Volunteering for CIWM

Like many other membership organisations, CIWM has hundreds of volunteers across the UK and beyond who donate their time, skills and expertise to support the Institution and its members. Volunteers are central to the life and culture of CIWM and play a vital role at every level within our organisation.

Each year without fail, our volunteers show their dedication to the resources and waste sector by committing their time to supporting our organisation in a way that promotes and encourages best practice – not just within CIWM, but throughout the sector as a whole.

Volunteering is more than simply doing a job or performing a task without payment. It’s about giving your time, your knowledge and your skills – three of the most valuable things you can offer – to help others. Volunteering is also about being part of something and giving back to your community. It offers experiences to learn from and opportunities to communicate with people you may never have come across otherwise. It can help build self-confidence and contributes to a sense of achievement and belonging.

CIWM Volunteer Strategy

Our new Volunteer strategy, created by our Volunteer Strategy Steering Group in consultation with members, sets out how we will enhance the experience of volunteering for CIWM. You can download a copy of the strategy here.

The strategy includes a number of proposed changes to modernise and simplify our approach to volunteering:

Volunteering roles at CIWM

There are a range of volunteering roles available at CIWM, all of which provide a unique opportunity to support our members and the wider resources and waste sector.

Volunteer for your CIWM Centre

You can support your regional CIWM Centre by volunteering as a Centre Councillor, New Member Network Coordinator, Centre Chairperson, Honorary Centre Secretary or Honorary Centre Treasurer.

Volunteer as a Members’ Council Representative

The Members’ Council is the official representative body of CIWM members and consists of a representative from each of the ten CIWM Centres, one representative from the CIWM New Member Network, the CIWM Presidential Team and CIWM’s Chief Executive Officer.

Volunteer as a Professional Interview Panelist

Being a professional interview panelist is an important and beneficial role as both our panelists and candidates often meet new people, and through professional discussion can learn something new about our sector. As this role involves peer assessment of candidates who have applied to become Chartered members, panellists must be CIWM Chartered members or Fellows and have undergone CIWM Chartered Interviewer training.

Volunteer as a Mentor

Becoming a mentor and sharing your knowledge, skills and experience with a less experienced member can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Being a mentor also provides an opportunity for continued personal development as mentoring can enhance your leadership, coaching and communication skills.

Join a Strategic Expert Group

CIWM Strategic Expert Groups (SEGs) comprise of professionals who collectively produce best practice and guidance documents; contribute to consultation responses; and write technical papers for our Knowledge Centre and award-winning magazine, Circular. By joining a CIWM SEG, you’ll have the opportunity to share your technical knowledge and experience to help influence and steer our sector.

These are just some of the volunteering opportunities available at CIWM. You can find out more about these roles and others that might be of interest here.

The CIWM Volunteers' Handbook

To support our volunteers in their important roles, and to share ideas of how other members can support CIWM through volunteering, we have created a Volunteer Handbook.

In it, you’ll find everything you need to know about volunteering for CIWM. For existing volunteers, there's a toolkit with lots of useful resources, such as templates, guidance and procedures. For other members who are interested in getting involved, there's lots of information about the many ways in which you can support CIWM as a volunteer, from joining your local Centre Council or the Members’ Council to supporting the next generation of resources and waste professionals as a Professional Interview Panellist or mentor.

If you are interested in volunteering for CIWM and would like to find out more about the opportunities available, please don’t hesitate to contact us at volunteers@ciwm.co.uk.