Retail Shop Worker - Staines (SP)

Our charity funds around £100 million of research each year into all heart and circulatory diseases and the things that cause them. Heart diseases. Stroke. Vascular dementia. Diabetes. They're all connected, and they're all under our microscope.  Our volunteers help us fund lifesaving science to improve the lives of families and loved ones living with heart and circulatory disease. Volunteering with us is easy, flexible, and inclusive. If you can spare a few hours a week, or a couple of hours occasionally, we’d love you to join our volunteer team. 

There are several roles available in shop, and include:

• Sales Floor Volunteer
• Cash Desk Volunteer
• Stockroom
• eBay (on line) Vol
• Housekeeping Volunteer

Sales Floor Volunteers: are the first point of contact for customers when they enter our charity shop. You will be greeting customers, helping them find the items they’re looking for and answering their questions, with help on hand from the shop team. You will provide invaluable help in the running of the shop, keeping it stocked and attractively displayed. 

Cash Desk Volunteer: could you be the friendly face of your local British Heart Foundation shop? With support around you and full training provided, you will be processing sales through the till as a volunteer cashier, talking to customers and thanking every donor - helping us continue to fund life saving research. This is a customer focussed role where you will meet and interact with a wide range of people. 

Stockroom Volunteer: If you’d like to make a difference behind the scenes, if you’re a keen rummager or if you like things to be neat and tidy, then we have a role for you - helping in our BHF shop stock room. If you love a bit of ironing, then master the clothes steamer and watch those wrinkles disappear (it’s surprisingly therapeutic!), or become a clothes tagger extraordinaire, allowing customers to understand what item they are purchasing. If you want a hands-on volunteer role behind the scenes or just fancy the company of other friendly volunteers our shop stock room is the place to be.

eBay (On Line Sales) Volunteer: Do you have a keen eye for unusual or sought-after collectables? Do you know your way around eBay and other online sales websites? Or maybe you would like to increase your knowledge of the world of online selling?

We need people to help us with our online sales in your local BHF shop, selling a range of donated items on various websites, including eBay. Come and be amazed at some of the items that are donated to our shop, research the value of our most exciting donations, photograph them for listing, and package them up to be sent out. Full support and training will be provided but an interest in online buying and selling would be beneficial.

Housekeeping Volunteer: Are you handy with a hoover, a whizz with a duster and a dab hand with a mop? We are looking for a Housekeeping Volunteer to help keep our shop clean, safe and welcoming for our volunteers, staff and customers. Full training and cleaning materials will be provided. This volunteer role is very flexible, and whether you have an hour or an afternoon free each week, your help will make a huge difference to the shop and the British Heart Foundation.  

Just so you know, we are unable to accept volunteers aged under 16 or with unspent criminal convictions. Please note these are unpaid voluntary positions in a friendly charity shop.

Volunteering with British Heart Foundation comes with plenty of benefits too…

• A 25% discount on donated goods and 10% discount on New Goods in our shops
• Unlimited, free, and confidential support by Retail Trust
• Access to training and development
• Reasonable travel expenses reimbursed
• Refreshments available
• Volunteer certificates, references and long service awards provided
• Access to discounts with other retailers.

What skills do I need?

Typical tasks of a Sales Floor Volunteer include:

• Helping customers on the shop floor & providing good all-round customer service
• Promoting our campaigns and any instore sales to customers
• Working on window and shop displays to make them look their best
• Keeping the shop tidy, clean and well organised – some light housekeeping
• Helping your fellow volunteers and staff with customer queries.

Typical tasks of a Cash Desk Volunteer include:

• Engaging with customers and serving them in a helpful and friendly way
• Answering questions from customer, donors and supporters
• Communicating with fellow volunteers about what has sold and needs re-stocking
• Honing your retail and cashier skills behind the till and taking payments
• Helping with administration and reception duties around the till area
• Promoting Gift Aid and sales campaigns.

Typical tasks of a Stockroom Volunteer include:

• Preparing donated items for sale
• Using a clothes steamer
• Attaching labels and tags to donated items ready for sale
• Identifying unsaleable donations for recycling
• Keeping the sort room organised and tidy.

Typical tasks of an eBay (On-Line Sales) Volunteer include:

• Photographing items for listing on various online selling sites
• Researching donated items, to gather as much information on unusual items before listing them online – investigative work required!
• Creating informative and detailed descriptions and listings
• Packing and posting items to be sent to our online sales HQ or delivered to customers
• Helping the Manager to handle online queries from customers.

Typical tasks of a Housekeeping Volunteer include:

• Cleaning staff areas, stairways and restrooms – vacuuming and wiping down surfaces
• Cleaning on the shop floor – shop fittings, stock on display and touch points
• Re-stocking cleaning supplies, refreshments and any other miscellaneous items – make sure we have enough tea and biscuits to keep our volunteers going!