Lunch and Learn - Beyond micro-volunteering - redesigning volunteering for real lives and organisations

In this session, Elena explores what it really takes to make flex-volunteering work in practice, not just in theory.

Drawing on over a decade of leadership experience across the voluntary sector, including senior roles at British Red Cross, Oxfam and St John Ambulance, Elena will share a practical and systematic approach to creating the conditions in which flexible volunteering can succeed at scale.

Moving beyond the idea of “micro-volunteering”, Elena introduces flex-volunteering as a people-centred model that genuinely recognises fluctuating availability, diverse life rhythms and different ways of contributing meaningfully. She will unpack how organisations can intentionally design roles, onboarding, training, leadership behaviours and volunteer management practices to build trust, inclusion and impact.

The session will also explore the role of volunteer managers as curators of experience rather than coordinators of tasks, and how thoughtful, human-centred design can ensure that even one-off or intermittent contributions feel purposeful, connected and valued.