A Message from our CEO, David Morris:

“Thank you for considering giving some of your time, for the benefit of the most disadvantaged in our community. Quite simply, NOAH could not exist without our wonderful volunteers, and it is thanks to people like you that NOAH can help people in very difficult situations to make improvements in their lives.

Volunteering can be an incredibly rewarding experience. You may wish to support rough sleepers, deliver furniture to impoverished families, or work as one of our un-sung heroes behind the scenes! Whichever role you choose, you will be given a full induction, clear responsibilities and ongoing training and support.

NOAH are privileged to be able to work with truly inspirational people, every day. I hope that you will join our family of dedicated people and share in our vocation to provide practical help to those in most need of it.”

Volunteer at our Welfare Centre

141 Park Street, Luton, LU1 3HG

NOAH’s welfare centre is at the centre of our organisation. We offer primary support such as food to those who are homeless and in need as well as secondary support such as housing and benefit support through our Welfare services. We are always open to welcome new volunteers who can dedicate their time to helping us to support those in need in our community. The current roles available are listed below.

KITCHEN ASSISTANT

10.00 am – 2.00 pm Monday – Friday

11:30 am – 2.:30 pm Saturday – Sunday

This role involves preparing fruit and vegetables, making and serving drinks, clearing the dining room of plates and mugs and washing up. By aiding our Chef in the preparation and serving of the meals you are allowing us to be more efficient in serving the most vulnerable in the community.

GAMES/ACTIVITIES ENGAGER

9:00 am – 3.45 pm Monday – Friday (2.00 pm on Tuesday)

10.00 am – 3.00 pm Saturday & Sunday

This is a client facing role where you will have the opportunity to get to know our service users through games and one-to-one conversations. You would have freedom to instigate some gardening and planting or craft activities or helping people use the computers. This is a nice opportunity to get really involved with our service users and give them social interaction they may otherwise be lacking.

STREET OUTREACH ASSISTANT

Various hours and locations throughout Bedfordshire.

This role supports our outreach team in helping individuals who are sleeping rough on the street, in car parks, bus shelters, under bridges and in abandoned derelict buildings. The aim is to help people off the street, to engage with the wider range of NOAH’s services and to get them into safe accommodation.

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“Volunteering with NOAH has helped me become more confident and helped structure my day. I always look forward to seeing the friendly staff” – Peter, Job Club Volunteer

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Volunteer in Social Enterprise

Various locations

NOAH’s Social Enterprise is imperative in multiple ways to our organisation. Not only does it give NOAH a way to interact with and support the community through our charity shops, it also provides an opportunity to teach new skills and upskill our service users with valuable life skills that could support them in their journey towards employment. The current roles available are listed below.

STORE ASSOCIATE

Hours dependant on location

Support us in serving our local communities in this essential role whilst keeping busy both on and off the shop floor! The role is varied and incorporates many elements of customer service, as well as retail, with a focus on adding the NOAH feel-good factor to every customer encounter!

All Store Associates could be: welcoming and approaching customers, steaming and cleaning donations, involved in merchandising and display, wrapping and bagging purchases for the customer, advising customers on additional items they may wish to buy, learning about the NOAH story (who we are and what we do), helping to serve customers at the till, counting stock, maintaining store standards.

If you would like to get more involved, as a level 2 Associate you could also be active in telling the NOAH Story, serve at the till and help to maintain records as you complete skills development tasks and receive some enhanced training. Want to learn more? Consider progressing to a level 3 role, where in addition to all these activities mentioned, you could be working towards a NOAH SE Record of Achievement to give your CV an upgrade!

STOCK SORTER

9:00 am – 17:00 pm Monday – Saturday

This is a busy role based in our Store Support Centre, our central hub that helps the shops run smoothly. The role incorporates stock administration and stock management. Here you could be sorting donations, preparing store orders for delivery, answering telephone enquires or taking messages from callers, counting stock and receiving donations whilst advising on the Gift Aid process.

If you would like to do more, a level 2 Associate could also be involved in operations such as administration whilst completing development tasks and receiving enhanced training. If you would like to learn more, consider progressing to a level 3 role, where you could be involved with procurement and logistics also as well as receiving enhanced training as you work on your NOAH SE Record of Achievement.

ASSOCIATE CONVEYOR

9:00 am – 17:00 pm Monday – Saturday

This is a vital role, ideal for volunteers who have little time to spare, but want to support our work. The role involves an estimated one-hour task once per week with 30 minutes occasional uplift tasks on other occasions. As a Conveyor, you could be overseeing the uplift of overstock from stores, maintaining records and delivering weekly orders from the Support Centre to our Stores using the NOAH (or hired) 3.5 tonne vehicle. A full and clean driving licence is needed, as well as the provision of all documents required for identity and insurance purposes.

LEAD ASSOCIATE

9:00 am – 17:00pm Monday – Saturday

Want to commit further? In time there may be opportunity for you to step into a Lead Associate position, directly supporting our site managers and leading other associates. Lead Associates have a high level of responsibility and have often volunteered with NOAH for a long while in another capacity. There is opportunity for further skills development tasks in areas such as leadership, enhanced training and an Enhanced NOAH SE Record of Achievement for anyone stepping into these roles and we will support you all the way!

(A basic DBS check will be required on some sites. This decision will be made in consultation with the Lead Associate by the Retail Operations Manager and will be based on the likelihood of supervising vulnerable adults in appropriate circumstances.)

Other opportunities

EVENTS ASSISTANT/STALL ASSISTANT

Various hours on weekdays and weekends

We are always looking for volunteers to help us at local community events. This role may include setting up and taking down equipment, marshalling, bucket collections and talking to the community about NOAH services.

What happens next?

Once we have received your form, a member of staff will be in contact with you to arrange a telephone interview to talk more about what opportunities NOAH Enterprise can offer you. This will also give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about being a volunteer with us.

At this point you may be required to produce references on your character for us to contact, depending on the role you are applying for. Following this you will be asked to visit the project which you have applied to volunteer for, and to have an informal chat about your application. You will also be given a copy of our volunteer handbook to take away with you and read to familiarise yourself with our volunteer policies and procedures. During this stage the staff member will talk you through the key competencies of the role and fill all required paperwork. This will allow us to discuss all relevant training for your time volunteering with us.

On your first day of volunteering you will receive an induction covering everything from fire evacuation to where the amenities are located. You will also receive a full explanation of what your role entails and a training plan to support your development in the role. This training plan will be reviewed every  three months with your assigned mentor to allow you to discuss your development at regular intervals.

We take the safety of our clients and staff very seriously and undertake to carry out all DBS checks and safeguarding checks on applications as appropriate. Please be aware that we may reject an application for certain roles based on risk assessments at any point in the application process. If at any stage of the volunteering process you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us on the same details listed above.

Thank you for taking your time to consider volunteering with us.

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“I’ve loved working in the kitchens at NOAH, it has been a great way to give back to the community” – Annie, Kitchen Assistant

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