Direct Employer Volunteer Roles in West Midlands

This role will involve supporting people in emotional distress or needing somebody to talk to. This opportunity is ideal for those wanting to improve their listening skills. All training provided including mental health awareness and telephone listening. Gain personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement by experiencing the diversity of telephone support. Applications are encouraged from people who have had experience of mental distress or have an understanding of what mental distress may mean for others. 

This role will involve supporting people in emotional distress or needing somebody to talk to. This role requires you to commit to supporting the line four evenings a month (8pm-11pm) and attending our monthly group supervision. 

Mindline Trans +

Mindline call handlers will have the opportunity to volunteer for our Mindline Trans + helpline as a progression opportunity. You will need to attend Trans Awareness training. You will be offering emotional support to transgender people, their family and friends. Mindline Trans+ operates every Friday 8pm – 11pm. Minimum commitment for Mindline Trans+ 2 x 3hr shifts per month.

Person Specification 

Essential: 

PC / Laptop with good internet connection

Positive team-working skills 

Flexible approach

Demonstrable IT knowledge/experience using Microsoft Packages 

Willingness to learn (including independently) to extend their knowledge 

Desirable: 

Understanding of the need for good record keeping and GDPR 

Equal Opportunities:

Mind in Somerset is fully committed to the principle of equal opportunities in employment and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination, direct or indirect. All employees and volunteers are expected to promote and work fully in line with the company’s Equal Opportunities Policy. Mind in Somerset is a Disability Confident employer and welcomes applications from disabled people. If disabled applicants meet the minimum criteria for the job, they can request and will be offered a guaranteed interview. Should applicants require reasonable adjustment support for the interview/Volunteer meeting, please contact Mind in Somerset.

Replenishment and Merchandising Volunteer -  New Volunteer Oppportunity in Acorn's Children's Hospice Superstore - opening soon in Tewkesbury!

The Role 

Acorns have a network of shops across the West Midlands that generate a substantial level of income to enable us to care for children and their families. Our empowered Replenishment and Merchandising Volunteers support the team by replenishing stock on the shop floor and by merchandising it in an eye catching and engaging fashion.

How much time will it take? 

Our shops are open Monday to Saturday (some open on Sundays too), 9am to 5pm. You can volunteer the hours that suit you, but ideally we’ll need you to be available for at least 3 hours per week. 

Why volunteer at Acorns? 

• To help a local charity 
• To make a difference in your local community
•  To connect with like minded people and make new friends
•  Boost your CV 
• Opportunities to progress to other roles 
• All training will be provided

Am I right for the job?

For this role, you'll need to:

• Be welcoming and friendly 
• Have a good eye for merchandising 
•  Be a team player that thinks of others 
• Be sensitive to the needs of our customers/donators

The role in a nutshell:

In this volunteer role, you will be based at home and helping older people via the telephone to access and connect with services locally or nationally. Through research and making telephone calls on the older person’s behalf, your input and support will help empower them to become more confident and less isolated.

What will you be doing?

The role of a Connect and Support Service Volunteer is incredibly varied and always person-centred. On one day you may be supporting an older person to feel less lonely, encouraging them to meet other people by finding out about social activities, making connections, and checking with them that all's gone well. The next you may be organising transport for someone with mobility problems to ensure they can benefit from their local day centre or lunch club. Someone else might benefit from your support in helping them to find a trusted gardener or handyperson so they can maintain their home. Or, you might make a call on someone’s behalf if they don’t feel confident to do so themselves. For others, you might highlight the support that their local Age UK, or similar organisation can offer may be all they need. No day is the same in this vital role!

How would you be supported in this role?

As part of the Connect and Support Service Team, you will receive full training and undertake an induction to ensure you feel confident in your new role as a Connect and Support Service Volunteer. We will provide access to regular check-in and support sessions with the team as well as a peer support network with other volunteers. Age UK will also reimburse you for agreed expenses you incur related to the role.

Why do we need volunteers in this role?

Volunteers enable the Connect and Support Service to reach a greater number of older people in need of support and to provide additional time and focus using their range of experience and skills.

Additional information:

Volunteering in this role must take place between Monday and Friday, 9am – 5pm.

What skills, interests or experience might be helpful in this role?

Older people are at the heart of everything we do at Age UK. While full training and ongoing support are provided to enable you to excel in this role, having a pre-existing understanding of some of the challenges people in later life may face, along with an awareness of the services and support that may be available to them will be particularly useful. In addition, effective verbal and written communication and IT literacy are important in this role.

Join Our Team! Treasurer and Secretary

The Baked Bean Charity is at an exciting transitional time! The Board of Trustees are recruiting a new Treasurer and Secretary with the skills and expertise to help escalate the charity to the forefront of social care and learning disability arts.

We are seeking experienced trustees who can put use their knowledge and expertise into supporting the charity through an interesting period of transition.

We are seeking passionate individuals with specific knowledge and expertise in at least one of the following areas:

- Charity finance

- Charity and/or business development

- Legal knowledge

- Experience of social care and/or learning disabilities.

- Fundraising

- Marketing

Please apply if you have experience being a charity trustee or have a clear understanding of what the role involves.

Successful candidates will:

· Have experience of being a charity trustee or be able to demonstrate knowledge of the requirements.

· Be a passionate person with a drive for equality.

· Have a proactive approach to being a trustee and supporting the development of the charity.

· Being able to commit time and skills to support the growth and the development of the charity.

· Be committed to supporting the Baked Bean Charity to continue providing outstanding quality services.

· Be dedicated to considering the needs of the service users during all decision making.

Time commitment:

The Board meets approximately six times a year. The meeting will last approximately to 2.5 hours.

· Most board meetings will happen in person from our Wandsworth head office.

· The role is unremunerated. Reasonable expenses are payable.

The Baked Bean Charity is a film supporter of equality and diversity, and we encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds.

About us

The Baked Bean Charity is a vibrant, thriving, and exciting service for people with learning disabilities. The charity’s unique offering includes performance-based services such as Dance, Drama, Choir and DJing, sporting services such as Zumba and boxing, and social activities such as club nights and holidays.

The Baked Bean charity promotes the social inclusion of all people with learning disabilities. Our Theatre in Education group works closely with our community partners to provide them with training and learning opportunities, ultimately improving inclusion, and understanding in society.

The Baked Bean Charity prioritises person centred working to ensure that service users are achieving their goals and living happy and fulfilled lives. The service adapts to the needs and wants of the clients.

Primarily based in Wandsworth, the Baked Bean Charity attracts service users from all surrounding boroughs, supporting over 170 people every week!

Available positions:

Treasurer

Secretary

Doctors of the World UK (DOTW UK) is part of the global Médecins du Monde (MDM) network, which delivers over 400 projects in more than 70 countries through 6,000 volunteers. 

Our vision is of a world in which vulnerable people affected by war, natural disasters, disease, hunger, poverty, or exclusion get the healthcare they need. 

Through our health programmes and advocacy, we work to ensure excluded people overcome barriers to realising their right to healthcare. Since opening in the UK in 1998, we’ve raised £10m for overseas programmes, helped 20,000 service users here and fought for healthcare as a human right for all. 

We believe that every person living in the UK has the right to healthcare, and we work to influence public policy and local implementation to reduce health inequalities and ensure access to healthcare for all.

DOTWUK is proud to have a diverse board of trustees with a broad range of skills, including expertise in law, communications, accountancy, migrant lived experience, and more. We are currently seeking a Fundraising Trustee to enhance our team's capabilities.

For this position, we are in search of a candidate who will provide leadership in the development and review of the charity’s fundraising strategy and provide oversight of delivery. The fundraising trustee plays a crucial role in our success, exerting substantial influence on shaping the organisation's financial stability. Collaborating closely with the board, this trustee will help establish fundraising priorities and track progress towards our objectives. The selected individual will utilise their knowledge in the fundraising field to provide expertise to the board's oversight function in this area.

For more information on the role, including a person specification, please refer to the role profile. 

Closing date:

Sunday 9th June 2024

How to Apply 

To apply, please submit your CV & Covering Letter. Your CV and cover letter should be clearly tailored to the position and should reference points from the person specification section of the role profile. Interview dates TBC.

Doctors of the World UK (DOTW UK) is part of the global Médecins du Monde (MDM) network, which delivers over 400 projects in more than 70 countries through 6,000 volunteers. 

Our vision is of a world in which vulnerable people affected by war, natural disasters, disease, hunger, poverty, or exclusion get the healthcare they need. 

Through our health programmes and advocacy, we work to ensure excluded people overcome barriers to realising their right to healthcare. Since opening in the UK in 1998, we’ve raised £10m for overseas programmes, helped 20,000 service users here and fought for healthcare as a human right for all. 

We believe that every person living in the UK has the right to healthcare, and we work to influence public policy and local implementation to reduce health inequalities and ensure access to healthcare for all.

DOTWUK is proud to have a diverse board of trustees with a broad range of skills, including expertise in law, communications, accountancy, migrant lived experience, and more. We are currently seeking a Clinical Trustee to enhance our team's capabilities.

For this dynamic position, we are in search of a candidate with expertise in clinical governance to aid our quarterly clinical governance, quality, and safety board sub-committee meetings. Clinical Trustees contribute a plethora of skills, experience, and expertise to the Board of Trustees, assisting in the Charity's development to fulfil its mission and uphold its principles. The selected individual will utilise their understanding and proficiency in practice delivery and clinical governance to improve the board's oversight function in this area.

For more information on the role, including a person specification, please refer to the role profile. 

Closing date:

Sunday 9th June 2024

How to Apply 

To apply, please submit your CV & Covering Letter on the link provided. Your CV and cover letter should be clearly tailored to the position and should reference points from the person specification section of the role profile. Interview dates TBC.

Canopy
are on a mission to make shopping sustainably easier for everyone.

Fast fashion retailers and cheap plastic products are still wrecking our planet and choking our waterways. We need to buy better. But big retailers are now consistently greenwashing, misleading the very people who are trying to do their bit. It's left nearly 50% of consumers finding it too complicated to even try to shop sustainably. For consumers to shop sustainably they have to go through multiple user journeys on different platforms with very little support in moving from one to the next. Verifying claims, learning about swaps, making a purchase, and tracking your impact accurately are all separated and difficult to do.

We need to remove the barriers, streamline the user journey and give back proper trust. Canopey is the only platform to completely streamline the ethical consumer journey. They bring thousands of verified sustainable products into one online marketplace with powerful impact stats to show the Co2e, water waste, and plastic waste saved per purchase compared to the mainstream alternative. Canopey helps guide you through the minefield of greenwashing to empower everyone to buy better. On one platform, with one user journey, and one mission.

Responsibilities

• They are looking for a VOLUNTEER Sustainability Expert who is passionate about environmental issues. Your main role will be to help support the team in our work verifying the green claims made by brands that want to list their products on Canopey. These duties are integral to the business and ensure we can provide UK shoppers a go-to platform for curated, trustworthy products, so we're looking for someone with expertise and education in this field.

• Responsibilities include: - Evaluating and verifying sustainability claims and evidence from suppliers and brands to ensure they meet our standards. - Working closely with the Canopey team to review and improve our sustainability criteria and guidelines. - Opportunity to work on research and development of new sustainability initiatives or programs. - Potential to also contribute to social media content and blogs we put out which focus on sustainability topics - Participating in workshops and seminars to stay updated on the latest sustainability trends and practices. - Collaborating with other team members to promote a holistic approach to sustainability across all aspects of the business. This role offers a great opportunity to gain experience in the field of sustainability, work with the world's most innovative brands, and work with a team that is dedicated to making a huge positive difference in the world. Canopey is all about creating a hub for sustainable living and we're always looking for new exciting ideas, so this role will have lots of opportunities to help develop new parts of the business and provide input on the content we put out. We look forward to hearing from you!

• Volunteer 2-3 hours per week remotely for 1-2 months ��

Are you confident and experienced using Zoom? We are running an online conference on Zoom on Saturday 22nd June. We would love some help with setting up the Zoom meeting beforehand and support with the conference on the day itself. 

As an Age UK Digital Champion volunteer, you'll receive training to aid older individuals in improving their digital skills and confidence, conducting sessions in various settings.

Your role includes understanding their online barriers, setting goals, tracking progress, and providing feedback for program enhancement.

This is city-wide across Birmingham. 

Specific tasks may include:

· Work with older people in 1:1 and/or group sessions to develop their digital skills and confidence online. 1:1 sessions may be regular and ongoing depending on the needs of the individual.

· Get to know the older people you support and understand the barriers they face to getting online, helping them to overcome them.

· Work with older people you support to understand their goals and set out appropriate plans together to reach them.

· Using resources provided by Age UK, support older people during their sessions to record and celebrate their progress and learning.

· Collect data and information from older people’s sessions and share with the Digital Champion Programme team as applicable, and securely.

Personal qualities and skills most suited to this role

· Great listening skills and clear, personable communication, adaptable to various learner levels, and empathetic to individual needs and situations.

· Comfortable with various common devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops .

· Ideally, confident in different OS systems (android, iOS, Windows) although not essential to be familiar with all.

· Proficient in everyday online tasks such as messaging, emailing, browsing, video calling, shopping, and banking.

· Can ensure attention to detail when collecting and handling older people's information, with awareness of personal data handling.

Additional Information

You will be required to engage with any necessary training provided by Age UK to ensure you feel equipped to support older people effectively in this project.

This role will also require an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which we will organise for you.  

I need someone for admin, social media and IT guy.

We are looking for a highly motivated Partnerships Officer in maintaining our relationships with charities and enterprises

We are looking for someone to help develop and maintain our partnerships with charities and social enterprises

You should be confident in drafting and building proposals; managing the organisation's CRM system and reporting data to the Head of Partnerships.

You will hold a hands-on role working in a small team and you will be comfortable working alone and/or in a team on projects, proposing how best to support and deliver them in collaboration with other departments. 

Some of our past campaigns:

• Promoting Zero Waste
• Tackling modern slavery across the globe
• Improving disability equality in the UK
• Improving mental health in the UK
• Supporting people facing homelessness in the UK

Through promotion we also engage with users of our app and website. By giving people actionable opportunities to help further the cause of our chosen campaigns (i.e. donating to certain charities, writing to your local MP, links to sign petitions), we work to create an engaging space whereby anyone can help contribute and tackle some of the challenges we face today.

Your role:

• Working with the Head Of Partnerships to identify potential charity and social enterprise partners.
• Contacting charities to form potential partnerships.
• Building relationships with existing partners.
• Working with the wider team to plan and execute campaigns and initiatives.
• Writing and designing proposals to potential partnerships.
• Support the Head of Partnerships in delivering the strategic initiatives to enable us to achieve our long-term growth and vision

Your impact:

Our work involves reaching out to charities and social enterprises to work with us, they then suggest improvements and propose actions to support their work

Thus your input will help maintain relations with our partners and help identify new opportunities

Who we are looking for:

We're primarily looking for someone who's had experience in managing relationships with businesses, such as in communications or business development, and someone who enjoys working with people.

They should preferably have working knowledge of Gmail and slack, as well as having experience maintaining CRM

Are you a dynamic fundraising leader with a talent of developing new relationships and creating new sustainable sources of income?

Now-u is a non-profit website and app, launched in July 2020 with a mission to inform, involve and inspire people to help tackle some of the world's most pressing environmental and social problems related to i) human rights and welfare, ii) protecting the world around us, and iii) preserving our species and the planet.

Some of our past campaigns:

• Promoting Zero Waste
• Tackling modern slavery across the globe
• Improving disability equality in the UK
• Improving mental health in the UK
• Supporting people facing homelessness in the UK

Through promotion we also engage with users of our app and website. By giving people actionable opportunities to help further the cause of our chosen campaigns (i.e. donating to certain charities, writing to your local MP, links to sign petitions), we work to create an engaging space whereby anyone can help contribute and tackle some of the challenges we face today.

How we create a campaign:

• The team looks at what issues would be best to tackle for a particular month
• It considers multiple factors: Recent developments impacting charitable causes, public and media attention, upcoming parliamentary debates and more
• We prepare a proposal for the campaign, gathering info, learning materials and suggested actions to complete
• We then reach out to charities and social enterprises to work with us
• They suggest improvements, and propose actions to support their work
• We prepare all these materials to be presented in accessible and engaging ways on the app
• We use other supporting materials like campaign videos, blog articles and social media

The difference you will make in this role

We are seeking an experienced senior fundraiser manager to join our team and lead in the development and delivery of our new fundraising strategy.

This is a new role where you would be instrumental in increasing our supporter base to provide us with an income to grow. 

The ideal person would bring leadership and management experience and have a track record in strategy development, budgets, working to target and KPIs.

Working independently you would:

• Action a fundraising strategy approved by the chief executive & senior leadership team.
• Agree a departmental budget and work to achieve or exceed a fundraising target.
• Co-ordinate and manage fundraising, comprising community, trust, corporate, major donor and digital fundraising, across the organisation.
• Motivate a team of volunteers who engage in fundraising activities
• Build relationships with charitable trusts, foundations and other institutional funders.
• Lead funding applications with regards to charitable trusts, foundations, grants & competitions.
• Develop a strategy to attract corporate partners/sponsors.
• Prepare reports and give presentations on fundraising progress to the senior leadership team and the trustee board.

What are we looking for?

• Excellent written and oral presentation skills: Head of fundraising needs to make regular presentations to trustees, senior managers or potential donors/sponsors and write winning fundraising applications.
• Networking/Relationship Management skills: Head of fundraising will be called upon to represent the organisation to corporates & donors and persuade them that their cause is one they should contribute to.
• Effective project management skills: Ability to lead and co-ordinate fundraising initiatives with the support of volunteers.
• Digital skills: The organisation is centred around mobile/online technology and the Head of fundraising will need to be adept at using these technologies and be aware of their fundraising potential.
• Innovation skills: Strong ideas about how to hit fundraising targets in this climate. 
• Budget management skills: You need to be able to work effectively with limited resources.

Essential experience

• Proven track record in developing and delivering fundraising strategies
• Knowledge of good fundraising procedures for the voluntary sector
• Knowledge of current fundraising guidelines and legislation
• Proven ability in producing effective, and inspiring proposals and funding reports

Transport Volunteer

We’re the MS Society – a community of people living with MS, scientists, campaigners, listeners, organisers, ambassadors and fundraisers. Our volunteers are a key part of achieving our goals and their support is vital. Join us.

About this opportunity
We are looking to recruit a Transport Volunteer for the Ayrshire Group. As a Transport Volunteer, you will help make sure people with MS can access activities and events, by setting up relationships with local transport providers.

This is a great opportunity to gain experience within a large charity and develop your existing skills and learn new ones. We need you to get involved and help make positive changes to the lives of people affected by MS.

About you
You’ll have an interest in the MS Society and the work that we do, as well as the enthusiasm to represent both us and our values locally. You will understand the needs of people affected by MS in your area and be sympathetic to the needs and motivations of volunteers. You will understand the local area and be confident to liaise with organisations that provide local transport.

Apply 
- Read through the role description carefully

- Please apply online

The MS Society is committed to promoting diversity. We can only offer roles to over 18s.

We would like to hear from anyone who would be interested in joining the CARA Board of Trustees.   Please see our CARA Trustee Role Description below for details of what is involved, and the qualities, skills and expertise we are looking for.   If you would be interested in becoming a CARA Trustee, please contact us explaining why you would like to become a CARA Trustee, and providing a brief summary of the skills you would bring to the CARA Board.

Please note that  this is an unpaid role.  Trustees' travel and other expenses will be covered.

Role Description

CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs. CARA works with adults of all genders, young people (aged 12-19) and children aged under 12 from across mid and north Essex.

Over the last 8 years, CARA has grown significantly. Our client numbers have more than quadrupled and we now offer a wide range of services to victims and survivors of all ages and genders. We currently have a team of 40 full and part-time staff and over 20 sessional counsellors.

CARA is interested in hearing from people who might like to join our Board. As a CARA Board member, you will have an opportunity to be actively involved in the running of a forward-thinking and fastdeveloping feminist charity. Our Board of trustees provide strategic direction and governance to CARA, supporting the management team and overseeing all aspects of our work. CARA’s Board of Trustees are also registered as our directors for the purposes of company law.

CARA trustees have the following statutory duties and responsibilities:

• To set and maintain vision, mission and values.

• To develop strategy.

• To establish and monitor policies.

• To set up employment procedures.

• To ensure compliance with CARA’s governing document (constitution).

• To ensure accountability.

• To ensure compliance with the law.

• To maintain proper financial oversight.

• To respect the role of staff.

• To maintain effective Trustees performance.

• To promote CARA.

Other duties:

In addition to the above statutory duties, each trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have to help the Board reach sound decisions. This may involve:

• Scrutinising board papers.

• Leading and contributing to discussions.

• Focusing on key issues.

• Providing guidance on new initiatives.

A CARA trustee should have the following qualities:

• Integrity

• The skills and experience to make informed decisions on governance of a charity.

• A commitment to CARA and our vision, mission, aims and values.

• Willingness to devote the necessary time and effort.

• Strategic vision.

• Good, independent judgement.

• Ability to think creatively.

• Understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship. Please refer to the Charity Commission guidance 

• Ability to work effectively as a member of a team.

Our current Board have a wide range of skills, and we regularly conduct skills audits to ensure our Board has the expertise needed to ensure CARA’s effective governance. To enhance our existing Board of Trustees, we are particularly seeking applications from people with the following skills and experiences:

• Business acumen

• Income generation

• Knowledge of the Women’s Sector

• Property and premises management.

People from Black and minority ethnic groups are currently under-represented on CARA’s Board of Trustees, and we particularly welcome applications from people from these groups. Applications from survivors of sexual violence or child sexual abuse are always welcome.

All members of CARA’s Board of Trustees are required to make a minimum commitment to the organisation. This includes attendance at Trustees meetings, which are held every other month, starting at 7.30pm. Meetings are usually held on Zoom, but occasional travel to Colchester for face-to-face meetings is also required.

All trustee appointments will be conditional on an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check, and satisfactory references.