Youth coach volunteer roles in birmingham

The role: Our scholars are eager to meet graduates and professionals who can support them in achieving their ambitions. Mentors are mainly responsible for providing support and career advice to pupils. Mentors must also be committed to supporting us at our events, which take place in the evenings and on Saturdays throughout the term. These events include our scholar enrichment days, our parent and pupil information sessions and our volunteer social events which are held in London. 

Availability: Mentors must be available for approximately 2-3 hours a month to meet with their mentee, and discuss via phone, email or in person. There is a minimum commitment of one year (three terms).

In addition to this, you will need to support a minimum of 2 events throughout the year. Enrichment and skill-building events for our scholars usually take place in the evenings and at weekends, with events ranging from 2-8 hours in length.

Location: Mentoring sessions and events can take place online or in person.

Responsibilities: 

• Working collaboratively with parents to give students guidance and advice on how to achieve their aspirations

• Informing pupils of opportunities to them so that they can achieve their aspirations

• Meeting with pupils for one to one mentoring sessions

• Supporting pupils with university, sixth form or job applications

• Monitoring and reporting on each pupils progress

• Giving feedback to parents and programme coordinators

• Working collaboratively with other tutors and mentors

• Supporting at events including:

  • Collaborate effectively with other volunteers within the events team

  • Assist with setting up and clearing up at events

  • Support workshop facilitators with managing groups of young people or parents

  • Assist with the coordination of lunch or refreshments for attendees

  • Assist the event coordinator with ensuring the health and safety of attendees and overall risk management at events

  • Give feedback to the event coordinators and programme managers at the end of each event.

Person specification:

• Be passionate and committed to tackling educational inequality

• Enjoy working with children and young people

• Be educated to a minimum of degree level or equivalent

• Possess strong communication skills both written and verbal

• Be punctual and organised

• Be able to remain calm under pressure

• Have excellent time management skills

Bright Futures UK is looking for compassionate and knowledgeable professionals in the gaming industry to mentor a young person living with long-term illnesses. 

What will you be doing? 

• Run mentoring sessions online to support a young person back into university

• Offer advice and insights related to game and character design or animation through tailored sessions

• Help the young person explore potential career paths in the gaming and animation industries

• Share your own experiences and knowledge to inspire and motivate. 

• Adhere to safeguarding policies and report any concerns to BFUK

What are we looking for? 

• Expertise in gaming industry: Profound knowledge and experience in the gaming industry preferably in areas like character design. 

• Mentoring and Communication: Ability to mentor effectively, offering guidance and support to a young person with clarity and empathy. 

• Flexibility and Commitment: Willingness to commit to 5-6 months of 1-hour sessions 

What difference will you make? 

• By volunteering as a Mentor, you’ll play a vital role in empowering a young person to take control of their health and future, helping them to achieve their goals despite the challenges they face. 

As a charity that supports children and young people, we make safeguarding individuals our top priority. For this reason, all volunteers are subject to an enhanced criminal record and disclosures check. We also ask all volunteers to adhere to our Safeguarding, Equality and Confidentiality policies. These are nothing to worry about and if you have any questions, our team are happy to support you.

Learning and curriculum designers wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for volunteers to develop learning content and resources, such as lesson plans and educational materials, to support our environmental learning goals. This role will focus on creating school-friendly resources for our website and collaborating with educators to enhance our offerings.

The role would include:

• Developing online learning resources for our website (on-going project)
• Designing or tailoring existing lesson plans and activities for schools 
• Supporting the creation of ELWP’s Under 18s volunteering policy
• Supporting outreach efforts to promote ELWP’s existing learning programmes

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

Ideal candidates have experience in curriculum design, teaching, or educational resource development. Creativity, strong writing skills, and an understanding of outdoor or environmental education will be valuable. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role.  

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

Monitoring, evaluation and learning coordinators wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals. 

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for a volunteer to track the impact of our educational initiatives, gather data, and support continuous improvement in our learning programs. This role ensures that our learning activities are effective and contribute meaningfully to ELWP’s overarching goals.

This role would include:

• Developing measures of success of existing environmental education initiatives
• Collecting and analyzing feedback from programme participants
• Recommending improvements based on data insights

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

Individuals with experience in research, programme evaluation, data analysis, or education assessment are encouraged to apply. Attention to detail and an interest in measuring impact will be key strengths in this role. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This  will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

We take children on voyages as readers and writers. Volunteer with us to join the adventure!  

Who are Literacy Pirates?   

Through our term-long after-school programmes, we develop the literacy, confidence and perseverance of children aged 9-13 who are falling behind in school and have fewer opportunities in their personal lives, so that they can succeed at school and beyond.  

Children join us on our Virtual Ship once a week to practise their reading and writing. By welcoming them into our joyful spaces, publishing their work in the real world, and celebrating everything they do, we develop their literacy, confidence and perseverance.  

What does a Volunteer do?  

As a Volunteer Crewmate, your role is to join our online sessions and help children practise their reading and writing in small groups by providing constant encouragement, positivity and celebration of their achievements.

Sessions are led and managed by staff, which means your time is solely focused on supporting the children in breakout rooms.

You will:  

• Receive full training.

• Gain experience working with children and leading small groups online.

• Develop your communication, leadership, problem-solving and digital skills.

• Take part in games and have fun. 

• Be invited to virtual celebration events with the children to see the difference that you’ve made.  

We offer employment references, for volunteers who have fulfilled their commitment of 12 sessions with us. 

What are we looking for?  

We ask volunteers to give just three hours per month, although you are welcome to volunteer as frequently as you like!  

Sessions run every weekday during term time from 3:45 to 6:15 p.m. and you will have the flexibility to select which sessions you would like to attend. Please note, we do not run sessions during half terms or the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays. 

No experience is required to become a volunteer – just a desire to help children develop their reading and writing skills! Full training is provided.  

All we ask is that you:  

• Are aged 16+ 

• Must be a UK resident  

• Complete a criminal background check (we cover the cost of this)  

• Have access to a laptop or desktop computer with a working webcam and microphone (mobile devices are unsuitable for this role) 

Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reach crisis point.

We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference.

Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling.

Purpose of the role:

To be part of a flexible team providing empathic, caring and informed support to families, carers and others who use our services.

Our volunteers take calls from parents and carers on a wide range of subjects, whether that might be issues around separation and divorce, isolation, depression, bullying and abuse, dealing with behavioural problems, etc. You can find out more about our services on our website. We are a national service with home-based call takers county wide and a call centre in Old Hatfield Hertfordshire.

Once trained volunteers sign up for a weekly 4-hour shift comprising 3 hours ‘online’ followed by a debrief session with your supervisor which can last around half to one hour.

We recruit volunteers with a range of backgrounds and experiences though we ask that volunteers have experience of parenting or working with children and young people, are good listeners and have a willingness to learn. Being remote it will be very important that you have a PC/laptop, plug in headset with microphone, good Wi-Fi and a private place to work from home. You need to be a UK resident.

Our volunteers often tell us how rewarding their time with us is.

You'll be part of a compassionate community and feel a real sense of pride for what you do. You'll meet new people, gain valuable experience, and develop your skillset. We're passionate about helping people to reach their full potential, so we'll offer you full training suitable for the role, supervision from a named member of staff, including help setting personal development goals, and opportunities to increase skills and input into practice via regular Practice Development Groups.

Our training programme is excellent and will give you the opportunity to develop the skills needed to offer empathic support and guidance to callers whatever their circumstances; all shifts are overseen by a regular shift supervisor who provides ongoing remote support.

We ask our volunteers to make a commitment of 1 year (with time off for holidays), obviously we understand that circumstances sometimes make that an impossibility but can be helpful to know at the outset that is the general expectation.

We have remote call taker training sessions that run over five sessions and is done remotely connecting you via a Microsoft Teams link. Our next training is starting in September 2025.

Module One = Tues 16th Sept

Module Two = Wed 24th Sept

Module Three = Weds 1st Oct

Module Four = Weds 8th Oct

Module Five = Wed 15th Oct

10am to 2pm

You would need to be able to attend all five sessions and be available on four occasions to listen into calls, this can be organised remotely. If you are unable to attend the training however are interested, please do apply as we run training throughout the year.

We are seeking an enthusiastic individual to encourage people to join our charity. You’ll organize and run engaging Introduction training sessions to welcome new members. The role involves seeking and managing recruitment opportunities, such as hosting stalls at recruitment fairs and Open Days. You’ll also motivate trainees to complete essential training and attend their first event. We’re looking for a charismatic, organized go-getter with excellent communication skills and a passion for building community.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a charity at the very start and to make a difference in shaping how we move forward.

Living Reasons – What we are planning, who we are and where we are now:

What is the plan?

The person who is starting the charity up is autistic, has ADHD, CPTSD and also multiple physical conditions that effect daily life and is part of the LGBTQ+ community and has faced a lot of issues in life because of these things.

Living Reasons is being created to fix what we think is a challenging situation that is getting harder to achieve every week, month and year in the current economic, political, environmental and societal landscape. It is not easily defined but we hope the charity objects below will help put context to what we want to achieve, what we can say is that below are the issues we are trying to address, how we do this will change as quickly as society does, but the issues we want to tackle are these:

1) Outdated and damaging employment practices

2) Accessibility to services

3) Limited employment, training and education opportunities

4) Lack of support during times of crisis or need

5) Lack of equity and agency for many people in society

6) Institutional discrimination that is not challenged

7) Abuse of the legal system at all levels

8) Abuse of power in government bodies

9) Poor access to healthcare

10)  Unequal treatment of many people in society by large corporations

11)  Assumptions made by wider society based on incorrect, outdated or discriminatory rhetoric that is used in daily life

12)  Outdated company engagement with the public

13)  Lack of support that is not talked about and not being addressed

Who are we?

Well, it is a small operation at this point, there are three people that are working to set up the charity, but we are all neurodivergent and have disabling aspects to our lives and experienced lack of opportunity or presumed ideas based on others perception of us. We are just people who care in reality and want to make a true change in society for everyone we work with.

Where are we now?

We are ready to become a CIO; we want to go straight to a fully incorporated charity so that we are able gain the most support as possible and open up opportunities for growth from day one as well as ensure people know they can trust us.

We need 3 trustees to start and understandably, two of us don’t want to be trustees due to personal reasons, so we need at least another two, maybe more, trustees to start up. That is hopefully where you come in!

We have our governing document, and we are still completing the further documents we want to launch with. We hope that new trustees will add to the plan and bring fresh ways of us working and how communicate the message of the charity.

The charity objects

· To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.

For the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of one or more of the following factors: unemployment; financial hardship; youth or old age; ill health (physical or mental); substance abuse or dependency including alcohol and drugs; discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, belief, creed, sexual orientation or gender re-assignment; poor educational or skills attainment; relationship and family breakdown; poor housing (that is housing that does not meet basic habitable standards; crime (either as a victim of crime or as an offender rehabilitating into society).

· The relief of financial hardship, either generally or individually, of people living in England and Wales by making grants of money for providing or paying for items, services or facilities

· The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues and publishing the results to the public; advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity and promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds.

Our Living Values -

Creativity

1) Imaginative Development (Individual)

2) Instilled Collaboration (Internal)

3) Changing The Status Quo (External)

Prospectivity

1) What Can You Do (Individual)

2) What Can We Do (Internal)

3) What Can They Do (External)

Revolutionary 

1) Inspire With Confidence (Individual)

2) Boundaryless Innovation (Internal)

3) Challenge Traditions (External)

Attentivity

1) Analyse and Redesign (Individual)

2) Rebel and Reform (Internal)

3) Enquire and Reimagine (External)

So, who are we looking for?

The answer to this is complex. What we are looking for in a trustee is someone who is passionate about creating equity for everyone while sustaining equality, someone that has lived experiences that would mean they can relate to the objects of the charity, whether that be personally, as a support for someone that does or has struggled to be given equity in society or someone that works or has worked in an industry that has played a part in restricting others in society and want that to make real change.

We think this covers a large number of people.

The role of trustee in Living Reasons will always be a remote role, meetings will be held online as standard as we would like to have trustees that are from all areas of the UK and that anyone can be a trustee, regardless of any accessibility requirements.

Additionally, to the personal experiences, the below are also necessary for all trustees of all charities:

1) Must not have an unspent conviction

2) Must not be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults

3) Must not be in undischarged bankruptcy, or other debt management programme

4) Must not be barred from being a trustee or company director

The requirements of skills and understanding of the undertaking of trusteeship with Living Reasons:

1) Being a trustee comes with requirements and responsibilities in terms of acting in the best interest of the charity at all times in line with the law and the charity’s governing document, which will be supplied to all trustees before agreeing to be a trustee and will be discussed with any person selected to be a trustee before they agree to be a trustee.

2) An understanding of financial information is required, this is to ensure that financial reports are assessed correctly and that any anomalies are highlighted, this does not mean you need to have in depth accounting or finance experience by any means, but it is important that you are able to analyse financial reports and risk as they arise.

3) Specific to Living Reasons, you will need to be someone that thinks creatively and is not scared of challenging traditions and pre-existing ideas and open to hear from a wide audience to make informed but innovative changes that are sustainable, realistic but also dynamic and challenging the current societal norms.

Welcome and thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee of The Hardman Trust

• Are you keen to help people leaving prison and support them to work towards their goals?
• Do you believe that with the right support people can rebuild their lives, contribute to their communities, and break free from the cycle of reoffending?
• Do you share our conviction that no one should be defined solely by their past, and that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive?

If so, you could be one of the people we are looking for to help The Hardman Trust move into the next
exciting chapter of our work.

Who are we?
The Hardman Trust was established in 1994, with the aim of helping people leaving prison after long
sentences. Our founder, Guy Armstrong, was a prison Chaplain. He saw the challenges facing this
group: homelessness, a lack of workplace skills, stigma, isolation, low confidence, and poverty. A fund
was set up to provide financial assistance to purchase tools and equipment, offering a helping hand
into employment. We now know from experience that this practical approach works. The people the
Hardman Trust has supported over three decades have used this financial support to gain
qualifications, start their own businesses, find employment and a new direction in life. We are now
extending our reach so more people can benefit from our support and sharing our evidence and
insights to help shape a more effective, humane criminal justice system. Achieving this means securing
the right funding, building strong partnerships, and ensuring our resources are used with maximum
efficiency and impact.
We are looking for several new Trustees to join the Hardman Trust Board. If you want to support our
mission, and you feel that you have the commitment and the life or professional experience for the
role, we would love to hear from you. In return, you will have the chance to make a meaningful
difference to those serving long sentences; and you will be part of a passionate and committed team
of staff, trustees and volunteers. We offer support to all new Trustees and if you haven’t been one
before, don’t worry - we will make sure you have access to any training and development you feel you
need.
It is a privilege to be part of the Hardman Trust’s work. It is an incredible organisation making real
change in the criminal justice sector. It is an exciting time to join the charity – we have recently
appointed a new CEO, Annette So and we are looking forward to developing our direction for the
future and fulfilling our vision where everyone can achieve their potential within and beyond prison.

The Trustee role
The Trustees work collectively as a Board. They have ultimate responsibility for governing the
Hardman Trust charity, directing its management, and ensuring it is well-run and operates according to
its purposes. They are legally responsible for the charity's finances, reputation, and compliance with
the law. Each Trustee brings their own lived experience and/or professional skills to support the charity
achieve its aims. Most Trustees also learn new skills during their time on the Board.
We want our Board to look like the world we serve and to have different voices within it. We know
that diverse groups of people make better decisions. We are keen to hear from people who can bring
perspectives or experiences often underrepresented in charity governance and how can help us
progress our vision.
Trustees are not usually involved in the day-to-day running of the charity. However, they work closely
with the Hardman Trust’s dedicated staff team, who are supported by a wider group of volunteers. The
Trustee role as in the majority of charities, is unpaid although legitimate expenses – travel costs for
example – can be claimed.

The Trustees’ key responsibilities

• Setting The Hardman Trust’s strategy and priorities.
• Representing the community, we serve and ensuring our decisions reflect the needs and experiences of those leaving prison.
• Supporting and constructively challenging our staff team to ensure the charity’s work, resources, and partnerships are well-managed and deliver maximum impact.
• Approving operational strategies and policies and monitoring their implementation.
• Approving The Hardman Trust’s financial plans and budgets and monitoring progress.
• Ensuring that key risks are being identified, monitored and controlled effectively.
• Promoting and safeguarding our values by acting with integrity, fairness, and commitment at all times.
• Applying their skills, expertise, knowledge and contacts to promote the charity’s work.

What we are looking for
No single Trustee will have everything the Hardman Trust needs. We want our Board to have the
collective experience needed to support and guide the charity. What matters most is your
commitment to our mission, your willingness to share your perspective and knowledge, and your
readiness to contribute to our Board’s decision-making. You do not have to have been a Trustee
before.
To complement the experience of our current Trustees, we are keen to hear from people with one or
more of the following:

• Lived experience of the criminal justice system, whether your own or that of a partner, family member, or close friend.
• Knowledge of Black, Asian, or minority ethnic communities, especially in relation to challenges faced after leaving prison.
• Professional experience in, or connected to, the criminal justice system.
• Expertise in HR, banking, and employment law to help us strengthen our policies and practices.
• Fundraising expertise to help grow the charity’s income and help us establish a Fundraising
• Advisory Board.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to improving outcomes for people serving long prison sentences.

Please review the document The Hardman Trust Trustee Pack for more information about this position.

St Giles Trust is seeking passionate, committed individuals to join us as a Trustee on our Board of Trustees. As we continue to grow and evolve, we are looking for trustees who bring fresh perspectives, lived experience, and specialist expertise to help guide our strategic direction and strengthen our governance.

About Us

St Giles Trust is an award winning, national charity working to empower people facing adversity. We believe in second chances, equity, and the power of lived experience. Our work spans criminal justice, poverty, exploitation, and violence—supporting people to build better futures.

Who We’re Looking For

We are particularly keen to hear from individuals with experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Human Resources / Organisational Development

• Senior Organisational Leadership

• Criminal Justice System

• Poverty, Exploitation & Violence

• Lived Experience

We welcome applications from people of the global majority (Black, Brown, Multi-heritage), those who identify as disabled, neurodiverse, or who face social barriers. We value the empowering impact of diverse thought and lived experience.

What You’ll Do

As a trustee, you will:

• Attend quarterly board meetings and contribute to strategic decision-making.

• Champion our mission and values.

• Provide insight and challenge to help us grow sustainably and inclusively.

• Support our visibility and credibility with funders and stakeholders.

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: 9.00am, Monday 29 September 2025

• Interviews: Week commencing 13 October 2025

• Meet the Executive Team: Week commencing 20 October 2025

How to Apply

Please send a covering letter (max 1 page) and CV (max 3 pages) outlining how you meet the requirements via the apply button. For full information see our Trustee Information Pack attached.