Volunteering

Volunteer Through House

Volunteering with us is more than just a chance to give back; it’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich history of the Black Country.

Whether you’re retelling our story as a costumed character, helping to preserve our collections or supporting behind-the-scenes, your contribution will help keep the stories of the past alive.

Becoming a volunteer with us means having the opportunity to gain new skills and develop existing ones, sharing your talents and expertise, and being part of our supportive volunteer community. We recognise that everyone’s reasons for volunteering are unique to them, so, if your goal is to gain work experience to kickstart a new career, pass on your knowledge to others or simply fill your spare time with something meaningful, we aim to offer a variety of roles that cater to your interests and aspirations.

  1. Garden Volunteer 50

    Volunteering

    We have many volunteer opportunities across all different teams that vary in skill level and interests. Join our maintenance team to keep our site looking bostin’ or perhaps spend a few hours with the transport team, getting your hands dirty rebuilding a vintage vehicle.

    View our opportunities

  2. Sweet Shop

    Work experience

    From collections and research, marketing and IT, finance and HR, through to maintenance and construction, we have a wide variety of work experience opportunities to suit different skills, qualifications and interests.

    Apply now

Volunteer Preedys

Be Part of Living History!

This National Volunteer Week, we’re celebrating the people who give their time to support the museum and inviting others to discover how rewarding volunteering can be.

Every volunteer has their own reason for joining the museum, from the love of local history to making new friendships and learning new skills.

Volunteer Pat Sloan explains: “I love the Black Country and there’s so much important history here. Every day I get more out of it than I put in.”

For many, volunteering is about connection to the people and to the stories that shaped the Black Country. And for others, it’s friendships and shared experiences that make volunteering rewarding. 

From welcoming visitors around the world to preserving Black Country crafts, our volunteers help make history feel alive every day.

 


  1. Volunteer Station Road

    “Definitely meeting new people and making new friends from it” - Alison Petford, when asked what her favourite thing about volunteering at BCLM was. 

  2. Volunteer Admissions

    Volunteer Wendy Hamblett-Jones says: “I really love and believe in what the Black Country Living Museum does. They really appreciate their volunteers and let us in on everything that’s going on.” 

  3. Volunteer Street Character

    When asked "Would you recommend volunteering at the museum?" Mark Fussell said “Yes! Especially if you have an outgoing personality and enjoy talking to people. It’s amazing to bring these stories to life!” 

  1. Volunteer Library

    Volunteering can help you build confidence, meet new people, and become part of a friendly community, all while helping to preserve the Black Country heritage for future generations. 

    There’s no single type of volunteer, just people with enthusiasm, curiosity, and willingness to get involved. Whether you love history, enjoy meeting people, or simply want to give something back to the community, there’s a place for you here! 

    Sign up to our mailing list to hear first about new volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering FAQ

Anyone aged 16 or over is welcome to apply. Unfortunately, due to our insurance and safeguarding policies, we are unable to recruit anyone aged 15 or under.

We understand that it is your free time that you are offering so we try to be as flexible as we can.

For our front-facing roles we ask if you can be around during our ‘peak’ hours in the day, usually 10am – 3pm, to help enhance the visitor experience during our busiest times.

Specific timings are always discussed and agreed in advance with the volunteer manager for that area.

You can view and apply for our current volunteer vacancies online. If you can’t see something you like, you can instead sign up to our mailing list to be notified of future volunteer opportunities that are better suited to your interests.

Yes, if you feel there are other vacancies suited to your skills, experience and interests, then you would be welcome to apply. You will be able to make a unique application for each role you apply for.

I can’t upload my documents

Our system currently only accepts files that are in .doc, .docx or .pdf format with a maximum size of 2MB. If you wish to upload a document, please ensure your files fit this criteria.

I can’t submit my application / move on to the next section

Our application form contains some mandatory fields; these are marked with an asterisk (*). Any incomplete fields will highlight in red if an attempt is made to submit an application with missing information and an error will appear at the end of the page reading “Please fill out all required fields”. If this is the case, please go back over your application and ensure all fields are filled in.

Something else

Please take screenshots or make a note of any error messages or codes that appear on your screen or device when you experience the issue. You can then contact our People team by emailing [email protected] or calling 0121 557 9643 and we will do our best to assist.

Black Country Living Museum is an equal opportunities employer. We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to everyone and we are committed to providing a careers page that is accessible to the broadest possible audience, regardless of ability. We have partnered with accessiBe to deliver accessibility tools for everyone to use. To use these tools, please click on the pink circular accessibility icon in the bottom right corner of our careers pages on Hireful.

We welcome individuals to submit their application in an alternate format, e.g. audio or video, to ensure equal access to our opportunities. If you’d like to make your application in an alternate format, please contact our People team by emailing [email protected] or calling 0121 557 9643.

We are very fortunate to have a very busy and successful volunteer programme, but unfortunately this can mean that it takes time for our team to carefully review each volunteer application and determine the most suitable voluntary opportunity for you. If we can identify an appropriate role for you then we will contact you with further information.

Work Experience FAQ

We ask that you complete a Work Experience Request Form (download link) and send it to our team at [email protected] or to The People Team, Black Country Living Museum, Dudley DY1 4SQ.

Please ensure you provide as much detail as possible, including your preferred start and end dates, minimum days or hours required, and your main area of interest, so that our team can better determine how we can facilitate your request.

Please contact our People team by emailing [email protected] or calling 0121 557 9643.

We welcome individuals to submit their application in an alternate format, e.g. audio or video, to ensure equal access to our opportunities. If you’d like to make your application in an alternate format, please contact our People team by emailing [email protected] or calling 0121 557 9643.

There is no set minimum requirement, however there will be induction and training you will need to complete before you can fully take part in tasks or activities. We strive to offer a comprehensive experience so we therefore recommend a minimum of 5 days (or 30 hours).

You will receive an email within 5 working days after submitting your request to confirm it has been safely received. Your request is then forwarded on to the relevant departmental manager for consideration. We aim to respond to all applicants within two weeks after this point.

Our work experience programme is extremely popular which means that we are unfortunately not able to accommodate every request, however we respond to every applicant to inform them of the outcome.

Anyone aged 16 or over is welcome to apply. Unfortunately, due to our insurance and safeguarding policies, we are unable to recruit anyone aged 15 or under.

Watch Your Exclamation Marks 14

Corporate volunteering

With a 29-acre authentic industrial landscape and a collection of over 80,000 items – we need all the help we can get!

Corporate volunteering is an opportunity for a team of you and your colleagues to get together and make a difference for the Museum, whilst enjoying a day out of the office with colleagues. Opportunities are varied, depending on the time of year and the requirements of our teams.

If your team have a designated ‘volunteer day’ and would like to be involved, we’d like to hear from you! 

Speak to a member of the team by either calling 0121  557 9643 or email [email protected]

Corporate Volunteering FAQ

Black Country Living Museum is a registered charity and first opened its doors in 1978. Our aim is to re-tell the famous Black Country story, by sharing over 300 years of history.

Our volunteers are invaluable for the protection of our local heritage; not only by supporting our staff and engaging with our visitors, but by also bringing our site to life in so many different ways.

Volunteer support helps us offer so much more to our visitors.

Corporate volunteering is an opportunity for you and your colleagues to get together and make a difference for the Museum. 

Examples of previous tasks we’ve had are:

  • Gardening and landscaping
  • Collections care and maintenance
  • Historic buildings care and maintenance
  • Event support and set-up

Not all tasks will be similar to the above. Opportunities are varied, depending on the time of year and the requirements of our teams, but please get in touch to speak to a member of the team about tasks we currently have available.

On a usual group volunteer day we ask if you and your team can come in for 9:30am ready for a 9:45am start at your task location, then winding down to a 3:30pm/4pm finish.

A corporate volunteer day at the Museum includes

  • A fantastic team-building experience
  • A chance to develop new skills, and advance existing ones
  • The opportunity to get out of the office for the day
  • Explore our internationally well-known site
  • A chance to get closer to our collections
  • Supporting a renowned charity and the community with your hard work

If that doesn’t persuade your team, did we mention our famous fish and chips lunch?

We often have various tasks available all throughout the year, but it’s always best to contact us first to discuss the different opportunities we have.

We accept teams of all sizes, but we’re also conscious that some tasks may need more or less hands-on support than others, depending on the scope of the task. It’s best to get in touch to explore suitable opportunities.