tackle the significant health inequalities that exclude many vulnerable young people from accessing the help they need. 

We achieve this by providing age-specific, timely and effective psychoanalytic psychotherapies and practical support to at-risk young people struggling with serious mental health issues like anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and disordered eating.

We have developed a clinical model that puts adolescent needs and development at its core. Our unique approach maximises engagement and achieves deep-rooted and long-lasting change. With nearly six decades of experience, we have evidenced that this model works.

The role

The Chair will provide strategic leadership to the Board of Trustees, ensuring that the organisation is well governed, financially sustainable and delivering its mission with integrity and impact. Working closely with the Chief Executive, the Chair will help shape and steward the Centre’s long‑term vision, strengthen Board effectiveness, and support the organisation to respond confidently to a changing mental health landscape.

This is a governance leadership role that also carries an important external dimension. The Chair will act as an ambassador for the organisation, helping to raise its profile, build relationships and champion the value of psychoanalytic approaches to improving young people’s mental health.

About you

We are seeking an inspiring and committed individual with the time and capacity to engage fully in this role. The successful candidate will bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience in a business, charitable, healthcare or public sector setting
• Demonstrable Board‑level experience, with a strong understanding of governance and trustee responsibilities
• Financial acumen and experience overseeing organisational sustainability and risk
• Strategic insight and the ability to support and challenge executive leadership constructively
• Credibility and confidence to act as an ambassador and external advocate
• A strong commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing

Experience of the mental health sector, or familiarity with psychoanalytic approaches, would be welcome but is not essential. We value curiosity, sound judgement and strong alignment with the organisation’s mission and values.

How to Apply 
 
To apply for the role, please upload your CV together with a supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) onto the Prospectus website via the link below.  
  
Please ensure that you have included a telephone number, as well as any dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the recruitment timetable.  
  
If you wish to apply using an alternative format, please contact Prospectus.
 

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role, please contact our retained partners at Prospectus.
  
At Prospectus we believe passionately that a truly inclusive workplace leads to increased social impact. We are committed to supporting our clients to build more inclusive teams. To understand how we are performing, we ask that you kindly complete the brief equal opportunities questionnaire when you submit your application via our website. Please be assured that your responses are kept confidential, separate from your candidate record, are not part of any application you make, and that the consultants never see individual responses to the questionnaire. 
 
Recruitment Timetable 
Deadline for applications: 21st June (midnight) 
Interviews with Prospectus: Online 29th & 30th June 
Interviews with the organisation, online 7th / 8th July (evening)

Second stage Interviews with the organisation, in person: Monday 13th & Wednesday15th July (evening)

Founding Trustees – No Guard Alone 

No Guard Alone is a newly forming charity being established to address mental health challenges in the UK security sector - a workforce of over 450,000 people exposed to isolation, risk, and repeated conflict, but with little sector-wide and bespoke support.

We are now recruiting founding trustees to help shape the organisation from the outset.

This is an opportunity to:

• Build a charity at formation stage
• Help define strategy, governance, and direction
• Contribute to a meaningful and under-recognised area of need

We are particularly interested in experience in:
Governance, finance, fundraising, mental health, safeguarding, digital, research, or the security sector.

We are building a balanced board and welcome both professional expertise and relevant lived experience.

Time commitment: 4–6 meetings per year
Location: UK (remote with some in person meetings where necessary)
Remuneration: This is a voluntary role with reimbursement of reasonable expenses

If you’re interested in helping build something from the ground up, get in touch for an initial conversation via 

No one should die because they needed first aid and didn’t get it. St John Ambulance teaches people first aid so they can be the difference between life and death, and you can help us do this.

We are seeking Event Paramedics to respond to and manage emergency calls/incidents whilst attending events. At all times provide specialist, clinical, social and holistic care to undertake clinical assessment and interventions those individuals in the pre-hospital environment, which may include stadia, concerts, motorsports, road races etc. This may encompass working on both ambulances / FRV’s and within treatment units as required.

Successful candidates will be registered Paramedics with the HCPC and be able to provide evidence of CPD activity within the previous 12 months.

Volunteer locations: Epsom and Mole Valley Network - Epsom; Rushmoor and South West Surrey Network- Farnborough, Guildford, Working and Cranleigh Network - Guildford; East Surrey Network - Redhill or North West Surrey - Weybridge

The closing date for this role is: 31/10/2026

Interviews date, time to be advised