Office Administrative Volunteer Volunteer Roles
The Organisation
The University of Portsmouth Students’ Union (UPSU) is an independent charity that exists to advance the education of all students at the University of Portsmouth. Our vision is to have a ‘Positive Impact with every Portsmouth student’ and we aim to have both immediate and legacy impacts through our range of inspiring services and activities.
UPSU is a forward thinking, friendly organisation with a vision of “delivering a positive impact with every Portsmouth student”. As a charity led by its values and guided by its members, we offer a wide range of services and activities to support and enrich the lives of our students. UPSU employs approximately 30 career staff, a further 50 student staff and we work with over 1000 registered student volunteers and over 100 student groups.
UPSU has implemented a new 3 year Strategy from August 2023 and as always, our Strategy sets the direction for UPSU and ensures we are all focussed on the right things for the benefit of all University of Portsmouth students. Our new Strategy focuses on three areas:
- Academic Success - All students’ academic outcomes are improved as a result of the work that we do - making this the best we can for UoP students through our charitable aims of Representation, Development and Welfare
- Social Capital - Students are supported to find themselves, be themselves, connect and belong
- Future Readiness - Students’ futures are made clearer and enhanced by the work that we do
The Person
The right candidate will thrive in a student led, highly responsive environment and have an enthusiasm for supporting and guiding a student organisation. They will command confidence, have sound judgement and strong communication and leadership skills.
To support our current strategic direction and bring new skills to the Board, the essential skills, knowledge or experience required are:
- AI / Digital Communication
- Finance
- Charity Experience - governance, leadership and strategic direction
Due to the current make-up of our Trustee Board, we are not actively searching for candidates with skills, knowledge and experience related to the Student Union and HE sector and we would welcome candidates from other sectors or regions to apply.
That said, we would very much like to encourage anyone who feels that they could bring something to our Board to apply, regardless of experience - our purpose and values also lead us to welcome first time Trustees too!
We are strongly dedicated to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within our community and we are passionate about creating a welcoming and inclusive environment which supports everyone from recruitment through to appointment, regardless of your background. We welcome applications from all talented people and as part of this commitment, we are working to improve the diversity of our Trustee Board to ensure that it is as relevant and representative of our student community as possible and are actively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups.
Board meetings sit 4-5 times per year and in addition we ask our Trustees to share their expertise in supporting one of our sub-committees. The roles are voluntary and whilst we welcome all applicants, the requirement for regular meeting attendance may suit people within easy travel time to Portsmouth.
Further Information
For information about how to apply, please visit our website. Application is via a comprehensive CV plus a supporting statement (of no more than two sides of A4) detailing why you are applying for the position and what requirements you meet to carry out the role
Completed applications must be received by midday on the 7th October 2024
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!
YMCA Lincolnshire is seeking new Trustees to join us in bringing energy, enthusiasm, wise governance and strategic guidance to maximise our reach and impact on people's lives and communities. We are passionate about the causes we support, we are an ambitious team and we operate within an equitable, open and engaging culture. Our passion and ambition for the work means we are not afraid of taking informed risks and new challenges. We are looking for people who really want to make a difference through giving of their time, knowledge and experience.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience in education/youth work, business/commercial operations or housing/homelessness.
We hold bi-monthly Board meetings in Lincoln, which we ask Trustees to attend in-person. As well as some other training and Sprint events taking place in-person. Other tasks such as reading Board papers can be done remotely.
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!
Family Thing Dance is a small but growing charity that provides inclusive dance classes for people with learning differences and diverse abilities. We are looking for Trustees to join our Board to offer governance and support to grow the charity.
The dance base is commercial dance and hip-hop. Family Thing's mission is to provide opportunities for empowerment, support and a sense of belonging using dance as a vehicle to reach these aims.
Family Thing is passionate about providing these dance opportunities for everyone. There are many reasons why. Mencap lists the main benefits of taking part in leisure activities as improving physical and mental health, personal social skills, self-worth and confidence, and social attitudes (Mencap, 2019). Yet despite these widely understood benefits, only 16.8% of people with a learning disability take part in a sport or physical activities at least once a week, compared with 39.9% of the general population (Sport England, 2018). Additionally, there is a great deal of evidence that inactivity is a major contributing factor of ill health in people with learning disabilities. Only 9% of participants in a 2016 review met the minimum recommended guidelines for physical activity (Dairo et al, 2016).
We know that organisations like Family Thing play a role in the well-being of people with learning disabilities by providing activities that promote good physical health as well as positive psychological and social stimulation, and offers a way to overcome situations such as loneliness and anxiety. We know that a positive impact of Family Thing is the increase in social engagement and improvements in physical and mental well-being for those who participate in our classes.
Activities: Family Thing offers free or subsidised, supportive, fun and creative dance classes to diverse groups of children, young people and adults. During each session, dancers are invited to create their own ‘dance hero persona’, and have opportunities to express themselves as individuals with the support of the group. There is a focus on strengthening their sense of community through the concept of “supporting your crew”. As defined by those who attend the groups, the overall aim is to create a “big family” that’ll dance altogether basically!
What are we looking for?
At this particular time we are keen to find people with a financial services background and someone who may be willing to take on the role of Treasurer in due course and/or someone with marketing skills, including digital marketing.
Experience
- Experience of the dance community (desirable but not essential)
- An understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and a desire to support those with learning differences and diverse abilities
- Leadership experience (desirable but not essential)
- Experience of delivering strategic organisational change (desirable but not essential)
It is not necessary to have previous board experience as training and support can be given
Skills
- A commitment to the Family Thing
- A willingness to devote half a day a month to this work and be able to attend the bi-monthly board meetings
- Good, independent judgement
- An ability to think creatively
- A willingness to speak your mind and communicate well
- An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
- An ability to work effectively as a member of a team
- An understanding of safeguarding practices
- Some experience of charity finance and fundraising is desirable, but not essential (and candidates do not need prior experience as a charity trustee)
- Knowledge and experience of current and fundraising activities relevant to voluntary and community organisations (desirable but not essential)
Attitude
- Honest, open and trustworthy with an understanding of the duty of candour
- Respectful of confidentiality procedures
Special Conditions
The post requires the ability to attend online meetings and occasional face to face events. All expenses will be reimbursed.
What difference will you make?
We are interested in potential Trustees who can bring experience across of range of areas. At this particular time we are keen to find people with a financial services background and someone who may be willing to take on the role of Treasurer in due course and/or someone with marketing skills, including digital marketing.
We are also keen to hear from people who can bring experience in any of these areas:
- working with charitable organisations
- developing strategy;
- project management;
- fundraising and grants management;
Bringing skills in any of these areas will make a huge difference to the work Family Thing is able to provide.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
We're recruiting for new members of ReachOut's Board of Trustees, as well as members of our governance committees.
If you’re passionate about supporting young people from under-resourced communities to thrive, and you have the skills and experience to help shape and guide our organisation to achieve our vision, we’d love to hear from you.
We’re currently recruiting for the following roles:
- Trustees.
- Committee members for our Programmes and Impact Committee and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
For more information on the roles please download our information pack.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.