Refugee cafe volunteer roles
To ensure the smooth and efficient running of meetings,
providing assistance and support to the chair of the board of trustees.
To be responsible for legislative and regulatory requirements affecting the charity
and its’ activities, including ensuring all actions are in line with the charity’s
governing document
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Main Responsibilities
• To liaise with the chair and chief executive officer to plan, arrange and
produce agendas and supporting papers for trustee meetings and for
drafting the subsequent minutes.
• To act as charity secretary and ensure that charity law, and regulatory
requirements of reporting and public accountability are complied with.
• To ensure that all meetings comply with the requirements of the
governing document.
• Arranging and administrating trustee meetings and any sub-committees
in line with legal, and other regulatory requirements, and in accordance
with the governing document.
• Advise and guide the board of any legal and regulatory implications of the
charity’s strategic plan.
• Acting as the custodian of the governing document, in liaison with the
trustees, reviewing its appropriateness and monitoring that the charity’s
activities reflect the objects set out in the governing document. Also, to
act as the holder statutory registers and books, and other legal and
important documents such as insurance policies.
• Supporting the trustees in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities,
organising trustee induction and ongoing training.
• Ensuring that trustee decisions are implemented in accordance with the
charity’s governing document or other internal operational procedures.
• Ensuring the charity’s stationery, including electronic communications
(emails, websites etc), orders, invoices, cheques and other relevant
documents include all the details required under company law and, if
applicable, charity law and/or VAT law.
• Plan and prepare the committee meetings and AGM with others as
appropriate (planning dates, booking rooms, sending out minutes and
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other papers.
• Minute committee meetings or ensure another minute taker is available.
• Accurately record decisions and actions in the minutes and report to the
next committee meeting on the progress of actions and the result of
decisions.
Person Specification
Individuals are sought who have a strong empathy with our mission to help
refugees securing employment in the catering industry.
Experience, skills and expertise in
charity law, an interest in the well-being of refugees combined with an indepth
understanding of our work and ambitions are particularly sought.
Knowledge, skills and understanding:
• Record keeping, information retrieval and dissemination of Management
Committee data/documentation to the trustees and relevant parties.
• Writing agendas and concise minutes.
• Knowledge of Charity law and the voluntary sector.
• Commitment to the organisation and a willingness to devote the
necessary time and effort
• Preparedness to make recommendations to the board and a willingness to
speak their mind with diplomacy
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and
liabilities of trusteeship
• An ability to work effectively as a member of a team
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• A positive and ‘can-do’ outlook as well as a sense of humour.
• Commitment to promoting equality and diversity.
• Ability to organize time and work to deadlines.
Context
The Board of Trustees are jointly responsible for the overall governance and
strategic direction of the charity, its financial health, the integrity of its
activities and developing the organisation’s aims, objectives and goals in
accordance with the governing document, legal and regulatory guidelines.
All trustees should also be aware of, and understand, their individual and
collective responsibilities, and should not be overly reliant on one or more
individual trustees in any particular aspect of the governance of the charity.
The statutory duties of a trustee are:
• To ensure the organisation complies with its governing document.
• To ensure that the organisation pursues its objectives as defined in its
governing document.
• To ensure the organisation applies its resources exclusively in pursuance
of its objectives - the charity must not spend money on activities which
are not included in its own objectives, no matter how 'charitable' and
'worthwhile' those activities are.
• To contribute actively to the Board of Trustees' role in giving firm
strategic direction to the organisation, setting overall policy, defining
goals and setting targets and evaluating performance against agreed
targets.
• To safeguard the good name and values of the organisation.
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• To ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation.
• To ensure the financial stability of the organisation.
• To protect and manage the property of the organisation and to ensure the
proper investment of the organisation's funds.
• If the organisation employs staff, to appoint the CEO and monitor his or
her performance.
In addition, with other trustees to hold the charity “in trust” for current
and future beneficiaries by:
• Ensuring that the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic
direction and is focused on achieving these.
• Being responsible for the performance of the charity and for its
“corporate” behaviour; ensuring that the charity complies with all legal
and regulatory requirements.
• Acting as guardians of the charity’s assets, both tangible and intangible,
taking all due care over their security, deployment and proper application.
• Ensuring that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible
standard.
• Trustees are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement at the time of
joining the board.
As well as the various statutory duties, any trustee should make full use
of any specific skills, knowledge or experience to help the board make
good decisions
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Breadwinners Finance Trustee & Vice Chair Role - Aug 2025
Job title: Finance and Vice Chair Trustee - London & Brighton
Reporting to: Board of Trustees and Managing Director
Remuneration: £0 (Pro-Bono, Volunteering role)
Duration: 3 years, with a potential further 3 terms extension as per the board of Trustees Decision.
Location: Remote mainly, London coworking Office Space in Brixton, Brighton coworking space in future expanding reach.
Commitment and Work Style: 3 years, approx 8 hrs per Quarter, 5 meetings per year. Both F2F and online meetings.
Start: Aug 2025 / Apply ASAP as we interview and recruit as applications come, no more applications will be taken after 15th July 2025
We are looking for the next Finance and Vice Chair Trustee to join our board and help lead the strategy, developing the core team to continue growing our support for young refugees across the UK.
About Breadwinners
Breadwinners is set up to tackle unemployment and poor well-being by providing young refugees and people seeking asylum with their first work experience in the UK, training and personal mentors so that they can start and progress in their careers. We achieve this goal through three consecutive programmes, using our award-winning bread stalls in markets across London and Brighton and wholesale for socially-minded cafes and restaurants
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Risers programme: A two-month early intervention programme designed to provide structured work experience, training, and mentorship to newly arrived young people seeking asylum through our 18 stalls.
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Breadwinners programme: The follow-up programme for refugees with the right to work, which involves working as a market stall manager for six months and earning the UK living wage.
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Proofers programme: A progression programme that entails working remotely as part-time online sales representatives for six months, managing our wholesale delivery model.
Our programmes, delivered across London and Brighton, and over the last 7 years we have made a significant impact in supporting over 744+ programme participants, with an impressive 93% reporting notable improvements in their overall well-being, 76% of our Breadwinners programme progress into work, further education or volunteering, and all this while minimising our Carbon Footprint by 20.5% through the sale of organic goods. This year, we are planning to double our impact with young refugees, with recently secured funding, new markets, and focusing on our wholesale model.
You will be working directly with the Managing Director, Core team and Board of Trustees and volunteers to improve Finance Processes, set up and review Budgets, and lead board meetings structure and discussions, delivering the best strategy for the Breadwinners community. You will have the chance to see the impact your work has, meet and support amazing young people who deserve better opportunities, and work together on the strategy of Breadwinners. Please apply as soon as possible, by submitting your cover letter and CV accroding instructions. Please use “BW - Finance Trustee and Vice Chair” as the email subject. We will arrange interviews for great applications as they come in. No more applications will be taken after the 15th of July 2025.
We are an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourage applications from those with lived experience of migration, and from diverse applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital/civil partnership status, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or pregnancy/maternity leave status.
We welcome informal chats about the role - please contact Martin Cosarinsky Campos.
Ideal candidates attributes
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Passionate about supporting refugees and young people seeking asylum.
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Knowledge and experience of finance best practices for Charities and Social Enterprises.
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Knowledge of bookkeeping and financial management.(Xero, Quickbooks)
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Strong financial analysis.
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Ability to communicate clearly, setting agendas, and driving strategic conversations.
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Self starter with commitment, motivation and drive to upskill as needed to support the charity.
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Capacity to plan and drive the board meetings agenda liaising with the Managing Director and Chair, managing the appropriate regulatory documentation. .
Your role
Alongside the general responsibilities of a Trustee, you will:
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Liaise with the Managing Director to obtain an overview of the ongoing financial affairs of the organisation to ensure its financial viability and that all processes are legal, constitutional and within accepted accounting practice.
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Support the Managing Director in the production of an annual budget and propose its adoption at the last meeting of the previous financial year.
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Support the Director to ensure proper records are kept and that effective financial procedures are in place.
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Support the Director to monitor and report on the financial health of the organisation at board meetings, making fellow committee members aware of their financial obligations and taking a lead in interpreting financial data to them
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Oversee the production of necessary financial reports/returns, accounts and audits together with auditors.
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Support and Guidance: The vice chair provides support and guidance to the chair, helping them to effectively manage the board and the charity's operations. They may also act as a "sounding board" for the chair and other trustees, offering alternative perspectives and insights.
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Subcommittee Leadership: The vice chair may lead or be involved in subcommittees of the board, such as a finance committee or a fundraising committee.
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Strategic Direction: The vice chair helps ensure that the charity operates within its charitable objectives and has a clear strategic direction.
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Effective Governance: They contribute to the overall governance of the charity by ensuring that meetings are effective and that trustees fulfill their duties.
Requirements
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Available to dedicate at least 8 hrs per quarter to Breadwinner's work.
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Available to attend Trustee board meetings on weekday afternoons 5 times a year.
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Available to support Quarterly Team Wellbeing sessions.
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Committed to a 3-year term on the Board.
We support young refugees well-being by providing them with work, training and mentoring.





The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum (NNRF) is a £1m+ community-based charity providing advice and support to individuals and families who seek asylum or live as refugees. The Forum is a key partner of Nottingham City Council, and its work spans a number of separate programmes, much of which is delivered from our building and cafe in the heart of the city.
What exactly does the Forum do?
- We believe in a future where people are treated fairly and compassionately, and where everyone has the chance to feel safe and live with dignity.
- Working in partnership with others, our focus is on helping refugees and asylum seekers to rebuild their lives and to help with their immediate needs. We do this by providing a welcoming community centre, and by offering a range of support services and programmes, including impartial advice, advocacy and signposting.
We are seeking to appoint several Trustees during 2025, each on an initial 3-year term and applications are welcome from any background. In common with many organisations in this sector, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those with lived experience of the asylum system are underrepresented on our Board at this time. Applicants who have governance experience, for example in schools or local government, or who may be working in a legal/HR role may be of interest. However, the most important attribute is that you have the energy, time and interest necessary to support the Forum’s work. Candidates will be appointed solely on a defined selection criterion, ensuring that ethnicity plays no role in the decision-making process.
The role of our Trustees is vital to what we do and it means that you can support those seeking refuge to re-establish themselves in a new country. The Board of Trustees has the ultimate authority and responsibility for directing and governing the organisation. Being a Trustee can be a hugely rewarding experience - it offers a fantastic development opportunity, the chance to make a positive impact, to build new relationships and to gain experience in charity operations. As a Trustee you will be able to use your knowledge, skills and experience and have a direct influence over a cause you care about. You will also get free access to a range of Board-level learning resources, including articles, webinars and national networking events.
These are voluntary roles, with meetings usually set for after normal working hours. The minimum time commitment is quite modest - we have six Board meetings per year, each lasting a couple of hours, and an Annual General Meeting in November. We do actively encourage Trustees to also get involved in the work of at least one of our committees, so all of this means a commitment of no more than 1 day per month.
How can I apply?
- In the first instance, please send your CV (if you have one) and/or letter of application to our Chair of Trustees, Graham Bell, telling us about your interest in the role why you want to help us by volunteering as a Trustee. You are also welcome to send your application in the form of a short video.
- We will also be holding online events during July and September as a way of introducing our work and as an opportunity for you to ask any questions about the role. Further details will be posted on social media.
This role is advertised as part of TPP's Free Giving Back Services. This volunteer advertisement copy has been supplied to TPP and applicants apply direct to the organisation. Please contact the organisation directly if you have any questions about this volunteer role.