Volunteer
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.
Volunteer
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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to our most frequently asked volunteering questions are below, but if you can’t find the answer to your question our People & Culture team are happy to help. Email [email protected] or telephone 0121 557 9643.
Work experience
We ask that you complete a Work Experience Request Form (download link) and send it to our team at [email protected] or People & Culture, 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 & Culture 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 & Culture 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.
Volunteering
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 register your details online via our careers page on Hireful to be notified of suitable volunteer opportunities.
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 & Culture 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 & Culture 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.
Contact us
If you have any questions about our volunteering with us, please don’t hesitate to contact our People & Culture team on 0121 557 9643 or by emailing [email protected].