The ms society volunteer roles

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As an Activities Organiser, you'll bring your skills, energy and enthusiasm to lead, develop and plan activities and events with your local group. You’ll get involved in creating and coordinating an annual calendar of events, making sure they’re run safely and effectively, to be accessible to our MS community. You’ll take a lead role at events on the day, inspiring your fellow volunteers to get involved.  

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As a Communications Volunteer you’ll play a key role in promoting your group to people in your area affected by MS, and helping them feel connected. You could be editing newsletters, responding to information requests, or developing engaging content for social media — depending on what the group needs.

In this role you’ll develop your writing skills, and gain experience of communicating across a range of digital channels.

Most importantly you’ll be helping us engage with lots of people and get the word out to people with MS about support to help them live their lives to the full.

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As our local group Lead Support Volunteer you’ll help recruit a team of Support Volunteers. You’ll support them to deliver telephone, face-to-face and online assistance to people affected by MS.

In this role you’ll develop your leadership, communication, organisation and team building skills.

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As an Administration Volunteer you’ll play an essential role in your local group.

You’ll act as the first point of contact for the group and circulate information to other volunteers and members. You’ll ensure that data and details are kept up to date, to comply with data protection legislation.

In this role you’ll develop your administration and organisation skills. 

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As a Fundraising Volunteer, you’ll provide much-needed help looking after fundraising relationships, and with fundraising activities and events. You’ll help us look after the supporters who are fundraising for us — to make sure they’re happy and feel part of what we do. You’ll also support us with planning and running events, including preparation and making sure everything runs smoothly on the day.

In this role you’ll develop your organisation, communication and team working skills.

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As a Health and Safety Volunteer you’ll make sure all local group volunteers are aware of their health and safety responsibilities. You’ll help them understand and follow guidelines and procedures to coordinate safe activities.

In this role you’ll gain experience of health and safety, as well as develop your organisation, admin and communication skills.

Across the UK, our volunteer groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS, bringing people together and connecting our local MS communities.

As a Group Coordinator, you’ll take the lead in making sure your local group reaches out to people affected by MS.

The role is varied, and will enable you to further develop your leadership, management, communication, organisation and motivation skills.

We are looking for a dedicated Lay Trustee who will join our Board to support the strategic direction of the charity. We are member-led, funded by our universities and together with students we strive to create a world class student experience for all.

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in our Lay Trustee role here at Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union (The SU); based in beautiful Cornwall. We're very pleased to announce the opening of applications for our esteemed Board of Trustees. We are very proud of what we do, and we are looking for a dedicated Lay Trustee who will join our Board to support the strategic direction of the charity. You will need to share the values of the SU and commitment to achieve our priorities, working collaboratively to help take us to the next level. We are a member-led charity, funded by our universities and together with students we strive to create a world class student experience for all.

Our membership comprises of students studying with both Falmouth University and the University of Exeter (Cornwall) which creates a unique and special experience of which we love to be a key part of.

The role of Lay Trustee provides an opportunity to support our Sabbatical and Student Trustees foster a culture of student leadership and deliver a student-focused service.

You will be taking up the role at a critical and exciting time, as we are within the first year of our 2025-2030 Strategy.  If you are excited at the prospect of contributing to the growth and development of the SU, then we eagerly anticipate the possibility of working alongside you to shape the future of our organisation.

We are especially keen to hear from applicants based in the South West, with experience in any of the below areas:

· Finance:

o Financial planning and management

o Development of income streams and financial sustainability

· Law and Compliance:

o Charity Law

o Employment Law

· People:

o HR management 

o Learning and development

· Fundraising:

o Grant fundraising 

o Social investment and enterprise

o Developing commercial income streams 

For full details of the role, please see the Lay Trustee Recruitment Pack below. 

Why Should You Become a Trustee?

Being a Trustee is a valuable and rewarding experience. You’ll get to make a lasting difference to the lives of our students, and influence how the Union is run. You will use your skills, knowledge, and experience to support the Board in reaching sound decisions. You will be involved in leading discussions, making collective decisions, and identifying key issues. You’ll have the opportunity to mentor and support our President and Student Trustees. As a Lay Trustee, you are eligible to become Deputy Chair of the Board, or Chair of one of the sub-committees. This is dependent on vacancies for these roles.

You will receive comprehensive induction training, and further training relevant to your role as a Chair or member of a sub-committee.

Job Description

We’re looking for someone to work collectively with our Board of Trustees to provide support and strategic direction to our Students’ Union.

Remuneration: Lay Trustees are voluntary, unpaid roles. However, all reasonable out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed, such as travel costs to board meetings.

Hours: Hours can vary however typically each year:

· Four Board of Trustees meetings – each meeting is around three hours long conducted online.

· Additional four (eight for Finance) sub-committees meetings conducted online – each meeting is around 1 hour.

· There are usually one or two in-person events per year including a Board of Trustees meeting – each event is usually a day and/or an evening event. These are delivered in Cornwall (expenses paid).

Term of office: three years, up to three terms.

Location: Homebased with one or two in-person events in Cornwall per year.

Role Purpose:

The Trustees are ultimately responsible, individually and collectively, for all activity within the SU. The Board is legally responsible for our staff, finances, risk management and reputation. The Board is responsible for setting the vision and values of the organisation and for ensuring the delivery of organisational purpose. The Trustees ensure development of and agree a long-term strategy, approving and monitoring delivery plans.

How To Apply

Please visit the role posting on our website for further details on how to apply. We require the completion of a Person Details form, and Skills Audit spreadsheets, along with your CV and covering letter. The deadline for applications is 09:00 on Monday 13 April. Applications will be considered and shortlisted upon receipt, with interviews to take place (online) on a rolling basis.  

Ideally, you will be available to attend a Trustee Induction on the morning of Tuesday 23 June, ahead of the first Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday 24 June (as an observer), both online via MS Teams. Your term of office will start on Wednesday 01 July.

For full details of the role, please see the Lay Trustee Recruitment Pack below. 

Do you share our vision of a society in which women and girls are safe, healthy and equal? Do you believe passionately in the importance of women’s and girls’ organisations and feel frustrated at the amount of funding and support that they receive? Would you enjoy contributing to the development of an ambitious organisation that aims to make a difference?

If so, you could be one of the people we’re looking for to help support Rosa through the next stage of our journey. This is an exciting time to join us as we implement our ambitious new strategy. We’re planning to expand our work in funding women’s and girls’ organisations, building the capacity of the sector and inspiring more investment into it – with the objective of building a sector that is thriving, resilient and sustainable.

We are looking for between three and five new Trustees to join our board in 2026. We’re specifically looking to strengthen the board’s expertise in grant making, fundraising and marketing and communications. We would also welcome applications from people with private sector experience or with direct experience of running a charity with links to the women and girls sector. Lastly, as a UK-wide grant maker, we would be keen to have more trustees residing in and/or with personal experience of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Rosa takes its commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion extremely seriously, recognising the value that this adds to our success. Rosa already reaps the benefits of having a diverse board and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and life experiences. We are therefore particularly keen to hear from people with a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences, people from Black and racially minoritised communities, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.

Joining our Board

The role of Trustees at Rosa

As a Trustee you will be part of the Rosa team that:

• Sets our direction and purpose;
• Ensures we are well run financially and operating in line with our purpose and the law;
• Connects us to our partners;
• Supports our staff who manage and run the charity; and
• Promotes and always acts in the best interest of our charity

When recruiting new Trustees to our Board, we look for people who:

• Are passionate about our cause and willing to champion our work;
• Believe in and act in accordance with our values;
• Take the Trustee role seriously and will show commitment, responsibility and integrity;
• Are able to offer constructive challenge and think strategically;
• Will share their knowledge, experience and expertise to support Rosa’s development.

Right now, we are specifically looking for individuals with the following skill sets:

• Senior level expertise of grant-making in the UK;
• Experience of charity fundraising;
• Marketing and comms expertise.

And individuals with any of the following backgrounds:

• Private sector experience, bringing senior corporate sector contacts;
• Direct experience of running a women’s and girls’ organisation or with links to the women and girls sector;
• Residing in and/or personal experience of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

All applicants must be based in the UK.

Key commitments of a Rosa Trustee

• Prepare for, attend and actively participate in Board and sub-committee meetings
• Use networks to champion and promote Rosa
• Support staff members to improve operations by bringing specialist skills and knowledge
• Be aware of, and abstain from, any conflict of interest
• Behave in a way that is consistent with Rosa’s values and code of conduct

We warmly welcome applications from those who are new to Trustee/ Board work as well as individuals who have a proven track record in governance roles.

If you’d like an informal and private chat about being a Rosa Trustee, and what it might involve, we encourage you to get in touch. Details on how to organise a chat with someone from the team can be found on the role description webpage.

Recruitment timetable

We’re aiming to keep to the timetable outlined below so that we can have new Trustees on Board by mid 2026. Interviews will be conducted remotely via Zoom or MS Teams (first round) and in person in central London (second round – expenses refunded).

• Informal conversations: Weeks of 9th March, 16th March, 23rd March.
• Application deadline: 5pm Thursday 2nd April
• First interviews: Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th April
• Second interviews: Tuesday 12 May
• Board meeting and strategy day: Tuesday 30th June (all day)

Accessibility is important to us at Rosa. If you have questions or there are adjustments that would make the application and interview process more accessible to you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

To apply, please visit our website to review the full Trustee information pack and complete the online application form.

Our Second Home (OSH) is the UK’s youth movement of people with refugee backgrounds. We have welcomed over 600 young people from 50 countries to our activities in London, Essex and Bristol.

Mission

For young people with refugee experience to build community, become leaders and flourish into adulthood in the place they call home. Through transformative activities, our members take control of their lives and create meaningful change for themselves and their wider community.

About This Role

OSH is at a pivotal point in its development.

Over the past few years, OSH has grown from a small, founder-led organisation into a national movement with increasing reach, complexity, and ambition. Our income has risen from £250,000 to £500,000, our staff and volunteer base is expanding, and our programmes are reaching more young people than ever before.

OSH now needs confident, experienced, and future-focused governance that can support scaling while protecting the culture, values, and relational way of working that make the organisation distinctive.

Your role will involve 4 main areas:

1. Board Leadership and Governance
2. Strategy and Organisational Leadership
3. CEO Support, Appraisal, and Accountability
4. External Representation and Engagement

More information is in the recruitment pack attached.

About You

Essential

• Significant experience in organisational and strategic leadership, ideally including guiding a charity or mission-driven organisation from small to medium scale
• A proactive and forward-thinking mindset, demonstrating the ability to anticipate potential issues and risks while identifying opportunities.
• Strong understanding of good governance, with the confidence to lead a board and hold senior executives to account
• Experience of or exposure to fundraising, financial sustainability, and organisational development
• The ability to balance support and challenge, particularly in a Chair - CEO relationship
• Commitment to OSH’s mission and values, including a genuine willingness to engage with and be guided by those with lived experience of the asylum system
• Highly organised and dynamic, with the ability to prioritise the effective use of Board time, facilitate the timely and focused distribution of information, and ensure appropriate follow-up to Board decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the emotional intelligence to lead inclusively, collaboratively, and sensitively

Desirable

• Lived experience of asylum or forced migration
• Previous experience as a Chair or Vice-Chair of a charity or similar organisation
• Experience working with youth-led or lived-experience-led organisations
• Familiarity with safeguarding in youth or community settings