Widening participation officer volunteer roles

The Widening Participation Officer tries to recruit, engage and support as many 16-18 year old volunteers as possible across all of our chapters, with particular focus on those that’d benefit the most from additional WP volunteers, often those
chapters doing the most events.

Due to the sizable scope of the role, the WP Subcommittee is there to help as needed. This is primarily through admin work. You should ensure that you have a suitable number of keen volunteers within the subcommittee that you can delegate tasks to, ensuring that they were well informed, supported and any tasks followed up. This is likely to involve plenty of messaging and occasional meetings.

A primary part of the role that you can delegate is to conceptualise and write the policy for managing 16-18 year old volunteers. This should have a focus on appropriate safeguarding and you can get input from the subcommittee and other Trustees/Officers but should include things like recruitment methods, required paperwork, risk assessments, management at events etc. These policies need to then be communicated effectively to committee and volunteers. 

There are several ways that WP volunteers should be recruited. Schools/6th Forms should be proactively reached out to and a long-term connection formed, ideally through a named person such as a head of year, head of medicine applications or career progression advisor. They can then pass the information on to their students using a range of methods ranging from email to sending a video to, if the local chapter is keen or a member of the subcommittee is nearby, an  in-person visit to an assembly or lunchtime/after-school training session.  

Efforts should be made to build relationships with National bodies that provide volunteering or work experience to 16-18 year olds such as In2MedSchool and Medic Mentor, working closely with them to advertise our volunteering to their
students. 

Once students are interested, they should be able to register as volunteers and attend an Introduction Training session. This can be a WP-specific session with particular focus on benefits and support for WP volunteers such as Duke of Edinburgh hours.

Once volunteers are involved, they should be supported through their time with us including email updates, check-ins, social media posts and training sessions around key times such as university applications.

Finally, of particular note, you should work with the Conference Officer to ensure that WP volunteers are supported in attending the Annual National Conference, in a safe way and have talks of interest to them.
 

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in joining our Board at this exciting and important time for The Young Foundation.

We are currently in the second year of our five-year strategy, and the recent appointment of our new Chief Executive, Dr Sue Griffiths, who joins us on 2 March, marks a significant moment for the organisation. Sue and the Board will work closely to ensure that The Young Foundation continues to deliver against its core purpose: building a just society in which everyone can participate and all contributions are valued.

At The Young Foundation, we know that inequality diminishes lives, corrodes community wellbeing, and reduces prosperity for society. Our mission is to create the conditions in which people and communities can flourish. Working in partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, as well as public and private sector organisations, we empower people to fulfil their potential and lead happier, more meaningful lives. Ultimately, our work seeks to unlock shared prosperity.

Very little about the future of society is inevitable. Bound by our shared humanity, we believe that we collectively hold the power to shape our communities and institutions. Drawing on over 60 years of research, innovation and incubation, we put proven tools and approaches into practice to drive meaningful and lasting change.

As an influential and pioneering organisation in our field, we are seeking new Trustees to help us build the strongest non-executive team possible. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates from across the UK who can offer depth of insight, experience or influence in one or more of the following areas:

· Social innovation and community action

· Local or combined authorities

· Health

· Business and social entrepreneurship

· Higher education

· Political networks

· Finance (an accountancy qualification would be an asset)

· External affairs and influencing, including opinion formers

Our Trustees bring the full breadth of their professional expertise and lived experience into the Boardroom. While we have identified priority areas within our skills matrix, we are committed to building a genuinely diverse and inclusive Board. We welcome candidates who can bring varied perspectives and lived experiences, enabling us to make decisions informed by a complete and authentic picture of life across the UK.

If you believe you have the knowledge, skills and experience to contribute to our work, we would be delighted to hear from you.