Volunteer roles in Leigh

Are you interested in making a difference to the lives of children and young people? Is there a skatepark in your area? If so, this role could be for you.

We are a UK registered youth development charity that uses teaching and learning to skateboard in a structured and supportive environment as a platform to develop the skills and abilities of children and young people.

The Role: Chapter Leader

As a Chapter Leader with the Skateboarding Foundation (SF), your role is to set up and run a Local Chapter that gives young people access to skateboarding and life skills through the SF ‘Eduskate’ programme.

Training, materials, resources, equipment and ongoing support, advice and guidance will be provided.

Key responsibilities

Your key responsibilities include:

• Setting up and running the chapter
• Recruiting coaches
• Recruiting learners
• Coordinating the delivery of the coaching programme
• Raising funds and spreading the word
• Helping us monitor and evaluate the programme
• Giving three/four hours a month of your time

You’ll have overall responsibility for the chapter’s activities, compliance, and smooth running. You’ll provide direction and support to your chapter committee, chair meetings, and ensure volunteers, coaching programmes, and fundraising are well managed.

The role involves motivating the team, planning chapter development, and stepping in where needed to keep things on track. You’ll also liaise with the national Board of Trustees, keeping them informed of key decisions and changes. 

Strong leadership, organisation, and a passion for youth development (and ideally skateboarding) and the charity’s mission are essential.

AYDA needs help to support the development of young people from all backgrounds, particularly women and girls, through education, training and family programmes.

As a small volunteer-run charity, AYDA does not have the expertise to create an impactful social media presence. This is especially the case with LinkedIn which we believe to be pivotal in identifying and engaging with potential partners across the UK. This would enable our programmes to be rolled out more widely and so gain more traction.

Most urgently we need someone to work directly with the Chair, Lucy Njomo, to create a powerful profile for the charity. LinkedIn does offer support to "not for profit" organisations, but we have neither the knowledge nor the capabilities within the board of trustees to take advantage of this. We are seeking a confident professional who can take on the challenge of projecting AYDA and its critical work much more effectively to like-minded groups who could and should be working with us to tackle VAWG in society.

We also know that networking via LinkedIn will be fundamental in fuelling a separate initiative to build youth education and vocational training centre in Cameroon. Land and official permission have already been acquired so now we need to build the consortium to deliver this critical initiative.

The desired individual should therefore be able to build a powerful profile and the network visibility we need to bring these vital initiatives into the spotlight to attract both funding and delivery partners.

What are we looking for?

The ideal person to help us will be very comfortable in the social media world, particularly the use of LinkedIn to build strong B2B networks and relationships. Ideally they would also have some third sector experience in creating powerful charity profiles. Since this is an unpaid role, it is likely that the individual would have a personal passion for combatting VAWG in all sections of UK society and/or creating youth development opportunities in one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Understanding of the capabilities of LinkedIn as a platform in general and its support structure for charitable organisations is critical.

What difference will you make?

We accept that we do not have the ability to maximise the potential offered by platforms such as LinkedIn. So, although we welcome advice, we urgently need someone to take on the challenge of turning that into positive actions to empower both the UK VAWG and Cameroon youth development initiatives.

Within the UK the specific impact goals are to:

• Create awareness and provide information about various forms of violence against women and girls. Educate target audiences about the prevalence and impact of VAWG on individuals, families and communities.
• Promote gender equality, by challenging harmful gender norms, fostering respectful relationships, and creating safe environments for women and girls.
• Introduce VAWG survivors to local support services such as helplines, shelters, counselling centres and legal aid organisations.
• Provide education and resources to engage men as allies and promote healthy masculinity. Encourage them as to challenge sexist attitudes and behaviours within their communities.
• Explore ways to support and empower survivors of VAWG. This can include trauma-informed approaches, self-care strategies, and opportunities for economic empowerment.
• Collaboration with key stakeholders in building partnerships to enhance communities’ positive response to VAWG. Highlight the significance of collaborations with government agencies, NGOs, law enforcement, health care providers and educational institutions.

For Cameroon the impact will come from opening doors to potential international funding, construction and delivery partners for the vocational training centre.

AYDA is proud of its work to date and now needs a LinkedIn presence that can take us to the next level.

About the Charity

Since 2014, Barking Mad Dog Rescue has been rescuing and rehoming hundreds of abandoned dogs and cats from the Castelu area in Constanta, Romania. We have provided veterinary care and second chances to animals in desperate nee, but our work is just beginning.

We are a lean, committed team of passionate volunteers working remotely across the UK, supporting a dedicated team working on the ground in rural Romania, where resources are severely limited and where access to modern infrastructure is precarious. We now need to enhance our resources to help us achieve our aims of transforming animal welfare in Castelu, educating the local community about responsible and compassionate pet ownership, and building sustainable solutions to the stray animal crisis.

Role Overview

As our Fundraising Lead, you will play a vital role to help deliver BMDR’s mission, driving the development and delivery of the charity’s fundraising strategy and all related projects and materials.

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, you will design and help us implement a multi‑channel fundraising strategy that includes regular giving, corporate sponsorships, legacy gifts and other income‑generating programmes. 

The ideal candidate is someone who is resourceful, enjoys being creative and working with others to design successful income‑generating campaigns. You will have solid experience in fundraising or marketing within a comparable charitable setting and have strong project‑management skills. 

The role will require around 4-6 hours of volunteer time per week. It will be home-based.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the creation and implementation of the charity’s fundraising strategy, exploring a broader mix of revenue sources, ensuring income growth.
• Deliver feedback mechanisms, surveys and storytelling that showcase donor impact and strengthen loyalty.
• Promote a data-driven fundraising culture,develop performance metrics for campaigns and ensure evidence-based decision-making.
• Champion cross-collaboration, ensuring all teams understand their role in driving the financial sustainability of the charity. Work closely with the Comms and Adoptions teams to embed fundraising messages and calls to action across all touchpoints, and to ensure all content is accurate, current and on-brand.
• Ensure all fundraising activities comply with the UK Charity Commission’s Code of Practice, GDPR and internal policies.

Person Specifications

• Strong written and oral communication; comfortable speaking to donors and partners.
• Ability to translate mission into measurable goals and drive growth.
• Experience of, or demonstrable aptitude for, developing and delivering fundraising strategies.
• An understanding of rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing processes; familiarity with UK & EU animal-welfare regulations.
• Commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within the fundraising team.

Application Process

1. Submit your CV and a short covering letter outlining what draws you to this role and how your skills can contribute to BMDR’s mission.
2. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to:

• A video interview with the charity trustees
• Deliver a short presentation to demonstrate suitability, which may include relevant previous work in a similar arena

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences. Our charity is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity in its workforce.