How we recruit volunteers

We welcome new volunteers throughout the year. All you need to get involved is enthusiasm and interest in the history, heritage or the work we do. You don’t need an academic background or any specific kind of knowledge or experience.

You can start your volunteering journey right now by heading to our volunteering portal. Here, you can explore our current volunteering opportunities, filtering by a convenient location near you, or the categories of volunteering you're most interested in.

If you see an opportunity that could be a good fit for you, register to create an account. After that, you can express your interest.

You can get started straight away with some opportunities, while others involve a simple recruitment process that the Volunteer Coordinator will guide you through.

Our volunteering portal

For our in-person opportunities, there’s often no need to fill in an application. You can just come along to a volunteer recruitment session or pop in and visit the location.

This lets you see the place, meet the team, and learn about the role.

If you have caring responsibilities or need support, you can bring someone with you. If you can’t come along, you can chat with us by phone or video call.

Anyone can participate in our micro-volunteering opportunities.

For all other volunteer opportunities you need to:

• be 18 or over

• allowed to volunteer in the UK

Volunteers who engage with our visitors or collections must be able to pass a Level 1 Disclosure Scotland check (we pay for this).

Any information you share is kept private and doesn’t always stop you from volunteering.

In future we hope to be able to support younger volunteers, so please check back.

We provide induction and training so you feel confident in your role.

Key skills include being approachable and enthusiastic, alongside being able to follow instructions and health and safety procedures. For our public-facing roles, being able to communicate comfortably with diverse audiences and initiate conversations is ideal.

If you enjoy the taster session or initial chat, we’ll invite you to a follow up conversation, either on the day or soon after. There are no surprise questions; we simply want to learn more about your interests and experiences. You can share this in person, in writing, or even via a short recording.

To ensure volunteering is safe and enjoyable, we’d like to hear about:

• Why you’re interested in volunteering with us

• A personal achievement or project you’re proud of

• A time you contributed as part of a team

• An example of how you communicate and engage with others

If you have any questions about volunteering with us, please send us an email at  volunteering@hes.scot