Volunteer roles for the Environment sector in Edinburgh

Volunteer Marketing Assistant – TreeAction UK

If you're passionate about the environment and young people this could be the right volunteering opportunity for you.

TreeAction UK is a non profit supporting environmental conservation and connecting young people with nature.

The Role

We’re seeking a Volunteer Marketing Assistant to support our mission to boost visibility and engagement on social media. This is a fully remote, unpaid volunteer position. We ask that you are available to volunteer around 2 hours per week designing and drafting content for our non profit organisation to help build awareness and reach.

About TreeAction UK

Tree Action UK is a not for profit community initiative dedicated to restoring local green spaces through tree planting and environmental care.

We plant trees in schools, colleges and on public land in Sussex. Our projects help support environmental education for young people, improve our local environment and enhance community wellbeing.

Key Responsibilities

• Help boost TreeAction’s visibility by creating engaging marketing and social media content that reaches new supporters and volunteers.
• Support our online presence by designing eye-catching posts, improving engagement, and helping to grow our audience across social platforms.
• Work with our team to share our impact more effectively, helping to build TreeAction’s profile and promote our tree planting and conservation work.
• Help develop a consistent brand identity across our posts, ensuring our messaging and visuals feel cohesive and recognisable.

What We’re Looking For

• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills and enthusiasm for environmental causes.
• Comfortable with email outreach and admin tasks.
• Self-motivated, this is a remote role with flexible hours.
• Previous experience in marketing, social media, branding, design or copywriting is a plus

United Nations CSO, Centre for Big Synergy, seeks a Partnerships Advisor/Lead to lead strategic partnerships for various educational and creative programs including the World's biggest sustainability film festival and awards.

What will you be doing?

This is an opportunity to build a very high profile network for furthering your career and also to gain professional esteem and presence.

Big Syn Institute (BSI) is a part of the Centre for Big Synergy and has been organising the Big Syn International Film Festival (BSIFF) since 2019.

The partnerships lead will work closely with senior leadership to identify and engage in commercial and strategic relationships with key partners, both online and offline, for the activities of BSI, London for various creative projects it runs including the World's Biggest sustainability film fest & awards.

Since 2019, the Big Syn Institute has hosted the festival has reached over 50M people and in over 120 countries. Through relevant shorts, features, animations, documentaries, CSR videos and Public Service Videos, Charity films, the festival advocates the United Nations 17 Global Goals and also celebrates the work of UK's marginalised filmmakers. 

OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY award-winners, as well as other luminaries from film and media, sustainability, and policy have been part of the festival and have supported it since inception. Winners from the festival have eventually won OSCARS and EMMY awards

We are looking for a motivated networker with a can-do attitude who enjoys networking and establishing relationships. The partnerships manager, working closely with our team must be able to:

• Identify, cultivate, and secure high‑value funders, corporate patrons, and philanthropic partners.
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of investors, donors, and strategic collaborators.
• Develop compelling partnership propositions, sponsorship decks, and investment narratives tailored to each stakeholder.
• Lead negotiations and close partnership agreements that advance the institute’s creative, cultural, and educational objectives.
• Work closely with executive leadership to align partnership strategy with the institute’s mission and long‑term vision.
  • Collaborate with programming, marketing, legal, and finance teams to deliver high‑impact partnerships.
  • Monitor industry trends, funding landscapes, and corporate CSR priorities to anticipate new opportunities.
• Take ownership as one of most important people associated with the BSI's activities, festivals and awards
• Think strategically to identify and establish new partnerships whilst exploring new engagements with the existing partner network
• Communicate with a very high professional standard with the leadership of partner organisations, some being the biggest corporations in their sector
• Maintain a database with existing and new partnerships and updates on progress made
• Explore ideas, both in house, and with potential and new partners, to come up with creative ideas of collaboration to further common goals

What are we looking for?

A committed and meticulous person, passionate about making the world a more sustainable, safer and peaceful place

• Proven experience: 3 or more years of communicating and working with senior leadership across organisations and identifying potential partners and stakeholders
• Strategic Relationship Builder: able to cultivate trust with senior executives, philanthropists, brand leaders, and industry stakeholders.
• Commercially Astute: understands how funding, sponsorship, and co‑financing models work across film, culture, and corporate CSR.
• Compelling Communicator: exceptional written and verbal communication, able to craft persuasive pitches, proposals, and partnership narratives.
• Diplomatic and Credible: carries themselves with the gravitas needed to represent an institute in high‑level settings.
• Creative Thinker: able to design partnership concepts that feel fresh, mutually beneficial, and aligned with the institute’s mission.
• Resilient and Proactive: comfortable navigating long sales cycles, complex stakeholders, and shifting industry landscapes.
• Highly Organised: manages pipelines, reporting, and stewardship with precision.
• Mission‑Driven: genuinely committed to the cultural, educational, or social purpose of the institute.

What difference will you make?

Billions of people globally, are unaware of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) let alone take any steps to create a more sustainable world for themselves and in the process for others in this complexly interconnected world.

This highlights the need for such initiatives to educate the British as well as global societies about the UN SDGs. Your contributions can educate and inspire millions to act on the SDGs and bring positive changes that will impact all of us in this complexly interconnected world.

Most importantly your efforts will  ensure that the film festival and the UK's marginalised filmmakers (LGBTQI+, women, disabled and ethnic minorities) get even more visibility, thus furthering the motto of the festival to celebrate inclusion and diversity whilst inspiring the civic society to act on the Global Goals. It will also help partner organisations join forces and work in synergy to amplify the impact of the initiative through communal as well as individual efforts. Thus, benefitting more lives that we would have helped acting alone.

United Nations CSO, Centre for Big Synergy, reaches over 250M in over 120 countries. We are seeking a research and outreach lead to help reach potential partners for various UK and global programmes. 

What will you be doing?

An opportunity to contribute to world leading projects impacting millions of people across the globe. Projects span across multiple sectors such as film and media, education, DEI, environment and climate change amongst others.

• Research key stakeholders/potential partners that fit our target audience. Working on LinkedIn and other partnership platforms
• Identify and collect details and impact of potential partner leads
• Compile, format, and maintain clean, accurate databases
• Cross-check data for accuracy and support wider outreach and campaign activity

This role is very flexible and can be fitted around your availability.

What are we looking for?

A committed and meticulous person, passionate about making the world a more sustainable, safer and peaceful place.

• Have some experience of research and working with senior leadership across organisations and identifying potential partners and stakeholders
• Ability to research and maintain database of potential partners, work on lead generation and follow ups
• Prompt communication and timekeeping, ability to deliver on time
• Maintain confidentiality and utmost standards of professional etiquette.

What difference will you make?

Billions of people globally, are unaware of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) let alone take any steps to create a more sustainable world for themselves and in the process for others in this complexly interconnected world.

Our projects and initiatives help educate the British as well as global societies about the UN SDGs. Your contributions can educate and inspire millions to act on the SDGs and bring positive changes that will impact all of us in this complexly interconnected world.

It will also help partner organisations join forces and work in synergy to amplify the impact of the initiative through communal as well as individual efforts. Thus, benefitting more lives that we would have helped acting alone.

About TreeAction UK

Tree Action UK is a not for profit community initiative dedicated to restoring local green spaces through tree planting and environmental care.

We plant trees in schools, colleges and on public land in Sussex. Our projects help support environmental education for young people, improve our local environment and enhance community wellbeing.

The Role

We’re seeking a Volunteer Fundraising Assistant to support our sponsorship and corporate partnership efforts. This is a fully remote, unpaid volunteer position. We ask that you are available to volunteer around 1 or 2 hours per week to help contact local sponsors by sendon out our brochure via email to local business, to promote sponsorship of for our community tree planting and maintenance.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in identifying and approaching potential corporate sponsors and partners aligned with our environmental mission.
• Help manage sponsorship outreach, including drafting emails, follow-ups and tracking responses.
• Maintain organised records of contacts, opportunities, and progress using simple tools like spreadsheets.
• Collaborate with the team to celebrate successes and refine our fundraising strategy.

What We’re Looking For

• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills and enthusiasm for environmental causes.
• Comfortable with email outreach and admin tasks.
• Self-motivated, this is a remote role with flexible hours.
• Previous experience in fundraising, sales, or customer relations is a plus

The Trust is searching for a Digital Trustee to provide strategic oversight and expert insight into technology strategy, digital innovation (including AI) and cyber security. This role is key to ensuring technology and data are used securely, ethically, and efficiently to advance the Trust's mission. This role will provide strategic advice and oversight for the staff team, in identifying risks and opportunities relating to emerging technologies, and will support the board in governance in this area.

We are looking for an experienced Senior Data Analyst to join now-u and help us better understand how users interact with our app and digital platforms. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with data, solving problems, and turning insights into meaningful improvements that can support positive social impact.

In this role, you will work closely with the Insights, Marketing, and Development teams to analyse data, improve reporting, and help the organisation make more informed decisions around user engagement and retention. You will also support the creation of dashboards and reports that help teams better understand user behaviour and performance across campaigns and platforms.

We are looking for someone with strong analytical skills, experience working with data and reporting tools, and the ability to communicate insights clearly to different audiences. Someone proactive, collaborative, and comfortable working across teams in a fast-paced and purpose-driven environment would be a great fit for this role.

We’re looking for a creative and passionate Social Media Manager to grow our online presence, create engaging content, and support impactful campaigns across multiple platforms.

Join Activists Without Borders and help amplify campaigns for human rights, climate justice, nature, and global activism.

Requirements:
• Experience using Canva
• Basic video editing skills
• Familiarity with all major social media platforms
• Fluency in English

If you care about creating change through media and activism, we’d love to hear from you.

Send your CV and a short introduction, along with links to your creative work or social media channels you have managed.

About Mudland

Mudland operates at the intersection of climate, culture, and global systems.
We work with organisations navigating complex regions and emerging markets, helping them build credible presence through narrative, partnerships, and local intelligence.
Our current focus includes:

• Climate and energy transition (including hydrogen and future fuels)
• Global South markets (India, Himalayan region, beyond)
• Institutional partnerships and strategic positioning

We are now building the foundation to evolve into a high-value strategic advisory and partnerships studio.

Why this role exists

We are entering a phase where Mudland is actively building real partnerships and revenue pathways.
This role is not about content or social media.

It is about:

building a pipeline of serious organisations and opening real conversations

What you will do

1. Build a target pipeline

• Identify and map 50–100 relevant organisations, including:
  • Energy companies (hydrogen, renewables)
  • Climate funds and investors
  • Foundations and international organisations
• Find key decision-makers (partnerships, strategy, innovation roles)

2. Support outreach and activation

• Draft and send targeted outreach messages (email / LinkedIn)
• Track responses and manage follow-ups
• Help convert interest into scheduled conversations

3. Structure opportunities

• Help prepare briefs, proposals, and decks
• Translate ongoing conversations into clear partnership opportunities
• Support positioning Mudland’s offer in a structured way

4. Build internal systems

• Set up and maintain a simple CRM / tracking system
• Organise contacts, conversations, and next steps
• Help create a repeatable pipeline process

What we are looking for

• Strong communication skills (clear, concise, confident)
• Comfortable with outreach and professional communication
• Ability to research and structure information
• Interest in climate, energy, or global development
• Self-driven and reliable (this matters more than experience)

Bonus if you have:

• Background in consulting, startups, or partnerships
• Familiarity with climate or energy sector
• Experience with LinkedIn outreach or CRM tools

What you will gain

• Direct exposure to building a high-level advisory and partnerships pipeline
• Experience working across climate, energy, and international markets
• Close collaboration with the founder (hands-on, not hierarchical)
• Opportunity to transition into a paid role as Mudland grows
• Access to a network across climate, media, and global institutions

Minimum Hours per Week:

4-6 hours per week

Duration:

1-2 months

About Circular Kitchens

Circular Kitchens is a social enterprise and membership platform designed to help restaurants, cafés, pubs, food stalls, and other catering businesses become fully circular: Plastic Free, Ecological, Local, and Zero Waste.

By working with the hospitality sector, we are helping regenerate local communities, strengthen regional food systems, and increase demand for ecological and regenerative agriculture in the UK. Our current focus is launching Circular Kitchens in Whitstable and supporting our first mover restaurants to achieve 3 Star Circular Kitchens certification. Based on learnings from this pilot, we are preparing to scale across the UK, growing our environmental and social impact.

Role Description

We are seeking a volunteer to support our development of a sustainable wholesale products database. This role will involve researching products that restaurants use (e.g. paper napkins, take-away containers, condiments) and ranking them using our scoring system. The aim is to remove uncertainty from sustainable procurement, helping our members make responsible decisions and avoid purchasing from companies engaged in greenwashing.

As the scoring system is built, this role is primarily a data entry position that requires some research skills and strong attention to detail.

An Ideal Candidate Will Be:

• Interested in sustainability, hospitality, data analytics, or a related field

• Technically confident (e.g. comfortable working with digital tools, spreadsheets, or information management platforms like Coda)

• Comfortable working with evolving, early-stage systems

• Well organised with strong attention to detail

• Curious about startups, social enterprise, and/or sustainability

This is a voluntary role with a flexible time commitment, offering the opportunity to contribute to the operational backbone of a growing social enterprise and work closely with the founding team on systems designed to have real-world impact.

People & Planet is looking for volunteers to assist with compiling its 2026/27 People & Planet University League; the only higher education ranking that classifies based on ethics and climate justice criteria.

Universities impart skills and knowledge, form life-long beliefs and behaviours, act as centres of communities, employ, house and feed large numbers of people and promote the creation and sharing of knowledge. We believe this makes them uniquely placed to lead on environmental and ethical issues. For this reason the People & Planet University League has been running since 2007 and has been published by high-profile media partners such as The Guardian (2021, 2022. 2023, 2024, 2025), The BBC, and whose data is used in the Sunday Time Good University Guide.

Volunteers will research publicly available university documents and assess universities against our marking criteria, which cover a wide range of climate and social justice issues including decarbonisation, fossil fuel divestment, ethical banking, workers’ rights and environmental management among others. This work will help to incentivise the university sector towards taking immediate and appropriate action on the climate crisis and upholding the rights and wellbeing of all people internationally.

The role will develop and improve the following areas:

• Qualitative research skills

• Attention to detail

• Use of data collection software

• Time management and keeping to deadlines

• Working independently and remotely

• Communication skills

• Knowledge of environmental management processes and sustainability reporting.

Training is provided for the role. We believe the skills and experience gained could be valuable for a number of career paths, including working in NGOs, corporate sustainability, estates management, higher education policy making, research and campaigning among many others.

People & Planet would like to support volunteers in their future careers, so will give all volunteers an official reference letter on successful completion of their placement and will act as a referee for future positions for which you may apply. From last year’s cohort, 100% said they would recommend this position to someone who wanted to add experience to their CV.

Feedback from previous volunteers

‘I think as someone looking for relevant experience to bolster a CV, this is a helpful and not-too-time-consuming position. It had exactly the kind of flexibility that I required at this point in time.’

‘It's a really great opportunity to hone one's research skills, learn more about what our universities can do to improve their impact on the planet, and make a small but real difference.’

Person Specification -the following are essential:

• Access to a computer or laptop and internet connection.

• Familiarity with desk-based research.

• Ability to work accurately and efficiently to agreed standards.

• Reliability and commitment to completing work to deadlines.

• Able to communicate needs with staff at People & Planet and if needed, ask for appropriate support to complete tasks in time.

• Ability to search policy documents for specific information in English.

• Ability to assess information against standardised frameworks.

• Ability to work remotely and independently

The following are desirable:

• Awareness of current issues in sustainability and ethics.

• Experience of research and data collection.

• An interest in higher education policy.

Please note anyone employed by a UK university cannot volunteer as a Researcher.

You will need to commit to

• Two 25 hour weeks of remote work in July and August.

• 5 hours work per day for the two week period. Volunteers can manage their own time flexibly and will receive support from People & Planet, but must meet task deadlines on a weekly basis and attend a short daily meeting. Volunteers are free to work evenings and weekends, but please note People & Planet operates a 4 day week from 9-5.

• One induction session the week prior to your 2 week engagement.

• Completion of a self-access standardisation activity prior to the start of your engagement.

• Attending a brief meeting in the morning or afternoon each day and one individual check-in meeting in week 1.

• Checking the work chat function regularly.

Summer timetable

June 22nd-July 3rd Ethical Investment and Banking, Ethical Careers and Recruitment, Education for Sustainable Development. Induction 18th June 10am

July 13th-July 24th Sustainable Food, Staff & HR, Environmental Policy and Strategy Induction 9th July 10am

August 3rd-August 14th Managing Carbon, Workers’ Rights, Staff and Student Engagement. Induction 30th July 10am

How to Apply

Fill in this form and attach a C.V that has your full name in the filename.

Applications will be processed on a rolling basis until positions are filled, so please apply early to avoid disappointment. The deadline for applications is Wednesday the 20th May at 11:59

Candidates will need to attend a non-competitive group recruitment session and complete an online self-access task before being invited to volunteer with us.

Please let us know if you have specific access needs and what we can do to make the interview, training and volunteer experience more accessible to you, including organising a one-on-one interview. We welcome people with hearing loss, deaf and or disabled people to apply for this volunteer opportunity -unfortunately we don't use BSL so would need to make alternative support provisions for the training, unless a BSL interpreter can join you. If you have specific needs where we might support you by making this volunteering opportunity more accessible, please contact us.

People & Planet welcome applications from BAME folks and people of colour, from disabled people, from LGBTQI*people, from people who speak English as a second language, from people who identify as non-binary gender, from women, from people of different ages, from people with caring responsibilities and from people with irregular migration status, people seeking asylum in the UK or with a migrant background, folks with a working class background, and everyone else.

As a Climate Ambassador, you would be joining thousands of volunteers supporting the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, launched in 2022.

Climate Ambassadors offer free support to nurseries, schools and colleges across England to develop and implement a climate action plan. This framework helps education settings evaluate and address key action areas – adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity, climate education and green careers, and decarbonisation.

If you have: 

• A desire to create coordinated impact in your local community, while utilising your employer’s volunteering leave (where applicable); 

• Knowledge about the sustainability and climate challenges facing the world; 

• Familiarity with education settings, or the ability to inspire senior leaders, educators and young people to set out on their sustainability journey; 

• A growth and mentorship mindset to help education communities begin or progress with their climate action plan, 

… then join the growing community of Climate Ambassadors and embed climate action where it matters most! 

You will receive training, guidance and regular communications from our regional teams to make the most of the climate action opportunities on your doorstep. You can get started by volunteering just 2 hours a year. 

How can you become a Climate Ambassador? 

1. Complete an initial interest form and your regional team will be in touch to support your registration on the STEM Learning platform; 
2. Receive induction, your DBS check and your Climate Ambassador training; 
3. Identify activities you would like to support and post about them on the STEM Learning platform, or browse activities requested by your local schools! 

Your regional team will get in touch suggesting a good match to a local setting seeking support relating to your area of interest or experience. You can also upskill through the Sustainability Leadership Programme to unlock new areas of expertise. 

Please note: STEM Learning UK host Climate Ambassador profiles on their website, which requires you to register as a STEM Ambassador. Your profile will be processed as a Climate Ambassador upon selecting ‘Climate’ as your area of interest during registration.