There are many different reasons for choosing to volunteer and, through the roles we offer, Shire Hall aims to support and encourage volunteers to develop personal and professional skills within the museum sector. Volunteering at the Museum is broadly separated into three areas:

Front of house

Roles in this area are generally public facing and volunteers assist with day-to-day activities in the Museum. This includes all the roles on the reception desk and in the shop, exhibitions, cells and courtrooms. It also includes roles to assist with the events programme.

These roles can take place during weekdays and/or weekends, mostly during the day and sometimes in the evenings.

Learning

Learning volunteers work with our Learning Manager to deliver a varied life-long learning program at Shire Hall. The roles might include assisting with or delivering sessions to school groups, helping to organise adult learning courses or assisting with Reminiscence sessions.

These roles are mostly likely to take place during weekdays.

Back of house

Roles in this area tend to focus on office-based projects. Examples might include curatorial and archival research, assisting with exhibition planning or helping with administrative tasks.

These roles will tend to take place during weekdays.

Details of tasks involved, time commitment and the skills and experience that can be gained will be detailed in the role descriptions attached to each opportunity.

We are very grateful for the time that our volunteers donate to the Museum and the enthusiasm they bring to these roles. In return we offer our volunteers:

• Parking reimbursement up to £4 per day of volunteering
• Full induction to the Museum and training for your role
• A supervisor to support you in your role
• Invitation to social activities at the Museum and other locations

How do I apply for a volunteer role?

All opportunities are listed on this page. If there are no current opportunities listed you can still contact us using the form at the bottom of this page letting us know what you’re interested in, and we will let you know when new roles are available.