APM Trustee Sorrel Gilbert takes on new role of Board Volunteer Champion

APM Trustee Sorrel Gilbert has been selected as APM’s new Board Volunteer Champion. In this role Sorrell, who has been volunteering with APM for eight years, including six years on the Board, and two years previous as a volunteer, will Chair the APM Volunteer Steering Group (VSG), soon to become the Volunteer Delivery Group (VDG), and will act as the interface between the Board and the volunteering community.

Here Sorrel talks about the new role and the importance of a building a robust volunteer network to help APM meet and deliver its charitable aims and strategy.  

Why did you decide to take on this new role?

It’s a really exciting time to be involved in APM’s volunteering programme. I enjoy change programmes and feel that, with my volunteering experience, I can make an impact to the volunteering refresh and help ensure the strategy for volunteering is robust moving forwards.

I have a wide network of project professionals from my own career and through volunteering with APM, so I feel like I know what a cross section of people want, and it feels like the right time to take on this role now.   

Do you have any particular goals or aspirations in this role?

My main goals to achieve in my new role are to ensure that APM’s charitable aims and strategy are delivered from the outset, and that all our volunteers have a clear understanding of what these aims and objectives are and how they can help achieve them through volunteering.

Another goal is that we create a stronger and more inclusive environment for those with additional needs. I have ADHD and Dyslexia. As someone with additional needs, it’s important that we are making it easier for people to volunteer and taken on the different tasks required across the volunteering programme with APM.

I would also like to see more training and mentoring opportunities for volunteers where the opportunities arise.

In your opinion, how important is APM’s network of volunteers to the organisation (and the wider profession)

APM’s volunteering community is really important to APM, and in particular in helping the organisation meet its charitable aims. We need a strong network of volunteers across all the APM branches to help deliver these aims and to deliver our strategy.  

As the chartered body for the project profession, APM also relies on the commitment of its volunteer community for the development and promotion of project, programme and portfolio management.

This includes the effective delivery of many wide-ranging activities for the benefit of individuals, organisations and society, including events, publications and product development.

Why do you feel people should want to volunteer with APM? What does volunteering with APM offer them?

Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to step into a role which you may not be able to do otherwise, to network and meet people you might not usually meet, which can be valuable for your own career.  I have certainly benefited from the network of contacts which I have built up by volunteering with APM. You will get to meet and network with lots of different people in different sectors, roles, and levels of experience.   

There are many different roles you can take as a volunteer, from leadership roles to smaller and more short-term tasks and responsibilities, depending on how much time you have available to spare. 

Find out how you can be a part of APM’s volunteering community and help to support the development and promotion of the project profession