Front of House Volunteer, Gordon Russell Design Museum

The Gordon Russell Design Museum is looking for new volunteers to join its friendly, supportive team. The Museum’s front of house volunteers welcome visitors, give them a short introduction to the Museum and process ticket sales and shop purchases.

Volunteers can be groups, organisations and individuals from any background who share their skills and passions through giving their time to the Museum. No experience of museums and galleries is necessary, and volunteers can join our team as individuals or with a friend or family member.

The Museum provides a full training and induction programme as well as an ongoing programme of training and support throughout the year.

Benefits include a 10% discount in the Museum shop, social events throughout the year, free tickets to talks and free membership of the Museum’s Friends scheme, which includes a full programme of events and activities. The Museum also reimburses volunteers’ travel expenses.

There is no minimum commitment, and the volunteering experience can be tailored to suit the needs and interests of each individual. Please contact us to find out more.

Contact Helen Hillman: helen@gordonrusselldesignmuseum.org 

Pop Up Museum/Paint Your Own Pottery Volunteer Assistant, Museum of Royal Worcester

The Museum of Royal Worcester is an independent museum and charitable trust that cares for and connects people with the largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the world, together with our unique factory and design archive, in the place where it was made. They aim to inspire, surprise and delight people across the world with Worcester’s porcelain heritage, sharing this with future generations from the heart of Worcester.

The Museum is located in historic premises in Severn Street adjacent to the regenerated Royal Porcelain Works complex and minutes from the centre of Worcester and cathedral. They are on walking and cycle routes, and can be accessed by public transport.

The Pop-up Museum is a brightly coloured beautifully designed gazebo, which allows the museum to take creative heritage engagement activities out into local communities, such as shopping centres, schools, festivals, community centres and care homes. Museum of Royal Worcester also have a new ceramic studio for Paint-Your-Own-Pottery activities. They are a small friendly team of staff supported by around 25 volunteers who provide a warm welcome to a wide range of visitors, supporting group visits and experiences, admin and marketing support, behind the scenes research and delivery of their programme of events and creative workshops.

Role Purpose:

To support staff with creative heritage outreach and engagement activities via our new Pop-Up Museum, and Paint-Your-Own-Pottery(PYOP) hands-on activity. Assisting with the preparation and delivery of creative activities for families, adults and groups. Acting as an ambassador for the Museum, welcoming and engaging audiences with activities and our handling collection. Assisting with monitoring visitor numbers and surveys and providing administrative and practical support tasks. At times the role will support these activities off-site as part of Museum outreach and promotion, especially with the Pop-up Museum; PYOP is mainly delivered on-site in the Museum’s Ceramic Studio. This is a flexible role in terms of what you would like to take on and there is a flexible time commitment.

Main duties and responsibilities

With the support of Museum staff:

 

Useful skills and experience:

 

Personal qualities: This role would suit a friendly and approachable individual who enjoys meeting new people and trying new things. You will have good communication skills and enjoy working as part of a team. You will meet with a member of staff from the Museum to discuss elements of the role agreeing the aspects most suited to you. Enthusiasm for creative artistic and craft activities would support the delivery of this role.

Location: This role is based both at the Museum of Royal Worcester and, by prior arrangement, off-site as an ambassador at other locations and events

Commitment: This role is very flexible from a few hours occasionally to more frequent volunteering. Group visits are busier March to October but do take place across the year.

Term: It is an ongoing role

Reporting to: You will be managed by the Museum Director Sophie Heath with day-to-day supervision from Community Outreach and Engagement Officer.

Why Volunteer?

You will gain experience in working with the public and enabling a wide range of events and activities. There will be the opportunity to learn new skills. You will become part of a small, friendly team who are passionate about Worcester porcelain and engaging our visitors. There will be scope to learn and develop knowledge about areas of the collection or Museum’s work that you are interested in.

Training and Development: a full site induction will be provided and information to learn about the Museum and collections. Events and activities support training will be by guidance and shadowing of the staff team. Specific training on PYOP, Pop-Up creative and artistic activities, audience data gathering and working off-site etc will be provided as required, sometimes in-house and sometimes through external training providers.

If you are interested in this volunteer role or have any further questions about volunteering with us please get in touch:

Phone – 01905 21247

Email – info@museumofroyalworcester.org

Front of House Volunteers, Wythall Transport Museum

Wythall Transport Museum is looking to recruit more volunteers to cover many visitor facing roles.  They have opportunities to work in the café, shop, admission kiosk and are also keen to talk to potential visitor and educational guides. They have a lot of visiting families and are always looking to expand on children’s activities.

 They also need volunteers to help with the miniature train that gives rides to children.

 The museum is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays, plus Wednesdays during school holidays.  You can volunteer as little or as often as you like.

Dialect and Heritage Project – Events Assistant, Avoncroft Museum

Are you interested in helping with public engagement and activities relating to dialect and social history?

Avoncroft Museum is one of five partner museums working with the University of Leeds on the Dialect and Heritage Project to explore and record the richness of dialect around England and how it may have changed over the last 70 years.

What the role will entail: Assisting the Dialect and Heritage Project Engagement Officer in running ‘Dialect Roadshow’ events, at Avoncroft Museum and/or local fairs and shows around the West Midlands region. Volunteers will help the Engagement Officer with setting up a gazebo and various activities relating to dialect in the region and they will help to engage visitors through informal conversation and activities relating to dialect and the words we use. Several of these events may take place at weekends.

Who will this role suit? The Events Assistant volunteering role would suit volunteers who:

Skills, training and support:

Role-specific training may include: an introduction to dialect, locally and nationally; how to engage people with dialect and heritage; how to use engagement materials and activities to encourage people to contribute their dialect at events; how to contribute dialect to the research online; health and safety.

Volunteers will be able to claim travel and subsistence expenses.

Dialect and Heritage Project – Oral History and Dialect Fieldworker volunteer, Avoncroft Museum

Would you like to learn new skills and contribute to important University-led dialect research?

Avoncroft Museum is one of five partner museums working with the University of Leeds on the Dialect and Heritage Project to explore and record the richness of dialect around England and how it may have changed over the last 70 years.

What the role will entail: Volunteer Oral History and Dialect Fieldworkers will carry out interviews and collect new in-depth oral history and dialect recordings through conducting individual interviews and/or facilitating group interviews.

Supervision: Volunteers will be supervised by the Dialect and Heritage Project Engagement Officer based at Avoncroft Museum.

Who will this role suit? Volunteers are not expected to have specialist skills or experience at the outset to fulfil these roles (though some may have) as full training and information will be provided. The Oral History and Dialect Fieldworker volunteering role would suit volunteers who:

Skills, training and support: via specialist training programme (co-developed with the Oral History Society) and online support and e-learning materials

Role-specific training may include: project context; an introduction to dialect; how to conduct successful oral history interviews; ethics and best practice guidance; health and safety; copyright and permissions; good interviewing technique; and using recording technology and equipment.

Expenses will be paid.

Museum Stewards, Tudor House Museum

Museum Stewards, Tudor House Museum

 

Tudor House Museum has been run almost entirely by volunteers since 2004 when the Worcester Heritage & Amenity Trust took over the running of the museum from the city council. It is a beautiful 16th Century building, once three weaver’s cottages, that now interprets the history of the house and the city for visitors. Based in one of the city’s oldest streets, it has won awards for excellent customer service standards.

They are looking for Museum stewards to welcome visitors at the gate, help them explore the building, discovering the histories and stories within. You will need to be customer focused, outgoing, diligent with research (supporting materials are provided), able to interact with a diverse audience and have an enthusiasm for delivering history.

There are opportunities to undertake research into areas that interest you most, with a view to expanding this into an exhibition; to get involved with collection care and education days; help with events and develop your own.

They don’t insist that their volunteers wear period costume, but it is available if you would like to!

All volunteers are supported by the Volunteer Co-ordinator, Museum Manager and rest of their friendly volunteer team. There are training and social opportunities for all volunteers. They very much encourage volunteers to make the role their own.

As Tudor House Museum moves into its next stage of development and expansion, this is a really exciting time to get involved.