Become a Volunteer
Volunteer Now!
SOFO is always keen to hear from people who wish to become more involved with their local museum. From helping out on the front desk, assisting with events and education to working on research or cataloguing projects, SOFO offers opportunities for all ages and backgrounds to contribute to the work of the museum. All training will be given, no experience necessary, interest in military history is great but just wanting to be part of a small dedicated team is even better.
VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FORMS, GUIDES & INFORMATION
Download a copy of the SOFO Volunteer Application Form
Download a copy of the SOFO Volunteer Policy
Download a copy of the SOFO Volunteers Guidelines
Download a copy of Information for Potential SOFO Volunteers
NOTES: All our volunteers receive an induction and training and for some roles a DBS check is carried out.
Providing a reference for a volunteer? Fill out our online reference form here.
Volunteer Roles
Social Media & Digital Media Volunteer
ABOUT THE ROLE
Our social media volunteer will be working closely with our Marketing Manager to keep on top of social media trends, as well as researching and compiling content for website blog updates and content for our social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram and X.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF YOU ARE
• Up to date with various social media platforms and how they can be used for marketing and communications
• Able to communicate effectively and be articulate with strong writing skills.
• Able to transform interesting facts and information into fascinating and engaging stories
• An interest in digital media
• Have an interest in or existing skills with media, from photography to recording or editing audio and video
• Interested in the work of museums and how social media can be developed at the museum.
• Have good attention to detail, an eye for accuracy and awareness of the Museum’s target audience.
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
• Increase your knowledge of the county’s military history
• Be part of a varied and enthusiastic team and make new friends
• Grow our social media presence while gaining skills and experience
MAIN TASKS
• Keeping the museum up to date with popular social media trends
• Researching and compiling content for social media and blog updates
• Capturing and editing digital images, video and audio for social media and web use
Volunteer Librarian
ABOUT THE ROLE
The volunteer Librarian helps the Collections Manager with caring for the books in the two SOFO libraries.
The libraries in our Research Centre and Archive cover various aspects of military history and are used by our staff and volunteers to assist with research and reference tasks. SOFO also offers visitors appointments to access these books.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF YOU ARE
- Organised and methodical
- Happy to work by yourself and in a small team
- Happy using computers
- Interested in books and libraries, but don’t worry we will provide full training on how to use our libraries
- Interested in military and social history
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
- Increase your knowledge of the county’s military history
- Be part of vital research to help preserve the stories of conflict in Oxfordshire
- Gain experience of working with books and libraries
- Be part of a varied and enthusiastic team and make new friends
MAIN TASKS
- Scanning and updating completed research enquiries on our database
- Adding new books onto our library database
- Removing duplicate books from the libraries
- Assisting research and collections volunteers with finding relevant books for their work
- Sorting through the backlog of books (with Collections Manager)
- Helping with a library move project (with Collections Manager)
- Filling out condition reports on the older books (with Collections Manager)
Engagement Volunteer
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are looking for Engagement Volunteers to support the museum in engaging visitors of all ages.
For volunteering with younger visitors, we need support with
- Helping to prep and deliver the museum’s education programme for Key Stage 1 and 2
- Supporting family workshops during the holidays
- Contributing creative ideas for family friendly activities throughout the museum
For volunteering with older visitors, we need support with
- Assisting with the delivery of talks, such as ‘Oxfordshire’s Military History in 50 Objects’
- Supporting handling object sessions with different community groups
- Carrying out research to develop the outreach programme
You can decide to focus on delivering engagement to adults or children, or both. You do not need to have any prior experience of the national curriculum, but an interest in social or military history or museum work would be helpful. Full training on how to use our resources, including how to handle the objects, will be given - along with tea and biscuits!
A DBS check will be required.
Skills you could develop
- Experience being part of an engagement programme
- Developing the ability to adapt material for different audiences
- Museum object handling
To apply
If you are interested in becoming an Engagement Volunteer, please contact Kim Davies, the Collections and Public Engagement Manager at engagement@sofo.org.uk
TRANSCRIBING VOLUNTEER
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
SOFO is constantly trying to learn from our collection and reframe the stories we tell in a new narrative. We are looking for some help to transcribe the letters and diaries we hold in our archive, as well as transcribing elements of our oral history archives.
Once the transcription is complete, we will be working to identify themes and stories in the text that could be used in future exhibitions, online material or research. One of the main themes we are currently trying to identify is the role of women in conflict, so this work will be essential in reassessing our collection and finding the gaps in the narrative we tell at the museum.
Your task will be to retrieve these primary sources from the archive and transcribe them, giving analysis where appropriate along the way. Your findings could be made into a blog post for the museum, or could become part of our new collecting campaign. This will help to preserve the objects for the future, and will improve our records on our Collections Management System.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF YOU ARE
• Someone who enjoys research and finding out about people and places
• Interested in recent military and social history
• Happy to volunteer the majority of time on your own
• Not fazed by technology, although full training will be given
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
• Increase your knowledge of the county’s military history
• Learn transcribing techniques
• Be part of a varied and enthusiastic team and make new friends
• Support our oral history archive
MAIN TASKS
• Research and retrieve material
• Attending training and workshop sessions relevant to the role
• Learning and sharing ideas with other volunteers
FRONT OF HOUSE AND GALLERY GUIDES
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
Front of House Volunteers and Gallery Guides help visitors to enjoy and learn about the museum and play a key role in helping to ensure that visits are an educational and inspiring experience.
Volunteers in Front of House also help to protect the health and safety of visitors, and play a part in keeping the galleries and collection well presented at all times.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF YOU ARE
- Full of enthusiasm and hoping to inspire visitors of all ages
- Someone who enjoys being around people
- Interested in military and social history but don’t worry we will provide background information on the galleries
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
- Increase your knowledge of the county’s military history
- Welcome and inspire visitors from all over the world
- Be part of a varied and enthusiastic team and make new friends
- Spend time in a modern purpose built museum
MAIN TASKS
- Providing a friendly and informed welcome to all visitors
- Take admissions and give out gallery guides
- Helping visitors to discover more about our historical collections and displays by providing guided tours of the galleries, giving short talks, answering questions and selling items in the shop
- Helping to ensure all front of house procedures are followed
- Getting to know health and safety and procedures including evacuation procedures and incident/accident reporting
- Being aware of provisions for visitors with disabilities or reduced mobility
- Attending training and workshop sessions relevant to the role
- Learning and sharing ideas with other volunteers
EVENTS AND FUNDRAISING
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
This volunteer role combines helping to organise fundraising and promotional events at the museum and external venues (these could include family fun days, lectures and open days), helping to identify and develop new ideas for fundraising and supporting the research needed for applications to grant awarding bodies.
Help deliver a variety of events at the museum. From preparation and setting up to running activities on the day, it’s all about offering our visitors fun and memorable experiences.
Volunteering on the Friends Committee and attending meetings to discuss the programme.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF
- You like organising events and enjoy both the creative and project management aspects of doing so
- You like to work as part of a positive team to develop new ideas for fundraising
- You like researching and assisting with fundraising applications for on-going costs and new projects
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
- Become part of a friendly and dedicated team
- Meet people from all walks of life and make new friends
- Enjoy different experiences and learn something new
- Gain experience in planning and running public events
MAIN TASKS
- Working with a team of volunteers and others to develop a programme of fundraising events.
- Working out the logistics of each event (who needs to do what, when and so on), scheduling and allocating tasks and then making them happen.
- Helping with on-the-day delivery of events.
- Research and support funding applications
ORAL HISTORY
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
Oral History Volunteers add to our archive of county stories and information around military history, by interviewing and recording people’s life stories. These interviews are available to researchers and used to create interesting exhibitions / soundbites for our visitors or for educational use.
As we start to plan events around Second World War anniversaries and develop our Reminiscence program, we are also creating ‘pop-up memory booths’ where oral history volunteers will play a key part in creating a sound archive of living memory.
THIS ROLE WILL SUIT YOU IF YOU ARE
- Someone who enjoys being around people and listening to their stories
- Interested in recent military and social history
- Happy to volunteer the majority of time on your own
- Not fazed by technology, although full training will be given
BY GETTING INVOLVED YOU COULD
- Increase your knowledge of the county’s military history
- Learn oral history techniques
- Be part of a varied and enthusiastic team and make new friends
- Grow our oral history archive
MAIN TASKS
- Interviewing, archiving and transcribing recordings via digital recording equipment
- Visit people throughout the county, attend Reminiscence session and help out at ‘pop - ups’
- Identify timings for summaries to locate oral material to be used
- Attending training and workshop sessions relevant to the role
- Learning and sharing ideas with other volunteers
