Research support volunteer roles

About Quilombo UK

Quilombo UK is a social justice organisation dedicated to inspiring individuals to "See, Think, Behave and Speak Differently" about equality, diversity, and inclusion. We create engaging experiences—ranging from our Beyond Bias training to our "Voices for All" podcasts—that raise awareness and empower unheard voices within our diverse communities.

The Marketing department is a cornerstone of our Professional Development Programme (PDP) and Enhanced Professional Development Programme (ePDP). As Head of Marketing, you will lead the integrated Public Relations and Graphic Design teams to create the visual identities, professional portfolios, and public-facing narratives that enable our participants to showcase their talents effectively. By producing high-standard creative work and securing media visibility that documents their professional journey, you directly provide the "proof of impact" required to bridge employment gaps and help career changers and newcomers to the UK overcome discrimination in the job market.

Operations Manager of Department (Marketing)

The Opportunity

This position offers a significant career step-up, providing experience in managing integrated creative operations, brand strategy, and public relations within a social justice framework. In this Operations Manager capacity, you will gain the leadership credentials and strategic oversight necessary to advance your professional trajectory while ensuring the visual and narrative identity of our mission is powerful, consistent, and impactful.

Role Purpose

The Operations Manager of Marketing sits between Directors and Managers, turning high-level creative and communication objectives into clear, deliverable department plans. You will own the direction, structure, and delivery control of both the Graphic Design and PR functions to ensure pace, reliability, and professional excellence across all internal and external outputs.

Key Responsibilities

• Integrated Strategic Planning: Turning Director objectives (e.g., PDP marketing packs, QMC branding, podcast promotion) into practical departmental plans with synchronized design and PR timelines.

• Manager Leadership: Coaching Graphic Design and PR Managers to run projects effectively, ensuring 100% work visibility in MeisterTask.

• Brand & Narrative Consistency: Ensuring that visual assets and written communications (press releases, social media, articles) are perfectly aligned with Quilombo UK’s tone and brand standards.

• Assurance & Rework Control: Reducing rework by improving initial brief clarity and ensuring time is built into plans for thorough creative and editorial review.

• Director Reporting: Providing weekly reports on marketing milestones, media engagement, WIP status, and risks, offering clear recommendations for strategic choices.

• Culture & Standards: Ensuring the department aligns with Quilombo UK’s communication standards and professional values.

Additional Professional Benefits

• Career Development: A full CV and profile review conducted by our Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development teams.

• Operational Support: Access to the services of the Legal, HR, Research, and Production teams for up to 10 hours per month for professional or departmental support.

• Proactive Recruitment: Use of the Talent Acquisition team to actively search out new roles and opportunities via industry portals and LinkedIn.

Financial Incentives: Profit Sharing & Commission

• Project Commission: To recognise the transition toward paid work, a commission structure is in place for any paid work carried out.

• Head of Department Share: The Ops Mgr receives a 15% share of the commission for work carried out. This percentage is shared between all individuals at the Ops Mgr level working on a specific task.

• Business Development Bonus: If work is brought in by the Ops Mgr (rather than a Quilombo UK director), the Ops Mgr will receive an additional 10% commission on top of their standard share.

• Payment Terms: Commission is paid upon project completion and after payment is received from the client.

Requirements

Essential

• Proven experience in marketing management, graphic design, or public relations.

• A portfolio of illustrations, graphics, and/or PR campaigns (press releases, social media strategy) / CV.

• Familiarity with design software (Adobe Suite, Canva) and PR/Social Media technologies.

• Flexibility and openness to work on a variety of tasks spanning visual and written communication.

• Focused, organised, and able to prioritise and execute tasks independently.

• To show professionalism at all levels and in all environments.

• Strong team player with the ability to lead multiple specialist functions.

• A keen eye for aesthetics, detail, and narrative tone.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Degree in Marketing, Design, Communications, or a related field is a plus.

• This is a 100% remote-only position.

Desirable

• Committed to working with the community with a passion for helping others less fortunate.

Selection Process

• Informal interview.

• Requirement of two professional references.

About this Role: Volunteer, unpaid

Time Commitment: Approximately 10-15 hours a week

Engagement Duration: Minimum 3-month commitment (renewable upon mutual agreement)

Schedule: Flexible, with availability for at least one weekly team check-in

Mode of Engagement: Fully remote; virtual collaboration via Slack and Google Meet.

Professional Volunteering

Professional volunteering at Solution Community is a skills‑based service performed with the same reliability, accountability, and quality expected in a paid professional role. Volunteers are core contributors whose work directly supports our mission of global compassion, collaboration, and action.

Expectations include:

• Consistent weekly availability

• Timely communication and responsiveness

• Ownership of assigned tasks and follow‑through

• Participation in team meetings and workflows

• Alignment with organizational values and processes

About Solution Community:

Solution Community is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, pioneering an innovative social platform dedicated to enabling actionable change. With volunteers from over 70 countries, we are a testament to the power of global collaboration. Our team members bring experiences from some of the world’s most successful companies, including Apple, Toyota, Google, Netflix, Walmart, Meta, and many others, creating a rich tapestry of knowledge and passion.

Our Mission:

To foster a global community of compassion, uniting individuals and organizations to solve the world’s social problems. We are the bridge that connects non-profits, businesses, philanthropists, and volunteers, empowering them to create meaningful change for current and future generations.

Our Vision:

Imagine a world where every person can thrive - a world united by collaboration, compassion, and action. At Solution Community, we are turning that vision into reality, driving transformative change that reshapes the future.

Summary of Role:

As our volunteer Graphic Designer, you will be the creative force behind our visual storytelling, transforming ideas, campaigns, and social impact initiatives into compelling graphics that inspire engagement, amplify awareness, and strengthen our global brand presence across digital platforms.

What Will You Do?

• Create Engaging Social Media Content: Design high-impact graphics, carousels, infographics, banners, story templates, reel covers, and promotional materials for platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and emerging social channels.

• Bring Campaigns to Life: Collaborate with other volunteers to develop visually compelling campaigns that increase awareness, engagement, volunteer participation, and community growth.

• Strengthen Our Brand: Ensure visual consistency across all digital touchpoints while continuously evolving creative assets that reflect Solution Community's mission, values, and global impact.

• Transform Complex Ideas into Visual Stories: Convert social issues, nonprofit initiatives, research, and impact reports into accessible, engaging, and shareable visual content.

• Innovate and Experiment: Stay ahead of social media design trends, audience preferences, and platform best practices, introducing fresh creative concepts that maximize reach and engagement.

• Build Design Systems: Develop templates, asset libraries, and scalable design resources that empower teams and volunteers to maintain a cohesive visual identity.

• Collaborate Across Cultures: Work closely with diverse volunteers and leaders from around the world to create graphics that resonate with global audiences and communities.

Who Are We Looking For?

• Creative Visual Storytellers: You have strong graphic design skills and a portfolio demonstrating exceptional social media content creation, branding, digital campaigns, and visual communication.

• Social Media Design Experts: You understand how design performs across different social platforms and can create content optimized for engagement, reach, and audience growth.

• Proficient Design Professionals: You are experienced with tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Canva, Figma, or similar design platforms.

• Mission-Driven Collaborators: You are passionate about using creativity for social impact and enjoy working with multicultural teams united by a common purpose.

• Detail-Oriented Creators: You possess a strong eye for typography, layout, color, composition, and brand consistency while maintaining high standards of quality.

• Innovative Thinkers: You bring fresh ideas, creative energy, and a willingness to experiment with new formats, trends, and visual storytelling approaches.

What You'll Gain

• Global collaboration with leaders and strategists from top global companies

• Meaningful impact on global causes and communities

• A vibrant, multicultural team spanning 70+ countries

• A supportive environment rooted in compassion, integrity, innovation, and collaboration

• Flexible work life with full autonomy

• Opportunities for personal and professional growth

• A formal recommendation upon successful completion of your volunteer term.

We keep local history alive by managing a community centre that houses an internationally important quilt collection. Through exhibitions, workshops, talks and outreach, we promote patchwork, quilting and care for our collection of antique and heritage quilts.

Each year we welcome thousands of visitors through our doors, to explore and learn about our collection and be inspired! Our Trustees steer and guide The Quilt Asssociation, keeping us growing and sustainable. Working collectively as a Board, Trustees ensure the organisation fulfils its charitable aims, complies with legal and regulatory requirements, and continues to develop as a nationally significant centre for quilting and textile heritage and arts.

Position: Trustee

Responsible to: Chair of Trustees

Location: We are based in Llanidloes, Mid Wales, but you don't have to be. We are open to remote and hybrid volunteering, however we do ask that you be within a reasonable distance to attend our key dates and exhibitions.

Hours: Approx 6 hours per month to include the Trustee Board meeting, any preparation work and subgroups.

Expenses: This role is voluntary, reasonable expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with our Expenses policy.

Key responsibilities

As a trustee, you will contribute to the overall development and oversight of organisational strategy. You will be responsible for ensuring the organisation operates in line with its charitable objectives and governing documents, including risk management and compliance with relevant regulations. You'll safeguard the long-term sustainability of the organisation, including financial stability and act as an ambassador for the organisation. As a trustee, you'll also have the opportunity to be involved in the care, conservation, and accessibility of the quilt collection.

We are looking to build on the skills of our current board and are seeking trustees who can take a lead role in one of the following areas:

• Human Resources - Advising on people management, policies, volunteer engagement, and organisational culture

• IT / Digital - Supporting digital infrastructure, data management, systems, and opportunities for digital engagement

• Textile Conservation - Providing expertise in the care, preservation, and documentation of heritage textiles

• Marketing and Communications - Supporting audience development, promotion of exhibitions and events, and strengthening the organisation’s profile

• Property / Facilities Management - Advising on the maintenance, development, and effective use of Minerva Arts Centre

• Arts, Culture and Heritage Sector Experience - Bringing insight, networks and strategic understanding of the wider cultural landscape

We are looking for people with a willingness to devote the necessary time and effort. 

• Ability to think strategically and make sound judgements

• Have good communication and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a board

• IHave integrity and a clear understanding of (or willingness to learn) trustee responsibilities

Become a Fundraising Volunteer with Cats Protection!

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 can continue to help cats and kittens in need thanks to the donations we receive at fundraising events from generous members of the public. Our fundraising event helpers have the exciting and varied role of helping at local fundraising events - such as cakes sales, barn dances, quiz nights – and everything in between!

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

You’ll be:

· help set up and/or man stalls at events

· help on collection days like supermarket collections events or street collections

· help at fundraising events such as quiz nights, cake sales and dances

· promoting a professional image of Cats Protection at events

Time expectation

This role is really flexible! You could choose to volunteer at one event for a couple of hours or attend multiple fundraising events.

We’ll keep you up to date with upcoming local events where volunteers are needed. You’ll then be able to choose which events you’d like to volunteer at and how many hours you’d like to give. However much time you can give, your contribution will help raise much needed funds to continue the work of Cats Protection.

 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. 

Join Wild Magic! Help secure grants and funds to ensure our conservation work continues and develops. Collaborate with us to make an impact on our local community.

As a Grants and Funding Volunteer, you will play a vital role in supporting our work. You will:

• Identify and apply for funding opportunities through compelling proposals
• Craft engaging campaigns to attract donors and increase awareness
• Develop clear and impactful communication strategies to share our mission and successes with stakeholders, partners, and the public

You'll collaborate closely with the admin team, a small group of volunteers who work behind the scenes to enable our success with our project goals. You'll also liaise with our Project Director to align your work with the trust's aims and objectives.

This role is adaptable to your skills and interests. Whether your expertise lies in campaign writing, digital communications, or event-based fundraising, we’ll work with you to tailor the responsibilities and focus areas to make the most of your time and talents.

To thrive in this volunteer role, we’re looking for someone who has a mix of the following skills, experiences, and qualities. While we don’t expect you to have all of these, the more you can bring, the bigger your impact will be:

Skills and Experience (any of these):

• Grant Writing: Proven ability to identify funding opportunities and write compelling grant applications that secure essential resources.
• Fundraising Expertise: Experience in planning, managing, or supporting successful fundraising campaigns. This could include individual giving, events, or digital campaigns.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills to create impactful messaging across multiple platforms, such as social media, press releases, or donor communications.
• Digital Marketing and Social Media: Familiarity with digital marketing strategies, including using social media for engagement and online fundraising.
• Relationship Building: Experience in building and maintaining relationships with donors, corporate sponsors, or community groups.
• Project Management: The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality results.

Qualities:

• Self-Motivated: Proactive and able to work independently while staying aligned with organisational goals.
• Creative Thinker: A flair for developing innovative ideas for campaigns, proposals, and storytelling.
• Collaborative Team Player: Willing to work closely with others, share ideas, and contribute to a supportive team environment.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous and thorough, ensuring that all communications and grant applications are polished and professional.

This role is open to individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser, a skilled communicator, or someone with a passion for helping others and a willingness to learn, we’d love to hear from you.

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.

We are looking to grow our Board of Trustees to help to increase our reach, enhance our profile, spread our message and continue to develop sustainably.

We are seeking Trustees who will bring creative vision champion the role art plays in public cohesion and transforming people’s lives.We would like to recruit up to three new Trustees during 2026, ideally with experience of Finance, Fundraising or Artistic Programming.Arts at the Old Fire Station (AOFS) is known and respected for its values-led approach and passion for social change, and all Trustees are expected to share that commitment.  

Position: Volunteer Database Administrator (Salesforce).

Location: Remote, with a minimum of 3-4 hours of overlap with UK working hours.

Estimated time: A minimum of 8 hours a month (Flexible schedule to suit your availability).

Expected duration: Ability to commit to a minimum of six months is preferred.

About us

We are the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR), the largest global network of organisations committed to working together to improve the lives of people affected by disasters worldwide. Established in 2007, we have grown into a network of more than 2,000 member organisations across 130+ countries, representing millions of people on the frontlines of hazards, climate change and mass displacement. Through transformative, evidence-led programming and powerful advocacy, we are driving climate action and disaster resilience alongside our members across the globe.

Our vision

A world in which everyone works together to strengthen the resilience of people most at risk and prevent hazards from becoming disasters.

Our values

1. Trust and openness to listen, share and learn
2. Transparency and mutual accountability
3. Equity and respect for diverse identities, needs and perspectives.

Purpose of these volunteer roles

We are seeking 2–3 enthusiastic volunteers to help us clear a backlog of membership applications, process new applications, and maintain, manage, and optimise our Salesforce platform. To meet our needs, we are recruiting for two distinct volunteering roles based on level of Salesforce expertise:

Role 1: Data Entry & administration – Perfect for individuals looking to gain hands-on database experience, or those who are passionate about data accuracy and enjoy structured, routine administrative tasks. You will focus on day-to-day data entry, updating member records, and maintaining high data accuracy.

Role 2: Salesforce optimisation & reports (experienced Salesforce specialist) – Designed for individuals with extensive Salesforce expertise. You will focus on building custom reports, creating dashboards, and optimising system workflows to improve efficiency.

Both roles are essential for ensuring our membership data is up-to-date and accurate, GNDR gets the most out of our Salesforce platform, and our global communications are impactful, targeted and relevant to our members.

What you will be doing

Data Entry & Administration:

• Process a backlog of existing membership applications and handle new member applications, ensuring details are accurately entered into Salesforce
• Assist in managing member groups, mailing lists, and automated workflows
• Monitor and maintain the data quality and integrity of member records
• Work with the Membership Engagement Coordinator and Regional Leads on membership administration and work plans
• Provide first-level support to internal users (e.g. fixing minor issues, updating records and correcting errors).

Salesforce Optimisation & Reports for Salesforce Experienced Volunteers:

• Work with the Membership Engagement Coordinator, Regional Leads, ED and consultant on optimising our use of the platform
• Create and customise reports and dashboards to track membership growth, event attendance, and member engagement
• Suggest and implement system and workflow improvements and optimise Salesforce use.

What we are looking for

• Communication skills: Ability to explain technical processes to non-technical team members
• Attention to detail: High level of accuracy with a commitment to data quality and integrity
• Technical expertise: Confidence working with Google Workspace, spreadsheets and databases
• Data security: Ensure compliance with data protection, confidentiality, and cyber security best practice
• Remote work set-up: Access to a reliable internet connection and to an up-to-date laptop or computer
• For Salesforce optimisation & reports: Prior extensive hands-on experience working with Salesforce. Salesforce certification is highly desirable.

What’s in it for you

• You will join a small and supportive team whose impact reaches across the world
• Gain practical experience managing a global database for the leading international network in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
• Build your Salesforce expertise with real-world use cases relevant to your level of expertise
• Make a real difference by ensuring our network’s data is reliable. Your work will help us accurately represent and connect our 2,000+ members
• You will receive an insightful induction into GNDR’s work, training to carry out your volunteer role and ongoing support from the GNDR team
• Be part of a passionate and diverse global team.

Application process

Please click on "Redirect to Recruiter" to head to our website for instructions on how to apply.

Closing date: Open until filled. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis; please apply as soon as possible to avoid missing out on this opportunity to contribute to our global mission.