HELOA voluntary roles provide our members with the opportunity to build networks across the sector and can support career progression with development of new skills and experience outside of job roles.
Volunteering with HELOA has been professionally invaluable. It has deepened my understanding of the higher education sector and provided opportunities to connect and network with colleagues across various universities and HELOA partners.
National Roles
Be part of the UK Committee as a Trustee, Vice-Chair in the Operational Group or as an Appointed Officer.
Charity Trustees
- HELOA members can stand for a charity trustee position as the UK Chair, UK Vice-Chair (Finance & Governance) or, as a Group Chair.
- Elections for these positions is through an informational interview and election process, communicated through national and group emails, in accordance with the HELOA Standing Orders .
- The position of HELOA UK Chair cannot be held by a member from a Non Publicly Funded Institution or Further Education College.
- A maximum of ONE position on the HELOA Operational Group, and ONE position on the UK Committee, can be held by members from a Non Publicly Funded Institution, with the same restriction applying to members from Further Education Colleges.
Operational Group
- The Operational Group consists of the UK Vice-Chairs who work at a national level to help support the UK committee in meeting the goals of the strategy.
- Appointment of these positions is through an application and interview process, communicated through national emails.
- A maximum of ONE position on the HELOA Operational Group, and ONE position on the UK Committee, can be held by members from a Non Publicly Funded Institution, with the same restriction applying to members from Further Education Colleges.
Appointed Officers
- There are many appointed officer roles who work at a national level to help support the UK committee in meeting the goals of the strategy. These include Conference Managers, Partnerships Managers and Digital Communication Managers.
- Appointment of these positions is through an application and interview process, communicated through national emails.
- There are no restrictions on the number of Non Publicly Funded Institution members, or Further Education College members standing for UK appointed officer roles.
Current Vacancies
For further details on current post holders and how these roles sit within HELOA, see the Committee Page page of the website and the UKC Structure Chart.
Group Roles
Each group is led by a volunteer committee that organises events and supports group activity planning in coordination with the HELOA UK Committee.
Group Chairs – Charity Trustees
- HELOA members can stand for a charity trustee position as a Group Chair.
- Elections for these positions is through an informational interview and election process, communicated through group emails, in accordance with the HELOA Standing Orders.
- A maximum of ONE position on the HELOA Operational Group, and ONE position on the UK Committee, can be held by members from a Non Publicly Funded Institution, with the same restriction applying to members from Further Education Colleges.
Group Vice-Chairs
- In addition to the Group Chair, there are also group Vice-Chair positions, Group VC (Membership & Communications), VC (Training) and VC (Partnerships).
- These are elected positions and are communicated through group emails.
- There are no restrictions on the number of Non Publicly Funded Institution members, or Further Education College members standing for Group Vice-Chair roles.
Current Vacancies
For further details on how groups operate within HELOA, see the Group Page of the website and the Group Structure Chart.
Institutional Roles
Each institution nominates one primary contact, who will be the representative of all HELOA members within the institution. This is the main administrative contact for HELOA at the institution.
Primary Contact
- The primary contact for each institution is decided by its HELOA members.
- For details on the role of the primary contact, please see the Primary Contact role descriptor.
- The role of primary contact can be transferred to another institutional member by completing the Primary Contact Form.
Current Vacancies
National Roles
UK Vice-Chair (Training)
As Vice-Chair (Training), you will lead the national training strategy for the Association. Managing a team of four volunteers, you will work across HELOA to support the delivery of a wide range of in-person and online activities that meet the needs of the membership and find exciting and innovative ways of solving problems across the work of the Association.
The successful candidate will shadow the current Vice-Chair (Training) up until their term commences on the 28 January, following the Annual General Meeting (AGM).The successful candidate will be expected to attend National Conference planning meetings and the UK Committee meeting on the 30 November and 1 December as well as the National Conference and a planning meeting with the hotel 12-15 January 2027.
Application Process
Appointment to this role is via a covering letter and interview. Late applications will not be accepted. When applying, please confirm you have the support of your line manager and institution and forward this approval to governance@heloa.ac.uk.
To apply for this role, please send a covering letter outlining your suitability and motivations for the attention of Emily Day to governance@heloa.ac.uk by 4pm on Monday 20 July.
On this occasion, applications may only be accepted from HELOA members based at publicly funded institutions. As the Operational Group currently includes a representative from a non-publicly funded institution, we are unable to consider applications from non-publicly funded institutions on this occasion, as set out in the Standing Orders.
Interviews will be held online on the 21 August 2026 online, and we ask nominees to make a note of this date.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss aspects of the role in more detail, please contact Emily Day, HELOA Vice-Chair (Training) at e.day4@lancaster.ac.uk.
Professional Development Conference Manager (Maternity Cover)
The role holder will work closely with the Vice-Chair (Training) and the wider training team to lead on the organisation of the Professional Development Conferences. The role holder will be a member of the UK Committee, providing a fantastic professional development opportunity and the chance to shape the Association.
The successful candidate will hopefully shadow the current PDC manager at the in-person event on the 8 September in Sheffield and then will lead on future conferences, including the online PDC on the 11 November. The role is for a period of up to 15 months.
Application Process
Appointment to this role is via a covering letter and interview. Late applications will not be accepted. When applying, please confirm you have the support of your line manager and institution and forward this approval to governance@heloa.ac.uk.
To apply for this role, please send a covering letter outlining your suitability and motivations for the attention of Emily Day to governance@heloa.ac.uk by 4pm on Monday 20 July.
Interviews will be held online on the 28 July 2026 online, and we ask nominees to make a note of this date.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss aspects of the role in more detail, please contact Emily Day, HELOA Vice-Chair (Training) at e.day4@lancaster.ac.uk.
Group Roles
Midlands Group Chair
This is an elected role within the association and is a trustee role within HELOA.
The Group Chair plays a vital role in shaping the group but also acts as a conduit between the UK Committee and the group to ensure the views of members are being fed into the UK strategy. The post holder will chair group meetings and ensure their members are informed of developments across the higher education sector, using their views to shape future agenda items.
Application Process
This post is open to members of the Midlands group and is subject to an informational interview before candidates’ nominations are circulated to the membership for voting. The informational interviews will be held on Thursday 23 July and we ask nominees to make a note of this date.
For candidates successful at the informational interview stage, an anonymised election will be carried out. The aim of this is that candidates are selected on their suitability for the position, reducing the risk of conscious or unconscious bias. Only the name of the elected candidate will be announced. To support this, please refrain from including identifying information when compiling your covering letter.
If you would like to put yourself forward for nomination, please send a covering letter to Clive Sheridan (UK Vice-Chair Finance & Governance) at governance@heloa.ac.uk by 5pm on Monday 20 July 2026.
Late nomination forms will not be accepted. You will need to provide the names of two nominators, both of whom must be members of HELOA, and obtain your line manager’s approval of your nomination. Please forward emails from your nominators and line manager confirming their support to governance@heloa.ac.uk.
North West & Northern Ireland Vice-Chair (Partnerships)
This is an elected role within the association and sits within the North West and Northern Ireland committee.
The post holder will work collaboratively with UCAS to coordinate constructive feedback on and suggest and action improvements to the UCAS portfolio of products and services, and the UCAS network of events to ensure students are able to make informed decisions.
If you have any questions about the role, please direct these to northwestni@heloa.ac.uk.
Application Process
If you would like to put yourself forward for nomination, please complete the nomination form and return it to midlands@heloa.ac.uk by 5pm 14 July 2026.
Late nomination forms will not be accepted. You will need to provide the names of two nominators, both of whom must be members of HELOA, and obtain your line manager’s approval of your nomination. Please forward emails from your nominators and line manager confirming their support to northwestni@heloa.ac.uk.
Appointments to these roles are via anonymised elections. The aim of this is that candidates are selected on their suitability for the position, reducing the risk of conscious or unconscious bias. Only the name of the elected candidate will be announced. To support this, please refrain from including identifying information when compiling your nomination form.
Scotland Vice-Chair (Partnerships)
This is an elected role within the association and sits within the Scotland committee.
The position will provide the opportunity to develop many of the skills valued more widely in the higher education sector whilst providing access to national networks. Please see the attached job descriptor for more information.
If you have any questions about the role, please direct these to scotland@heloa.ac.uk.
Application Process
If you would like to put yourself forward for nomination, please complete the nomination form and return it to a.mackay@hw.ac.uk by 5pm 20 July 2026.
Late nomination forms will not be accepted. You will need to provide the names of two nominators, both of whom must be members of HELOA, and obtain your line manager’s approval of your nomination. Please forward emails from your nominators and line manager confirming their support to a.mackay@hw.ac.uk.
Appointments to these roles are via anonymised elections. The aim of this is that candidates are selected on their suitability for the position, reducing the risk of conscious or unconscious bias. Only the name of the elected candidate will be announced. To support this, please refrain from including identifying information when compiling your nomination form.