James Evans on volunteering at APM

James Evans shares how APM volunteering has enriched his professional life and strengthened his connection to the project profession. His experience spans contributions, relationships, and efforts to improve volunteering.

• He has created content, supported events, shared experiences, and connected with professionals beyond his public-sector PMO role.

 • Through the Volunteer Delivery Group, he aims to make volunteering more inclusive and effective while drawing on volunteers’ knowledge and enthusiasm.

If you’d told me a few years ago how much of my time I’d end up giving to volunteering alongside the day job, I’m not sure I’d have believed you! 

I’m James, and professionally I work as a PMO Leader in the public sector, leading a team of project and project support professionals. But one of the things I’ve always enjoyed is getting involved in the profession beyond my own organisation, meeting people, sharing ideas and experiences, creating content and, hopefully, giving something back along the way. 

That’s really why I volunteer with APM and the key reason why I joined the Volunteer Delivery Group. 

I’ve had the opportunity to get involved in different things over the years, from contributing content and sharing my own experiences, to supporting events and connecting with people from right across the project profession. Some of the best conversations I’ve had have been with people I probably would never have met through my day job. 

And that’s probably what I value most about volunteering. You might go into it thinking about what you can contribute, but you quickly realise how much you get back as well. I’ve learnt from other volunteers, built some brilliant professional relationships and been exposed to different ideas and perspectives that have genuinely influenced how I approach my own work. 

Joining the Volunteer Delivery Group felt like a natural next step for me. Having experienced APM volunteering myself, I wanted the opportunity to contribute to the bigger picture – how we make volunteering a great experience, how we involve more people and how we make the most of the huge amount of knowledge and enthusiasm that exists across our volunteer community. 

I’m still relatively new to the VDG, but what has struck me already is just how much passion there is around the table. Everyone comes from a slightly different place, but there’s a genuine desire to make volunteering better. 

For me, that’s what it comes back to. I volunteer because I enjoy being involved, I enjoy meeting people and I want to contribute to a profession that has given me a lot in return. 

And, quite simply, you never quite know where getting involved might take you next. 

Visit our website page If you are interested in learning more about Volunteering with APM