Job Title: Volunteer
Location: Cardiff/South Wales
Responsible to: Volunteer Coordinator
Expenses: £15 per full day
Role Description
This four-month HIVstory volunteer programme presents a unique opportunity to gain practical experience in the heritage sector and be part of the foundation of a wide-ranging outreach project for the history of HIV in the UK.
You will have the chance to develop skills in the heritage industry and help to keep the story of HIV alive for new generations. The HIVstory volunteer programme aims to deliver social change through its heritage training programme, creating a foundation for long-term awareness raising of the history and heritage of HIV. Across its lifetime, it will lead to greater inclusivity and access, engagement with survivors, relatives and professionals who want to share their stories, and build the foundations for work to continue beyond the life of the project.
The Cardiff and South Wales area has a long history of HIV experience, both in terms of clinical activity and outreach as well as in community support. However, the documentation of this heritage is limited: therefore it is hoped that the work of this volunteer programme will make a significant contribution to HIV heritage material already held in existing collections, such as that of Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales.
The Cardiff and South Wales volunteer cohort will run between May – September 2026. Volunteers will access skills training in archival research and interpretation, oral histories, and sound curation. Participants will curate an audio piece and have the opportunity to collect an oral history interview from the community as a contribution to the Amgueddfa Cymru LGBTQ collections, as well as participate in an event to launch the final creations. The programme will be delivered through specialist facilitators and our relevant partners.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
- Heritage training programme. Across the four months volunteers will attend a range of training and workshops, online and in person.
- Volunteers will receive training in the collecting, conducting and curation of oral history interviews, and sonic audiovisual archiving.
- Volunteers will craft a creative audio response to the LGBTQ archives held by Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales held at St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff, to be completed by the end of July.
- Volunteers will also have the opportunity to conduct and collect an oral history interview from the community, as a contribution to the Amgueddfa Cymru LGBTQ collections.
- Attend relevant meetings, events and training as required by the Volunteer Coordinator.
- The opportunity to creatively display the final project and present.
Person Specification
This volunteering opportunity is for those who are interested in the history of HIV, who want to develop new skills in research and creative writing, and for those interested in future jobs in the heritage sector.
- Volunteers must be able to commit to the four-month programme which requires around 50 hours of volunteering between May and August. This includes time spent on their individual research projects as well as participating in events and training.
- Volunteers should be based in Cardiff or South Wales, and able to travel to Cardiff regularly, as they will be required to attend some events and training workshops in-person.
- Volunteers will also need to be available on the below dates and able to travel to these locations, some of which are to be confirmed. We can reimburse travel costs up to £15 per full day for each volunteer. Please note in your application if any of the below dates are an issue to discuss with the Volunteer Coordinator.
- Thursday 7th May – Introduction and tour at St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff with Curator Mark Etheridge
- Wednesday 13th May – Oral history training 1, St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
- Wednesday 20th May – Oral history training 2, St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
- Wednesday 27th May – London Archives group visit – travel provided
- Wednesday 17th June – Sound design and curation workshop, St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff (TBC)
- Thursday 10th September – Project launch event, St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
About NHST
The NHST’s key activities are:
- The Archive: collecting stories and interviews through filmed material to ensure the events of the last 40 years are recorded and not lost.
- Engagement events: presentations to groups ranging from corporates to community groups, sharing materials and letting people hear the first-person testimony recorded in our interviews. Our long-term aim has always been to reach groups beyond the LGBTQ+ community.
- Volunteering programme: to work with a team of volunteers involving them in all aspects of the archive’s work including community outreach, communications and social media, groups and events.
In addition, we are looking to expand our ‘story telling’ work through use of the archived interviews in media, film, student research, medical education and the arts. Creating events that bring people affected by HIV together in order to help with the feelings of isolation and loneliness through shared experience and storytelling is of great importance. Sadly there is still much misunderstanding and prejudice against those affected by HIV and this is something we wish to change. Visit https://www.nhst.org.uk to find out more about our work.
How to apply
To apply, please email a short cover letter to the Volunteer Coordinator Jesse Schwenk at jesse.schwenk@nhst.org.uk
The cover letter should mention:
- why you want to be involved in this project
- any relevant experience you have
- and what you hope to gain from volunteering.
Applications close: Monday 27th April 10am
Successful applicants notified: Friday 1st May
Start Date: Thursday 7th May
NHST believes in equality of opportunity and therefore welcomes applications from all members of the community, irrespective of age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion and belief; sex and sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership status.
The National HIV Story Trust is a registered charity – Number: 1185923