Volunteer Founding Director of Operations & Impact
Ireland Without Walls is a new Irish cultural organisation currently in development in Leeds.
We believe Irish culture is best preserved by sharing it, not gatekeeping it. We are building an organisation that will create opportunities to encounter, learn and participate in Irish language, arts, heritage and culture for Ireland’s diaspora and beyond.
Our work will focus on areas such as Gaeilge, arts, heritage, storytelling, oral history, education, cultural participation and diaspora connection.
We are currently building our founding leadership team ahead of our intended application to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation/charity in England and Wales.
This is a voluntary, unpaid founding role. It is not an employment contract.
About the role
The Founding Director of Operations \& Impact will help Ireland Without Walls build the systems, processes and evidence needed to operate professionally from the beginning.
This is a strategic and practical founding role for someone who is organised, thoughtful and able to turn good intentions into workable structures.
You will help create the operational foundations of the organisation: records, policies, processes, risk management, volunteer systems, project planning, meeting documentation, reporting and impact measurement. It is not a trustee role, although the successful volunteer will help prepare the organisation for good governance.
Responsibilities:
The successful volunteer will help to:
- Develop simple, practical operating systems for a new cultural organisation.
- Support the creation and organisation of key policies, procedures and templates.
- Help maintain clear records of meetings, decisions, actions and responsibilities.
- Create basic project\-planning processes for early activities and future programmes.
- Support the development of volunteer onboarding, role documents and internal processes.
- Help coordinate risk assessments, event checklists and basic compliance documentation.
- Work with the founding team to ensure responsibilities are clear and followed up.
- Help design simple ways to collect feedback, evidence and impact data.
- Support the preparation of information needed for funding applications, reporting and charity registration.
- Help ensure documents are stored securely, consistently and accessibly.
- Work with the Community Engagement Director to ensure participant and volunteer processes are practical and respectful.
- Work with the Development \& Fundraising Director to ensure impact evidence supports future funding.
- Work with the Founder \& Executive Director to build a professional operating culture from the start.
- Help Ireland Without Walls avoid becoming dependent on informal arrangements, memory, or scattered messages.
We are looking for someone who can offer:
- Strong organisational and administrative skills.
- Experience in operations, project coordination, administration, charity work, governance support, impact reporting, monitoring and evaluation, compliance, volunteer coordination or a related area.
- Ability to create clear processes, documents and systems.
- Good written communication skills.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Practical judgement and reliability.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a small founding team.
- Confidence handling information responsibly and discreetly.
- Willingness to help build an organisation from an early stage.
- Ability to balance structure with flexibility.
- A genuine interest in culture, heritage, community, education, diaspora, language or public\-benefit work.
The following would be helpful, but are not essential:
- Experience in a charity, nonprofit, arts, heritage, education or community organisation.
- Experience developing policies, procedures or internal guidance.
- Experience with impact measurement, evaluation, reporting or feedback systems.
- Experience supporting trustees, boards, committees or governance processes.
- Experience with risk assessments, event administration or volunteer management.
- Understanding of safeguarding, GDPR, equality/accessibility or charity compliance.
- Experience creating document\-management systems or shared working processes.
- Experience using tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, spreadsheets, forms, project\-management tools or CRM systems.
- Experience supporting early\-stage organisations, community projects or small teams.
- Knowledge of Irish culture, diaspora, Gaeilge, arts or heritage.
We do not expect the successful applicant to personally create every policy alone or act as the organisation’s legal, safeguarding or finance expert.
This role is about helping coordinate, organise and implement good systems. Specialist areas such as safeguarding, finance and fundraising will involve the relevant leads, trustees and advisers.
We are looking for someone who can help make sure Ireland Without Walls is practical, professional and prepared, not buried under bureaucracy.
Time commitment:
This is a flexible voluntary role. During the development stage, we expect the commitment may average around 3–5 hours per week, depending on availability and activity.
The role can be carried out on a hybrid/remote basis, with occasional meetings in Leeds or online as appropriate.
Status of the role:
This is a voluntary, unpaid founding position with a new nonprofit cultural organisation currently in development.
Ireland Without Walls is not yet a registered charity. We are building our founding team and governance structures ahead of our intended CIO/charity registration.
Reasonable pre\-agreed out\-of\-pocket expenses may be reimbursed where possible as the organisation develops. No volunteer should incur costs on behalf of Ireland Without Walls without prior agreement.
Who we welcome:
You do not need to be Irish, Irish\-born or of Irish ancestry to apply.
We welcome applicants who believe that culture can be serious, rooted and open, and who can help us build an organisation capable of serving that mission responsibly.
How to apply:
Please apply with a CV or short summary of relevant experience, along with a brief note explaining why you are interested in helping build Ireland Without Walls and what you could bring to its operations and impact work.
Benefits:
- Work from home
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