Community & Engagement Trustee - Volunteer in Bristol

It's in the Bag is looking for a trustee who gets people. Help us stay genuinely connected to our volunteer community, reach the men who need us most, and make sure every voice is heard at board level.

The Communications, Volunteer Engagement and Stakeholder Connection Trustee plays a vital role in keeping It's in the Bag connected to the people it exists to serve. For a charity like this one, the relationship between the board and its wider community is fundamental. Volunteers are not just a resource; they are the life of the charity. They deliver awareness sessions, fundraise, advocate, and recruit others. When they feel connected to the board and invested in its direction, the charity is stronger. When they feel distant from it, the consequences are real. People disengage. They step back. The community the charity has built, which is one of its most valuable assets, quietly weakens. This trustee helps prevent that from happening.

By championing the voice of volunteers at board level, they ensure that the people doing the work on the ground are heard when decisions are being made. By advising the board on how to communicate more openly and effectively, they help build the kind of trust that keeps people engaged over the long term. The impact extends beyond the volunteer community. How a charity communicates shapes how it is perceived by donors, funders, potential trustees, and the men it is trying to reach. A board that thinks strategically about its communications is better placed to grow its reach, attract new supporters, and make the case for its work to the people who matter. This trustee brings that strategic thinking to the table.

There is also a specific and urgent opportunity around digital communications and social media. It's in the Bag reaches men in schools and sports clubs, in communities where a poster or a presentation can genuinely save a life. Social media extends that reach significantly, and the charity has real potential to do more in this space. This trustee helps the board think ambitiously and realistically about how to use those channels well.

Finally, this trustee plays a role in the charity's long-term sustainability. An organisation that communicates its impact clearly, that tells the story of what it does and what difference it makes, is one that attracts and retains the supporters, volunteers, and funders it needs to keep going. This trustee helps It's in the Bag tell that story better.

What are we looking for?

We want to be honest about what matters most for this role. It is not a particular set of professional credentials; it is genuine connection. The quality we are most looking for is lived connection to the cause or to the communities the charity serves. We particularly want to hear from people who have personal experience of testicular cancer, whether as a patient, a partner, a family member, or a close friend. We want to hear from people who are part of communities the charity is trying to reach better, including younger men, people from rural parts of the South West, or those who feel that health services and charities don't always speak to them. We want to hear from people who have advocated for men's health and who understand, from experience, why it matters. That lived connection is not a substitute for other qualities; it is the foundation on which everything else is built.

A trustee who understands the cause from the inside will ask better questions, make better decisions, and represent the community more credibly than one who is simply technically capable. Beyond that, we are looking for strong interpersonal skills and the ability to connect with people from a wide range of backgrounds. This trustee will need to build relationships across the board, the volunteer community, and the charity's wider network. They will need to listen well, represent the views of others clearly and constructively, and bring people together around a shared purpose.

We are looking for someone with instincts for how communities communicate and what builds trust between people and organisations. That might come from a professional background in communications, PR, marketing, or stakeholder engagement. It might come from community organising, youth work, health advocacy, or voluntary sector experience. It might come from having built something yourself, a community group, a campaign, a network, around something you cared about. What matters is the instinct, not the job title.

An understanding of social media and how digital communications shape the way charities are perceived and reach new audiences is valuable. We are not looking for a social media manager. We are looking for a trustee who can help the board ask the right strategic questions about digital communications and hold the charity to account on its ambitions in that space.

Finally, we are looking for warmth, openness, and a willingness to be actively involved in the life of the charity beyond board meetings. This is not a role for someone who wants to observe. It is a role for someone who wants to get stuck in.

What will you be doing?

It's in the Bag is a passionate, community-rooted charity with a board that leads by example. Our trustees don't just attend meetings; they show up at events, they know volunteers by name, and they are genuinely invested in the cause. That active, engaged culture is one of our greatest strengths and something every new trustee joins. The board currently has strong capability across strategic thinking, safeguarding, local knowledge, and mission alignment. What we need to strengthen is our connection to the people who make this charity what it is. Our volunteers are committed and passionate. They give their time generously and they care deeply about the cause. But they have told us clearly that they sometimes feel the distance between the board and the volunteer community is wider than it should be. Addressing that is one of our most important priorities. This is where you come in.

As Communications, Volunteer Engagement and Stakeholder Connection Trustee, you will be the voice of our community at board level. You will help the board understand what its volunteers, supporters, and beneficiaries need and think, and you will help it respond in a way that is open, honest, and genuinely two-way. You will contribute to the charity's thinking on how it reaches new audiences, particularly younger men and those in communities not yet well served. You will bring a strategic perspective to social media and digital communications. And you will act as a connector, using your personal networks and community relationships to strengthen the charity's reach.

The challenges ahead are real. The charity wants to deepen its reach across the South West, build stronger relationships with its volunteer community, and communicate its impact more effectively to the people who give their time and money to support it. This trustee will be at the heart of all of that. This is not a marketing role; it is a people role. And it is one of the most important appointments the board will make. You will be joining a charity that does genuinely important work for men's health in the South West, in a way that is warm, bold, and completely its own. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 45 in the UK. It's in the Bag is working to change that, one conversation at a time. This trustee helps make sure those conversations keep happening.