Volunteer volunteer roles in West midlands

Do you want to be inspired by the impact of education? Do you have the skills to lead an established board of governors? A school in Tewkesbury is looking for a skilled volunteer to drive school improvement by becoming a chair of governors.

What will you be doing?

Governing bodies are responsible for the strategic management of a school and will make decisions about a wide range of issues

The core responsibilities involved are:

· Ensuring accountability

· Providing support and challenge to the schools senior leadership team

· Monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress

· Budgetary allocation and control

· Shaping plans for school improvement and overseeing their implementation

· Setting the school’s aims and values

· Appointing senior members of staff including the Head Teacher

A school governing body is made up of representatives from the school, the parents, and the local community.

What are we looking for?

This vacancy is for an alternative provision secondary school. Ideally, you would have previous experience in the education sector however please still apply if your skills lie in a different industry. Previous chairing or leadership experience is desired but not necessary if you feel you have education knowledge to offer.

You must be over 18, but you don’t need to be a parent or have children of school age. Often, it’s the outside perspective you can bring that a school needs. Professional experience in areas such as safe guarding, change management, and leadership skills are all useful to a school. Soft skills such as communication and problem solving are also great additions.

What difference will you make?

Governors make decisions that affect schools for years to come. Chair of Governors work in partnership with Head Teachers and the Senior Management Team to help deliver the best possible education, and help children realise their expectations and aspirations.

Our recent impact survey found that our volunteers bring £9.9 million worth of value to schools each year, and 9/10 volunteers would recommend being a governor to a friend.

As a chair of governors, you will be encouraged to visit the school to gain an understanding of the culture and ethos and to get the most out of the role. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet children, parents, and teachers, and see the impact of your work first-hand.

What's in it for the volunteer?

Volunteering as a chair of governors is a challenging but rewarding role. As part of the governing board, you’ll:

· Have support from the vice chair(s) and the clerk, to ensure the effective functioning of the board by keeping it focused on its core functions. You will also encourage the board to work together as an effective team, building its skills, knowledge and experience.

· help schools overcome challenges to ensure a bright future for children in your community

· work collaboratively with people from different backgrounds, challenging your own perspective and broadening your network

· gain experience outside of your job description and skills you can bring back to work

Before you apply

You will need to complete an application form and will have an interview with the school. DBS checks will be taken up.

About Governors for Schools

Objectives

Governors for Schools exists to improve educational standards so that children and young people have the chance to realise their full potential.

We believe the key to improving school performance is effective governance. By finding, nurturing and supporting a committed network of governors we help to drive systematic change in how schools operate. We have been connecting schools across England for over 20 years, and expanded our service into Wales in 2020, with skilled and committed volunteers, supported by our business and university partnerships.

The VP's role is to aid the president with all of their responsibilities in overseeing the chapter. VP might help run the chapter and become responsible for some activities. Helping to coordinate their committee to ensure that all of the needs of the charity are met and the law, constitution and handbook are not broken.

This role is important in order to have a smooth running chapter, so that the magic of our visits are at their full potential! We are searching for a enthusiastic and hard working volunteer to support the President in Newcastle!

The Vice President supports the President in leading the chapter, helping organise events, volunteers, and committee activities, and proactively seeking new opportunities. As the chapter’s second-in-command, you’ll provide guidance, assist with problem-solving, and help shape the direction of Make a Smile. The role is flexible and adaptable, allowing you to develop leadership skills, support the President, and maintain strong communication with the Board of Trustees. Strong initiative, organisation, and teamwork are key.

School governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education. Governors are needed to support and challenge schools to help realise their potential.

Anyone with an interest in education can be a governor. Governors are volunteers who work to further the school’s development.

The governing board consists of people from the school’s community, parents, school staff and representatives of the council.

Together with the headteacher they set the future direction for the school and decide how the school’s budget should be spent.

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!

Our Cat Fosterers play a vital role by providing a temporary, loving home for cats that are in the care of the RSPCA.

Why we want you 

We are the RSPCA South Bucks Branch and it's our vision to live in a world where all animals are respected and treated with compassion. Our volunteer fosterers are incredible, they play an essential role in helping us carry out our important animal welfare work by caring for cats and enabling them to be rehomed. 

You could be fostering an animal for just a few weeks, or it could be a longer term placement for several months and in a few cases it can be longer. 

What you will be doing 

Providing care and suitable housing in a safe environment for cats while they are in foster care in accordance with Society policies and guidelines.

Feeding, watering, providing enrichment, socialising and grooming cats (as appropriate).

Liaising with your Cat Co-ordinator regularly. For cats ready for rehoming: sharing photos and videos to the cat coordinator to enable them to raise awareness and rehoming. 

If the animal has specific needs you will be supported by your local team of fosterers to enable you to provide the care needed.

Offering a separate room to keep the cat/s in and separate from your own animals.

Some cats may have had surgery and will need a period of cage rest. This will be provided.

Your family/household must be fully supportive (and checked/confirmed that there are no cat allergies within the household).

All members of the household should discuss with their GP whether a tetanus vaccination is required, and make a decision based on this.

Transporting your foster cat safely for vet appointments.

Allowing a potential adopter to enter your home to view a cat up for adoption after they have been assessed by the cat co-ordinator, a volunteer can support you in this. 

Completing the local branch paperwork relating to the cats in your care.

The skills you need 

Volunteers must be aged 18 or over. 

Previous experience of fostering would be beneficial, and experience caring for cats is essential. 

If you have existing cats, they must be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. 

If in rented accommodation, permission from the landlord must be obtained. 

You must live in South Buckinghamshire or close to Chesham.

Volunteers must complete an online induction, you will need to have basic IT skills and access to a PC or laptop, or have someone who can help you carry out the induction. 

What's in it for you 

Meet like-minded people and get to know more about the work of the RSPCA South Bucks Branch.

Add an important animal welfare role to your CV.

A great induction and training relevant to your role. 

Support from our local and national teams.

You’ll be making a huge difference to the welfare of animals. 

What we provide you

We provide all the food, litter, medication and equipment needed to foster cats in our branch. Any other expenses must be agreed in advance with the Finance Manager.

A community of local fosterers to draw support and information.

Regular contact with your cat coordinator to support you.

Disclaimer 

Our fosterers are subject to an informal interview, home assessment visit, two satisfactory references and completion of online induction training including Health and Safety. 

Grant Prospecting Coordinator (Excel and Research)

Time commitment: 3 to 4 hours per week
Location: Remote, UK-based (with fortnightly online team check-ins)
Team: Fundraising Team
Start: As soon as you are available
Type: Volunteer

About the role

We are looking for a friendly, organised, and committed volunteer to support our Fundraising Team by prospecting grant opportunities. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys research, reading funder guidelines, and working with data.

You will take the lead in helping us make smart use of our time by identifying which grants in our existing database are the best match for our work and where we are most likely to be eligible.

This is a prospecting management role only. You will not be asked to write grant applications.

What you will do

• Work through a complex Excel-based grants database and assess opportunities against our charity’s aims and activities
• Read funder criteria, eligibility rules, and guidance notes to decide whether a grant is a good fit and discuss it with our Fundraising Coordinator.
• Shortlist suitable grants and record your findings clearly in the spreadsheet (notes, deadlines, key requirements)
• Flag any missing information and help keep the grants Pipeline tidy and consistent
• Share weekly or fortnightly updates with the Fundraising Team
• Guide the Fundraising Team to understand which opportunities must be prioritised

What we are looking for

Essential

• Excellent Excel skills (confident using filters, sorting, data validation, working and finding data in structured and complex spreadsheets)
• Strong attention to detail and an analytical mindset
• Enjoys research and reading specifications carefully
• Able to make clear, evidence-based judgements about eligibility and fit
• Reliable and able to commit 3 to 4 hours per week on an ongoing basis
• Good written communication for concise spreadsheet notes and updates

Desirable

• Experience in charity fundraising, grant research, or prospecting
• Comfortable working independently and meeting agreed deadlines
• Interest in our mission and values

Support you will receive

• A short onboarding session and clear guidance on our criteria and process
• A named contact in the Fundraising Team for questions and check-ins
• Templates for consistent data entry and decision-making
• References available after an agreed period of consistent volunteering

Eligibility

Because this role involves supporting a UK charity and working with our internal systems and processes, we can only accept applications from people who are currently based in the UK and have the right to volunteer in the UK. Unfortunately, we are not able to consider applicants living outside the UK at this time.

Time commitment and expectations

We value flexibility, but we also need continuity. We are looking for someone who can make a regular weekly commitment and communicate clearly if they need to change their availability.

How to apply

Please send:

• A short statement (cover letter) explaining why you are interested and your relevant skills
• A brief summary of your Excel experience (examples welcomed)

Closing date: We may interview suitable candidates as applications come in.

Thank you for looking at our oppotunitiy. We are looking forward to hearing from you. 

Join Our Team as a Youth Helper! ? Dudley & Sandwell Network Youth Groups – St John Ambulance 

Are you passionate about helping young people grow, learn, and thrive? Do you want to make a real difference in your community? We’re looking for enthusiastic Youth Helpers to support our vibrant St John Ambulance youth groups across the Dudley & Sandwell Network, including: Stourbridge, Dudley, Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Blackheath, Smethwick, Sedgley & Upper Gornal. 

What you’ll do: ✨ Support our leaders in running fun, engaging sessions for Badgers and Cadets ✨ Help create a safe, inclusive, supportive environment ✨ Encourage young people as they develop first aid skills, confidence, and teamwork ✨ Be part of a friendly volunteer team making a positive community impact What we’re looking for: ✔ Friendly, reliable individuals ✔ Good communication with young people ✔ Willingness to learn and get stuck in ✔ No prior first aid experience needed — we provide all training! Time Commitment: ? Around 10 hours per month, flexible across the network If you’re ready to support the next generation of lifesavers, we’d love to hear from you! ? Get in touch today to find out more or start your volunteer journey.

Closing date for these opportunities is: 31/03/2026

We'll invite you for a friendly chat to get to know you better and see how your skills and passion align with working with young people.

Do you want to make a real impact on household carbon footprints and promote sustainable living? Join our innovative crowd-sourced app development team and help us make an impact on climate change and the environment.

What will you be doing?

We’re looking for UK‑based volunteers with expertise in assessing and verifying quantified environmental impacts. You’ll work with a small remote team to audit and verify carbon, waste or water savings linked to lifestyle choices, using open‑source data. 

Your research will help develop robust models and frameworks, ensuring the E‑Save app provides accurate, trusted impact data for users.

What are we looking for?

We’re seeking volunteers with experience in assessing or verifying carbon, waste, water or other environmental impacts. 

You’ll audit data sources, verify existing figures, and research gaps. You’ll help develop consistent frameworks, models and tools, and refine methodologies with the team. 

You’ll need a methodical approach, attention to detail, working knowledge of life‑cycle analysis, and the ability to work independently within a remote team.

What difference will you make?

Your insight and expertise in quantifying household carbon and other environmental benefits that are at the heart of the E-Save app.

Your vital contribution will help ensure the app delivers real environmental impacts. 

You will be at the forefront of innovation, bringing climate action into people’s homes across the UK, making sustainable living part of everyday life.

About IHF
The International Humanity Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering underserved children in Kenya, Indonesia, and Thailand. We believe in transparency, equal opportunity, and self-sufficiency.

Role Summary
We’re seeking experienced Fundraising Volunteers (remote) with a proven track record—at least 3 years of successful fundraising or grant writing. Your efforts will directly support our global programs and mission.

Responsibilities

Identify and pursue fundraising/grant opportunities

Craft compelling proposals and campaigns

Engage donors and support long-term funding strategies

 Work with and lead our fundraising team 

 Coordinating our At Home volunteers and Global Leadership Development candidates

Requirements

3+ years fundraising experience

Proven fundraising success

Strong writing and communication skills

Self-motivated, reliable, and results-driven

What You Gain
Strategic involvement in meaningful NGO initiatives

Opportunity to expand your global portfolio and build international credibility

Access to leadership roles and professional growth within a purpose-driven organization

A platform to make measurable, lasting impact in the lives of children and communities
Reports To:

Global Outreach Coordinator

Director of Fundraising Initiatives

About Roots Academy

At Roots Academy, we’ve built a learning experience that’s changing the lives of the ummah’s future leaders, change-makers and visionaries.

Our vision is enabling university students to live God-centred lives, so we teach structured, engaging and transformative face-to-face foundational Islamic education to over 1,800 students across the UK.

Role Summary

As a Teaching Quality Assessor, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality Islamic essentials education across universities in the UK. This volunteer will assess the teaching quality of Roots Essentials courses, providing feedback and recommendations to support continuous improvement. The role supports the team’s goal of maintaining high educational standards and providing an enriching learning experience for university students.

Key tasks

▪ Observation and Assessment: Observe classes (in-person or virtually) and assess the teaching quality, content delivery, and student engagement based on established criteria.

▪ Evaluation: Evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods, course materials, and assessments used in delivering the Roots Essentials Curriculum.

▪ Feedback and Reporting: Provide constructive feedback to instructors on teaching quality and suggest areas for improvement.

▪ Quality Assurance: Ensure that the curriculum is being delivered in a manner that aligns with the programme’s educational objectives and Islamic principles.

▪ Collaboration: Work closely with the Education Vice-Lead and Academic team to support the professional development of instructors.

▪ Documentation: Prepare reports summarizing observations, evaluations, and recommendations for enhancing the educational experience.

▪ Training Contribution: Contribute to the development and delivery of training materials or workshops for instructors to improve teaching practices.

What we’re looking for

▪ A background in Islamic studies, education, or a related field, with a good understanding of foundational Islamic knowledge.

▪ Previous experience in teaching, assessing, or quality assurance in an educational setting, preferably within Islamic education.

▪ Strong skills in classroom observation, evaluation, and providing constructive feedback.

▪ Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with instructors and programme staff.

▪ A strong commitment to maintaining and improving the quality of Islamic education in a university setting.

▪ Sensitivity to the cultural and religious context of the programme and its participants.

What we have to offer

▪ Be part of a team of 100+ dedicated international volunteers.

▪ Receive continuous rewards for those that seek Islamic knowledge from the Roots platform.

▪ Be a part of a growing organisation that aims to revive and educate Muslims from a grassroots perspective.

▪ Receive in-house tarbiyah sessions to develop your deen.

Please note this is an unpaid volunteer position.

Volunteers are entitled to claim expenses incurred for food, travel and equipment, in line with our Expenses policy.

Volunteer Role: Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Strategy Design

We are Bees Abroad, working to enable communities to empower themselves through sustainable beekeeping. Together with local beekeeper trainers and organisations we educate, guide, and mentor communities in local best practices in Beekeeping, business creation, and protecting the environment. 

We are a majority volunteer organisation, with projects led entirely by volunteers working in partnership with our in-country training teams, while still in close collaboration with the core team and Board of Trustees. Whilst we are a small charity, we drive a lot of impact and have great ambition. 

We are looking for a volunteer to help us strengthen how we measure and evaluate our impact so that we can drive better and wider impact still. This individual will be reporting to our CEO and a member of the Board of Trustees. 

The goal of the project is to deliver a revised Measurement and Evaluation Strategy and put in place the foundations for a more efficient and consistent MEL process. We expect a commitment of 4 hours per week, with room for more, should the individual wish to do so. 
 
The role will involve: 

• Gathering information from our project teams to understand current monitoring and data/information collection practices across the various countries and projects. 

• Working with the CEO, a member of the Board of Trustees, and select country leads to design a monitoring and evaluation strategy that provides consistency across projects while allowing flexibility for context-specific approaches.

• This strategy document will also become publicly available to corporate and grant donors. 

• Designing and piloting simple, effective monitoring and evaluation processes and tools that can be used both where technology is available and in low-tech settings.

• Supporting any trainings of local teams in the new tools and processes 

• Exploring opportunities to use automation and digital tools, including AI, to streamline reporting where possible. 

• Bi-weekly meetings with CEO and Trustee

 You will ideally have... 

• Experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) in community development or similar fields. This includes: 

• Designing and implementing frameworks to measure project outcomes and impact. 

• Collecting, analysing, and reporting data from community-based projects. 

• Developing indicators and tools to track progress and learning. 

• Facilitating feedback loops to inform decision-making and improve project delivery. 

• Ability to design practical, user-friendly MEL processes and tools that can be adapted and implemented in a variety of settings

• Comfortable working with both digital and offline MEL methods. 

• Strong communication skills to collaborate with our international project team, with an ability to adapt language and communication approaches to different personalities and local area contexts 

This role offers the opportunity to shape how Bees Abroad demonstrates impact and supports communities through beekeeping, while helping our own teams learn and improve our project delivery.

Autistic Parents UK is seeking dedicated volunteers to join our incredible team. We are a fully user-led registered charity, offering peer support, webinars, training, signposting and resources on lived Autistic parenthood. 

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We welcome anyone who would like to offer their time alongside us in our aim to support people at whatever stage they are at with their understanding of Autism and being Autistic. We strive to treat all people with understanding, respect and compassion and are dedicated to being inclusive of ALL Autistic parents and of the needs of our volunteers and beneficiaries. 

We want to proactively address all factors that cause barriers to entry for those involved in the running of APUK and those who access support. By joining Autistic Parents UK as a volunteer, you will be part of a compassionate and diverse community that strives to empower Autistic families.

The Discord Moderator supports the safe, welcoming, and positive running of a Discord community. Moderators help guide discussions, uphold community guidelines, support members, and assist with the smooth day-to-day operation of the server. This role helps create an inclusive environment where members feel comfortable participating and engaging with others.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor Discord channels to ensure conversations remain respectful, safe, and aligned with community guidelines.

• Respond to member questions and provide general support or signposting to appropriate resources or channels.

• Welcome new members and help them understand server rules, structure, and available resources.

• Address inappropriate behaviour by following moderation procedures, which may include issuing reminders, warnings, or escalating concerns to senior staff or lead moderators.

• Help de-escalate conflicts and maintain a positive and supportive community atmosphere.

• Support community engagement by encouraging discussion, highlighting useful content, or helping to facilitate events or activities where appropriate.

• Report safeguarding, wellbeing, or rule concerns to the appropriate team member.

• Assist with general server upkeep, such as managing channels, roles, or pinned information where required.

Skills and Experience:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

• Ability to remain calm, fair, and professional when managing disagreements or sensitive situations.

• Good understanding of online community safety and respectful communication.

• Confidence using Discord, including moderation tools and features (or willingness to learn).

• Ability to follow community guidelines, policies, and confidentiality expectations.

• Experience moderating online communities is helpful but not always essential.

• Lived experience of Autism and or Parenting will be helpful

Your expertise and experience could be vital to delivering our ground-breaking climate action and sustainability E-Save app. We're looking for UK-based people for a range of communications, marketing and multi-media roles.

What will you be doing?

You will join a team helping to launch and promote the E‑Save climate‑action app and improving its content and user experience. 

By supporting creative campaigns, you will also help the team raise the profile of Eco Centre, and support local outreach initiatives, volunteer recruitment and communications, and stakeholder engagement. 

Your work will help people discover and use the app to take practical climate action at home.

What are we looking for?

We are building a team with a range of skills and experience who can provide hands on help on regular basis and be responsive to changing needs.

We’re looking for volunteers with skills in writing, design, graphics video, social media, campaigning, web content, or marketing. Whether you’re experienced or building your portfolio, we welcome creative, proactive team players who can bring ideas, collaborate well, and help us communicate climate action in engaging and accessible ways.

What difference will you make?

Your support will help the E‑Save app be effective and inspire real climate action in everyday life. By helping shape and promote the app and organisation, you’ll make sustainable living more accessible. 

You will be at the forefront of bringing climate action into people’s homes across the UK, making sustainable living appealing – and driving real environmental impact.