We are looking for different volunteer profiles to join our diverse team and aid us in the various areas of our work.
Being a volunteer at the Umbrella Refugee Committee means being at the very heart of our mission: helping refugees and asylum seekers have complete and fulfilling lives.
So, if you are passionate about making a difference, happy to work in an English-speaking environment, and share our sense of responsibility for the well-being of refugees in our society, we strongly encourage you to explore the different volunteering positions below:
↓ Patrols and Helpdesk Officer
About the Role:
Join our frontline team to provide direct assistance and relief to homeless refugees in Brussels. As part of our Patrols & Helpdesk team, you will work in small patrols, offering information and helping people access available services. Volunteers will receive training sessions and can become trainers themselves over time.
At the helpdesk, you will be the first point of contact for refugees, responding to questions on topics such as access to housing, legal rights, and access to healthcare. You will guide individuals toward appropriate resources, services, and partners to ensure timely and effective support.
Key Responsibilities:
- On-the-ground patrols: Participate in regular patrols in designated areas to identify and address urgent needs.
- Keep records of activities
- Answer questions about housing, medical care, legal rights, asylum procedures, and other essential services in Belgium.
- Provide accurate information on available NGOs, shelters, food distributions, and legal aid.
- Translate and mediate, to make sure important information is accurately shared between refugees and local services.
Ideal Candidate:
- Languages: Fluent in English or French, in addition to Arabic, Dari/Farsi, Pashto, Ukrainian, or Tigrinya. Other languages is a plus.
- Comfortable working in challenging environments, supporting displaced individuals.
- Works well in groups, is able to collaborate effectively, and is punctual.
- Respectful of diverse backgrounds and traumatic experiences.
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/yc4jtr8n
↓ Communications Officer
About the Role:
As our Communications Officer, you will be part of the Communications Working Group, helping to share the story and impact of the Umbrella Refugee Committee.
You’ll keep our community informed and engaged by updating the URC website with the latest activities and events, creating dynamic social media content, and drafting engaging newsletters.
You will also interact with refugee representatives to gather and share information about community events and venues, making sure the URC events calendar is accurate and up-to-date.
Key Responsibilities:
- Maintain and regularly update the URC website with news, activities, and events.
- Interact with refugee representatives to collect information on community events and venues.
- Keep the URC events calendar up to date.
- Plan, create, and publish engaging content across social media platforms.
- Draft and design the URC newsletter to share updates, stories, and opportunities.
Ideal Candidate:
- Strong writing, editing, and communication skills in English or French (other languages such as Arabic, Dari/Farsi, Pashto, Ukrainian, Tigrinya, etc.)
- Confident using social media platforms and basic content creation tools (e.g., Canva, photo/video editing).
- Organized and detail-oriented, able to keep calendars and information accurate.
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/3avk9psx
↓ Sports Officer
About the Role:
As Sports Officer, you will play a key role in coordinating and expanding the Umbrella Refugee Committee’s sports and recreation activities, with a special focus on football projects.
You will help design, organize, and oversee regular events and tournaments aimed at raising physical well-being, inclusion, and team spirit among refugee communities.
The ideal candidate will assist with logistics, partnerships, participant coordination, and project planning, and work closely with the URC coordination team to link sports activities with broader goals of integration and empowerment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinate football trainings and matches
- Manage logistics: venues, materials, and attendance
- Engage participants and promote inclusive participation
Ideal Candidate:
- Experience in organizing or coaching (primarily football, but all sports are welcome)
- Reliable, proactive, patient, and good with people
- Comfortable working in multicultural environments
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/mt3auack
↓ Education Officer
About the Role:
As an education officer, you will support URC’s Education Working Group in organizing and delivering educational opportunities for refugee communities.
This includes language classes, basic IT skills courses, and contributing to building partnerships with external organizations that can enhance educational access and quality.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinate logistics for training sessions (language courses, IT classes, etc.)
- Support volunteer trainers and ensure smooth delivery of sessions
- Assist in preparing learning materials and tracking participation
- Collect feedback from participants to improve future activities
Ideal Candidate:
- Strong interest in education, learning, and collaboration, or community development
- Organized, communicative, and proactive
- Good with ideation – coming up with ideas for possible educational/events initiatives we could run
- Comfortable engaging with partners and building collaborative relationships
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/54pw7run
↓ Housing and Employment Officer
About the Role:
As Housing & Employment Officer, you will support URC’s Housing and Employment Working Groups in the empowerment and integration of refugees, helping them access dignified housing and fair employment opportunities.
Your role will include assisting with job-matching events, employment training activities (such as CV-writing sessions), and housing support projects, as well as proactively reaching out to employers, NGOs, and partner organizations to create collaborations.
You will also help manage the logistics and planning of employment activities and coordinate with refugee representatives in identifying the specific needs of the committees.
Key Responsibilities:
- Support the planning and logistics of employment-related events (e.g., job fairs, CV workshops, info sessions)
- Support community members with job preparation (CV writing, interview practice, and job applications)
- Take part in planning and running housing support efforts, such as short-term and long-term solutions.
- Work with refugee committee representatives to understand the community’s housing and job needs
Ideal Candidate:
- Strong interest in refugee rights, housing access, and labor inclusion
- Organized, proactive, and comfortable engaging with people to coordinate activities
- Ability to work collaboratively with both refugee leaders and external partners
- Knowledge of the Belgian housing and/or employment sectors is a strong asset
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/2hamc7x5
↓ IT Officer
About the Role:
As IT Officer, you will maintain the URC IT system (incl. website and domain) and provide IT support to members of the URC.
Key Responsibilities:
- Set up and maintain of URC’s IT equipment and software
- Provide technical support to team members
- Create and manage user accounts
- Support and edit URC’s website (WordPress)
- Set up and maintain URC’s digital ecosystem (e.g. through Microsoft 365)
- Support IT-related projects
Ideal Candidate:
- Has prior experience of working in IT
- Good at problem-solving and is attentive to details
- Has strong command of Microsof Office tools
- Familiar with WordPress
- Familiar with SharePoint
- Knowledgable about digital ecosystems
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/45cc4uhu
↓ Admin and Finance Officer
About the Role:
The Admin & Finance Officer will play an important role in ensuring our operations run smoothly, transparently, and efficiently. From managing records and tracking expenses to supporting internal coordination and reporting, this role is perfect for someone who enjoys keeping things organized and wants to support refugee-led action from behind the scenes.
You’ll work with working groups’ leaders and volunteers to help maintain essential admin systems and assist in the financial tracking of our projects and events.
Key Responsibilities:
- Keep track of project expenses, collect receipts, and help with basic budget checks
- Maintain internal documentation such as meeting minutes, attendance sheets, and volunteer records
- Support the preparation of financial and activity reports for internal and external use
- Help manage internal tools like spreadsheets, drives, calendars, and simple filing systems
Ideal Candidate:
- Organized, detail-oriented, and good at managing multiple tasks
- Basic understanding of admin or finance processes (Excel, Google Drive, record-keeping)
- Able to keep documents, calendars, and team communications organized
- Respectful of confidentiality and capable of handling sensitive information with care
Interested? Please fill in this form: https://tinyurl.com/bdec9fmw
As we are a refugee-led organisation – which we are very proud of – we are more than happy to receive applications from people who are refugees themselves or come from families with a background of forced migration. The power of unity guides the action of the Umbrella Refugee Committee. We believe that together we are stronger.
If any of the positions have piqued your interest, please don’t hesitate to fill in the form, which can be found under every role’s description.
It is also possible to fill in multiple forms, if you are interested in several positions.
Thank you for your interest, and good luck!
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