Blog

5 hours a week

Reports To: Executive Chair

Background

We are looking for a local person experienced in retail, perhaps somebody retired, semi-retired or still working in the field who can bring us their expertise in retail and retail management to help us make our beloved exchange self-sustaining and able to run within pressure to find funding. We are a small food, clothing, toiletries and kids’ toys exchange operating on Saturdays in Sherwood Nottingham. Unlike a food bank we are an exchange for everybody where they can donate unwanted items in return for food and donated items. Our mission is to encourage more people to share and support each other to negate the impact of rising costs of living. Also, through sharing and repurposing food, clothing and items, we aim to reduce the amount of landfill waste otherwise produced via the disposal of unwanted items and food.

 Job Purpose

To oversee the operations of the Sherwood Exchange, ensuring efficient, safe, and compassionate service delivery and support. Management of volunteers on shift and supporting the Saturday daytime running of a food- and wellbeing exchange in Sherwood Nottingham. To support volunteers and the committee to raise funds to boost income streams coming into the exchange to help the exchange to become self-sustaining through activities such as the wellbeing café, wellbeing sessions and cover fee charged to people accessing the service.

Key Responsibilities

Operations Management

• To work alongside the lead volunteer and the volunteer coordinator to oversee the daytime running of the Sherwood Exchange ensuring volunteers and lead volunteers have support throughout their working shift. 
• To coordinate monthly team meetings with volunteers at the Sherwood Exchange.
• To support with recruitment and reviewing of volunteers.
• Dealing with enquiries and customer complaints and acting as the public face of the exchange throughout a working shift.
• Ensuring compliance with health and safety, food hygiene, and safeguarding regulations.
• To facilitate one-to-one volunteer review meetings with volunteers at the start and end of shift operation hours to ensure efficient running of the exchange and positive volunteer wellbeing.
• To support the team to identify strategies on increasing financial streams into the exchange. 
• Developing effective systems to monitor and evaluate service delivery, supporting shift leads to implement improvements where needed.
• Liaise with partner organisations, suppliers, and donors to maintain strong relationships.

Leadership & Strategy

• To contribute towards strategic planning, especially around increasing profitability and income streams at the Sherwood Exchange during committee meetings.
• Lead by example in promoting fairness, equity, dignity, and empathy in all interactions with customers and volunteers.
• Support data collection and reporting for funding, compliance, and impact measurement.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Experience within a team management or retail management focussed role.
• Excellent team player and communicator on all levels.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to deal with customer issues respectfully and assertively when required. 
• Excellent organisational and problem-solving skills.
• Good grasp of mathematics and understanding of MS applications, especially spreadsheets
• Ability to lead diverse teams with empathy and clarity.
• Familiarity with safeguarding, food safety, and volunteer management.

Desirable

• Experience working with vulnerable populations including refugees, older people, people with mental health challenges, LGBTQ+ communities, or those facing food insecurity.
• Knowledge of practices to support vulnerable people and inclusive communication strategies.
• Experience of raising funds and increasing profits within a business setting

Personal Attributes

• Compassionate and culturally aware
• Proactive and adaptable
• Strong communicator and team builder
• Tenacious and determined.
• Committed to equity and community empowerment

Organisation: The Sherwood Exchange
 Location: Remote with occasional visits to the Sherwood Exchange as and when required.
 Type: Volunteer position
 Time commitment: Flexible, approx. 4–6 hours per week

About The Sherwood Exchange

The Sherwood Exchange is a volunteer-led community organisation dedicated to supporting residents by facilitating the sharing, recycling, and exchanging of resources. Open weekly, the exchange welcomes individuals to swap surplus food, clothing, toiletries, and children’s toys, or to access food for a nominal charge of £1.00. In addition to the food exchange, visitors can benefit from donation-based wellbeing sessions and enjoy a wellbeing café, where volunteers offer companionship, advice, and signposting to other community services. Our mission is to promote equality by ensuring everyone has access to essential goods, food, and wellbeing support, while fostering connections through shared resources, skills, and a collective commitment to reducing environmental impact. We are a friendly growing team comprised of people from all walks of life and backgrounds. We are looking for the right person to help us as we strive towards expansion and becoming a registered community interest company.

Role Overview

We are looking for an organised and reliable volunteer to help manage our administrative tasks at our committee meetings and to help us handle email correspondence and maintain simple records and paperwork. This right candidate would be vital to keep the Sherwood Exchange running smoothly and ensure communication flows efficiently between the committee, team, donors, and community partners.

Key Responsibilities

• To act as secretary during monthly online committee meetings and undertake monthly team meeting notes.
• To monitor and respond to incoming emails in the Sherwood Exchange inbox
• Forward or escalate messages to the appropriate team members
• Maintain digital and paper folders and records of donations, volunteers, and correspondence
• Support basic documentation tasks (e.g., filing forms, updating spreadsheets)
• Help with occasional communication templates (thank-you emails, confirmations, etc.)
• Ensure all information is handled confidentially and securely

Skills & Experience

• Good written communication skills
• Able to prioritise replying to correspondence as and when required.
• Confident using email, Google Workspace or Microsoft Office (especially Gmail, Docs, Sheets)
• Strong attention to detail and good organisational skills
• Reliable and able to manage time independently

What You’ll Gain

• The chance to support a valued local community project
• Experience in administrative and communication tasks
• Flexibility to work from home or at our Sherwood base
• A friendly, supportive volunteer team environment
• Positive employment references

How to Apply

If you’d like to get involved, please email Rachel at thesherwoodexchange@outlook.com completing a volunteer information form expressing what skills and qualities you can bring to this post. 

Purpose of Role:
To support serve visitors to a food hub and wellbeing café professionally and kindly and to provide signposting information to visitors and referrals to food banks as and when required.

ROLE DESCRIPTION:
Your invited to volunteer in the exchange for a minimum of four hours per month (but you could do more if you wish) on a rota system to serve visitors, take in donations, check, and rotate food stock and provide advice and support when required to customers who visit the exchange on Saturday afternoons.
As this role may involve some lone or unsupervised working at times and you might encounter vulnerable adults or adults in need of care, applicants must be aged over 18 and two recent references are required. Full training and guidance will be provided.
Experience is not necessary although we would be keen to hear from people who have worked or still work in customer service roles or people who have a passion for helping other people, and, or the environment and preventing food poverty.
Two recent references are required to undertake this role and availability to attend and informal interview meeting either in person, over the phone or via Microsoft teams or Wotsap.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Essential
Polite and engaging
Caring and helpful towards others
Able to volunteer alongside other people in a team
Able to volunteer on your own at times or willing to volunteer on your own in the exchange when colleagues are busy with customers.
Able to undertake light cleaning and other essential tasks within the exchange
Reliable
Good listening skills or willingness to learn techniques
A passion to promote equality, protect the environment and prevent poverty
Desirable
Work experience of working or volunteering in a kitchen or in the food industry
Hold a Food Hygiene qualification
Experience of working or volunteering in a team
Experience of working or volunteering in social care
Experience of working or volunteering in customer service
Experience of supporting people in distress
Experience or knowledge of signposting people to support services in Nottingham
A recent Disclosure and Barring certificate

How to Apply

If you’d like to get involved, please email Rachel at thesherwoodexchange@outlook.com completing a volunteer information form expressing what skills and qualities you can bring to this post.