Animator - Volunteer in Manchester

We’re looking for an animator to create a short film with an asylum-seeking volunteer at MRSN, helping her tell her story through animation while mentoring her in animation skills. The 5-minute film will share her integration journey in the UK and protect her identity.

This volunteer role will make a significant difference to both our organisation and the individuals we support. MRSN works to empower refugees and asylum seekers to rebuild their lives in the UK. Many of our clients face barriers to education, employment, and creative opportunities. By supporting this project, you’ll be helping us provide an avenue for one of our volunteers to express her story safely, creatively, and confidently.

The film will play an important role in raising awareness about asylum and integration experiences, helping audiences see the human stories behind the headlines. For MRSN, this piece will be a valuable communications and advocacy tool across our channels — one that promotes understanding, empathy, and solidarity with asylum seekers in Manchester and beyond.

Just as importantly, the project will build skills and wellbeing. The volunteer featured in the film is a former client who now volunteers within MRSN’s asylum services. Like many people seeking refuge, she cannot work in the UK, so creative opportunities like this are vital for personal growth, confidence, and mental health. Through mentorship with the animator, she will gain foundational animation knowledge and insight into the creative sector — a potential future career path once her right to work is granted.

This collaboration fits closely with MRSN’s mission to create inclusive spaces where refugees and asylum seekers can contribute their talents, build new skills, and share their stories on their own terms. It also expands our creative collaborations with artists and professionals who want to channel their expertise toward social good.

Ultimately, your contribution as a volunteer animator will help amplify a voice that deserves to be heard, add a powerful artistic layer to MRSN’s storytelling work, and strengthen our capacity to connect the wider public to the human realities of seeking safety in the UK.

What are we looking for?

• Experience in 2D, 3D, or mixed media animation
• Patience and enthusiasm for mentorship and cross-cultural collaboration.
• An interest in creative storytelling, social justice, or refugee and asylum issues.
• Commitment to complete the project (within 6 months) and maintain sensitive safeguarding practices.

What will you be doing?

Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN) is seeking a volunteer animator to collaborate on a powerful, short animated film project that tells the story of one of our asylum-seeking volunteers. This film will explore her journey of integrating into life in the UK, using animation both as an artistic choice and as a safeguarding measure to protect her identity.

With a script and voiceover already provided with her input, we’re now looking for an animator to bring the story to life visually. The final piece will be under five minutes long and shared across MRSN’s social media, website, and communications channels.

The animator will:

• Lead the artistic and technical production of the animated short.
• Work collaboratively with the storyteller and MRSN’s digital media lead to develop a visual style that suits the story.
• Hold approximately four one-hour mentoring sessions (virtual or in-person) with the volunteer storyteller to discuss the animation process, creative decisions, and career guidance.
• Advise on suitable animation techniques (2D, stop motion, digital, or mixed media – entirely open to discussion).
• Incorporate the recorded voiceover and ensure the final film is accessible, sensitive, and aligned with MRSN’s safeguarding practices.
• Deliver the project within approximately six months, balancing creativity with achievable milestones.

You’ll be supported by MRSN’s Digital Fundraising, Social Media and Admin Manager, who has experience in documentary filmmaking and podcast production. They will facilitate meetings, provide project coordination, and act as a safeguarding lead during all sessions involving the storyteller.

The animation volunteer can be based anywhere in the UK, as all collaboration can be done remotely. However, being local to Manchester would be an advantage for occasional in-person sessions or screenings.

This is an opportunity not only to craft a deeply meaningful piece of work but also to make a lasting difference by mentoring someone passionate about animation who currently has no resources to pursue formal training. It’s a creative partnership blending storytelling, empathy, and skill-sharing — using animation as a bridge between real experiences and public understanding.