Philanthropy volunteer roles

Our client is a national movement, bringing together community foundations across the UK, connecting philanthropy with local knowledge to strengthen communities and improve lives. 

Through 47 accredited community foundations covering every postcode of the UK, the network has distributed more than £2 billion to grassroots organisations and local causes over the last fifty years, creating significant impact where it is most needed.  

We are now seeking an outstanding new Chair to lead the Board of at a pivotal moment. 

Chair  
UK-wide, Access to London   
Voluntary, expenses paid  

With a new 2026–2030 strategy, increasing national relevance, and growing opportunities to influence philanthropy, policy and place-based giving, this is a rare opportunity to help shape how capital, leadership and trust reach communities across the country.  

Working closely with the Chief Executive, the Chair will provide strategic leadership to the Board, champion the organisation externally, and help strengthen their impact, profile and partnerships.  

We are particularly interested in hearing from individuals who bring:  

• Significant senior leadership experience in business, philanthropy, the public sector or civil society   

• Strong networks and the credibility to convene senior stakeholders   

• Board or chairing experience, with sound governance judgement   

• Strategic insight and the ability to support and challenge constructively   

• A strong commitment to equity, opportunity and thriving communities   

We are keen to engage with accomplished leaders who share the organisation’s mission and values, and who would like to influence philanthropy nationally and locally across the UK.  

We welcome a broad range of perspectives and lived experience to our Board, and warmly welcome applications from individuals from backgrounds typically underrepresented at board level.  

The time commitment is approximately three days per month with an initial term of three years, renewable once.  

For further information, to access the appointment brief and to apply to this role, please visit the Prospectus website.

If you have any queries or wish to have an informal discussion about the opportunity, please contact our retained advisors Anna Gardet or Tammy Stewart 

 
Recruitment Timetable 
Deadline for applicationsTuesday 2nd June 2026 
Interviews with Prospectus:w/c 8th June 2026 
Engagement sessions with stakeholders:w/c 15thJune 2026 
Interviews with the organisation:22nd June 2026 

WANTED: Trustees to support over 3.5 million people living with genetic, rare and undiagnosed conditions.

Genetic Alliance UK is looking for three new trustees as well as a new chair due to existing board members having served the maximum time allowed.

About us

We are an alliance of over 220 charities and support groups with an ambitious strategy focused on working together to improve the lives of the 1 in 17 people in the UK affected by rare, genetic or undiagnosed conditions. We campaign for timely diagnosis, better coordinated care, and improvements in screening, testing, services and treatment.

What are we looking for?

We are seeking candidates with a personal or professional passion for driving these improvements, who can bring relevant skills and experience to help shape our work.  As part of the organisation’s work to foster diversity, equity and inclusion, we aim to have a broad and varied membership of the Board. We encourage applications from the devolved nations of the UK. We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of rare, genetic or undiagnosed conditions either directly, via family and friends, or through a connection with one of our member organisations.

We are keen to recruit people with skills and knowledge in one or more of the following areas:

● Business development and income generation

● Human resources and people management

● Fundraising and philanthropy

● Media, communications and public relations

● Reproductive choice techniques and ethics

● Research in genetics or rare conditions.

What will you be doing?

Trustees play a key role in leading and supporting the charity. We ask them to:

● Attend four Board meetings each year (at least two meetings are held online, with one or two in-person Board meetings each year usually in central London)

● Attend one in-person Board Strategy Away Day each year (usually following one of the in-person Board meetings)

● Attend the one-hour Annual General Meeting in autumn each year

● Consider joining one of our sub-committees, with up to four online meetings each year.

The roles are voluntary (unpaid). We reimburse reasonable expenses necessary for attending meetings and taking part in Genetic Alliance UK activities. 

Most of our trustees are sponsored by our member organisations. If you have a connection with one of the charities in our alliance or the conditions they support, please mention this on your application.

We will provide full induction for successful candidates.

All postholders will be appointed for a first term of up to three years, with a possible further three years and up to a maximum nine years in exceptional circumstances.

About The Big House

The Big House Multibank exists to improve lives and build a more sustainable Scotland by reducing waste, maximising resources, and supporting families facing hardship. We do this by redistributing surplus goods from corporate partners to frontline organisations, schools, social workers, health visitors and community groups who support families in crisis.

Based in Fife, with satellite hubs in Dundee, Perth and Edinburgh, and expanding across Scotland, we combine environmental action, social justice and community partnership to tackle poverty, reduce pollution and strengthen local support systems.

Our work supports families to stay together, children to thrive, and communities to flourish while diverting significant volumes of surplus goods from landfill.

Our Ambition
Our 2026 Business Plan sets out an ambitious growth agenda, including: 

• Doubling the volume of goods distributed 
• Expanding into the Glasgow City Region 
• Introducing digital inventory and tracking systems 
• Embedding wrap-around care pathways for families 

Strengthening our circular economy and environmental impact 

Increasing fundraising, communications and corporate partnerships 

To deliver this, we are strengthening our Board to ensure excellent governance, strategic leadership, and a clear focus on impact, purpose and people. 

Purpose of the Role

To provide strategic leadership and governance, ensuring The Big House fulfils its charitable objectives, operates effectively, and remains sustainable, accountable and impactful.

Key Responsibilities

• Set and uphold the strategic direction of the charity
• Ensure legal, regulatory and financial compliance
• Provide oversight of risk, safeguarding and organisational performance
• Support and challenge the executive team constructively
• Act as an ambassador and advocate for The Big House

Legal Duties

Trustees share collective responsibility for:

• Acting in the best interests of the charity
• Managing resources responsibly
• Ensuring accountability and transparency
• Complying with charity law and governance best practice

Skills & Experience We Are Seeking 

We are seeking individuals with senior-level expertise in one or more of the following areas: 

• Safeguarding & Social Care - senior experience in social work, education, health, early years or family support services, with strong safeguarding expertise. 
• Supply Chain, Logistics & Warehousing - experience in logistics, operations, warehousing, fulfilment, or supply chain transformation. 
• Digital Transformation & Data Governance - experience delivering digital systems, data governance, cyber security or operational technology. 
• Circular Economy & Environmental Leadership - background in sustainability, reuse, recycling, environmental strategy or circular economy innovation. 
• Corporate Retail, FMCG & Surplus Partnerships - senior experience within retail, manufacturing or FMCG, particularly in surplus, ESG or supply chain partnerships. 
• Social Enterprise & Scale-Up Leadership - experience growing mission-led organisations, trading models or hybrid charities. 

We also welcome candidates with strengths in: 

• Finance, audit and risk 
• Fundraising and philanthropy 
• Communications, brand and public affairs 

We are seeking Trustees who demonstrate: 

• Strategic thinking and sound judgement 
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills 
• Integrity, empathy and emotional intelligence 
• Commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability 
• Willingness to contribute time, expertise and energy 
• Ability to challenge constructively and support collaboratively 

We particularly welcome applications from individuals who: 

• Bring lived experience of poverty or inequality 
• Are underrepresented in charity governance 
• Are at an earlier stage of their Board career 

Timeline: 

• We are recruiting Trustees on a rolling basis to allow flexibility and to ensure we appoint the right people at the right time as the organisation continues to grow. 
• Applications will be reviewed as they are received, with interviews scheduled throughout the year. 
• Appointments will be made on a rolling basis, with new Trustees formally ratified at the next appropriate Board meeting or Annual General Meeting (AGM), in line with our constitution. 
• While we anticipate a number of appointments during 2026, we encourage early applications and expressions of interest at any point. 

For more information, please download the job description attached in this advert. 

Voice 21 – Trustee with fundraising expertise 

About Voice 21
Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We support schools to build speaking and listening into the curriculum, teaching, learning and wider school life so that every child can use their voice to thrive in school, work and life. Our training and development programmes for teachers and school leaders transform learning through talk, expanding access to high-quality oracy education, particularly for children who need it most.

Why join the Voice 21 Board of Trustees now?
Since its inception in 2015, Voice 21 has built a national movement to put oracy at the heart of education in the UK. In November 2025, the government responded to Professor Becky Francis’s Curriculum and Assessment Review by adopting the definition of oracy used by Voice 21 and by the independent Oracy Commission in its 2024 report,  We Need to Talk: ‘Articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication’.

The government has also committed to publish national guidance on oracy, modelled on the Writing Framework, and to strengthening oracy teaching within subjects. The Schools White Paper published in February 2026 reinforced this direction, positioning oracy as the fourth “R” alongside reading, writing and maths.

Oracy is now firmly part of national policy, and Voice 21 continues to build evidence of its impact on young people’s attainment, wellbeing, belonging and career readiness.

This policy shift represents a major campaigning success for Voice 21 and others who campaigned  alongside us. Our new 2030 Strategy aims to seize this moment and secure high-quality, evidence-based oracy education for every child, particularly for those children in schools serving disadvantaged communities.

Investment will be critical to achieving this ambition. Fundraising currently provides 20% of our income. Our goal is to increase this to 40%, doubling fundraised income to support delivery of our 2030 strategy.

The Role: Trustee with fundraising expertise

Voice 21 is keen to strengthen its board-level knowledge and skills by adding a fundraising specialist trustee. We are looking to appoint a strategic fundraising leader who has substantial experience of successfully developing fundraising departments and growing voluntary income. As trustee, you will provide strategic oversight, constructive challenge and advice on fundraising strategy.

Ideally your career will have focused on high value and relationship fundraising (philanthropy, trusts, corporate partnerships). As a subject specialist, you will help to expand and deepen fellow trustees’ understanding of fundraising strategy and operations, providing knowledge, guidance, challenge and advocacy.

Your expertise will be invaluable at this pivotal moment for Voice 21, as the charity prepares to launch an ambitious new strategy, with a goal to double fundraised income by 2030. Your insights will be particularly appreciated by the experienced Head of Fundraising, CEO and Director of Operations – including contributing critical/analytic skills to help evaluate fundraising ideas and opportunities – though your primary focus will be advising on fundraising at governance level.

Knowledge And Experience: 

• Significant senior fundraising experience, with proven ability to secure major income.

• Personal experience working with high profile figures, senior leaders in major companies, people with high levels of personal wealth who are seeking charitable missions like ours to support.

• Understanding of charity leadership, including developing and implementing organisational strategy.

• Broad understanding of fundraising management across income streams.

Why this role matters:

This is an opportunity to make a real difference in tackling the disadvantage gap at a pivotal moment for oracy education. You will have the chance to influence a dynamic Board and staff team with great ambitions for our 2030 Strategy.

Time commitment:

• Board meetings: three per year, in person in London (9am–12pm)

• Annual strategy day (9am - 3pm)

• Finance Committee: four virtual meetings per year (approximately 2 hours per meeting) 

• Opportunities to attend Voice 21 events throughout the year.

Safeguarding:

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Application details:

To apply:

• a CV and a covering letter of 1- 2 pages; 

Please include: 

• Details of your interest in joining Voice 21 as a trustee; 

• An outline of your current work / relevant experience; 

• A note of any training and development needs you think you’ll have if you are appointed. 

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and trustees do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. Voice 21 is a diverse and inclusive workplace and we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.

The food system is unsustainable and unjust, and it’s damaging the health of a generation. We are a youth activist movement set up to challenge a food system that’s been set up to fool us all. We're looking for a new Chair who shares our passion for empowering youth leadership and transforming our food system