Micro or sustained
A two-hour review window and a twelve-month facilitation role are both real volunteering here. Pick the one that fits your life, not the one that sounds most committed.
Volunteering
Real roles, with a supervisor and an end date.
Volunteering here is scoped work, not general goodwill. Every role below has a written description, a named supervisor, a defined time commitment and an explicit list of what falls outside it.
Screening fits the role
Reviewing an anonymised portfolio needs less checking than sitting in a room with learners. We apply what the access actually warrants, and tell you which applies before you start.
Expenses are covered
Agreed travel and data costs are reimbursed. Ask before you incur them and you will get a clear answer — cost should not decide who can take part.
The roles
Six volunteer roles currently defined.
Not every role is open at every moment. If yours is not, we will tell you that plainly rather than holding your details indefinitely.
Assessment reviewer
Review anonymised portfolio submissions against published criteria.
Evidence only means something if someone outside the delivery team has checked it. Reviewers are that check.
3 hours a monthfor about 3 months
Concentrated in review windows, which are published in advance.
What you need
- Domain experience relevant to the submissions
- Able to apply a rubric consistently rather than by instinct
Screening
- Application
- Code of conduct accepted
- Rubric calibration exercise
Supervision
Assessment lead. Submissions are anonymised before review.
Out of scope
- Contacting a learner directly
- Reviewing work by someone you know
Workshop facilitator
Run a clinic or workshop on a specific practical topic.
Clinics work when the person leading them has done the thing recently, not read about it.
4 hours a monthfor about 3 months
Per workshop: roughly two hours preparing, two delivering.
What you need
- Recent hands-on experience in the topic
- Willing to prepare against a brief rather than present existing slides
Screening
- Application
- Content review against the brief
- Code of conduct accepted
Supervision
Delivery lead, who reviews material before the session.
Out of scope
- Promoting a product, service or employer
- Collecting participant contact details
Forum convenor
Facilitate community forums and record what was said.
A forum where the convenor is also the organisation being critiqued does not surface much. An independent convenor makes it safer to say the difficult thing.
3 hours a monthfor about 12 months
Quarterly forums, plus preparing and circulating the record.
What you need
- Facilitation experience
- Independent of Ubuntu Gale's delivery decisions
Screening
- Application and conversation
- Code of conduct accepted
- Conflict-of-interest declaration
Supervision
Reports to the governance function rather than to delivery.
Out of scope
- Speaking for Ubuntu Gale publicly
- Editing the substance of what participants said
Employer host
Host a site visit, a practice session or a work-shadowing day.
Seeing the work done in a real setting changes what a learner believes is possible for them.
2 hours a monthfor about 1 months
Typically a single half-day, arranged around your operations.
What you need
- A workplace where a visit is safe and practical
- A named host on the day
Screening
- Application
- Site suitability check
- Code of conduct accepted
Supervision
Programme manager accompanies every visit.
Out of scope
- Unpaid work disguised as a visit
- Recruitment commitments made on the day
Accessibility reviewer
Test materials and systems against real access needs.
Accessibility checked only by people who do not need it is a guess. Lived experience finds what an automated audit cannot.
2 hours a monthfor about 6 months
Review windows before major material releases.
What you need
- Experience of access barriers, professionally or personally
- Willing to describe what did not work and why
Screening
- Application
- Code of conduct accepted
Supervision
Delivery lead. Findings are published with the material.
Out of scope
- Formal accessibility certification
- Legal compliance sign-off
Translator or language support
Translate materials, or provide language support during a session.
Delivering only in English excludes people the programme exists to reach. Translation is not a nicety here.
4 hours a monthfor about 3 months
Varies with the material. Session support is scheduled in advance.
What you need
- Fluency in English and at least one of isiZulu, Sesotho, isiXhosa, Setswana or Afrikaans
- Comfortable with practical technical vocabulary
Screening
- Application
- Short translation sample
- Code of conduct accepted
Supervision
Content lead reviews translated material before release.
Out of scope
- Certified or sworn translation
- Interpreting in a legal or medical setting
What we commit to
Your time is not free, so we do not treat it that way.
A real role, not a waiting list
If we cannot offer you a defined role with a supervisor, we will say so rather than hold your details indefinitely.
Induction before you start
Nobody is placed with a participant before they have been through boundaries, escalation and the code of conduct.
A named person to raise concerns with
Every role has a supervisor, and a route past that supervisor if the concern is about them.
Your time is not wasted
Sessions are prepared, participants are briefed, and a cancellation reaches you as early as we know about it.
Expenses are not a barrier
Agreed travel and data costs are reimbursed. Ask before you incur them and the answer will be clear.
Code of conduct
What everyone in the network agrees to.
- 01Put the participant's interest ahead of your own, your employer's and Ubuntu Gale's.
- 02Stay inside the scope of your role, and say so when a question falls outside it.
- 03Keep what participants tell you confidential, except where someone is at risk of harm.
- 04Never use your position to sell, recruit, invest or seek personal benefit.
- 05Keep contact within the agreed channels, and never in private with a person under 18.
- 06Declare any conflict of interest as soon as you become aware of it.
- 07Report any safeguarding concern immediately, and never investigate it yourself.
- 08Treat access to systems, data and premises as borrowed, and return it when your role ends.
Apply
Tell us where you can help.
Looking for a deeper commitment?
Mentoring pairs you with one participant or team across their implementation and adoption phase.