There may well be times as a recruitment consultant when you think you’re trying to fill the most impossible vacancy in the world. But imagine if you had to recruit a suitable candidate to become a toad warden – someone who helps toads to cross the road when they migrate for their annual breeding season.

This is just one in a list of unusual jobs compiled by development organisation Volunteering England to celebrate the 21st annual Volunteers’ Week, from 1 to 7 June.

Among the other weird and wonderful volunteering opportunities are neighbour dispute mediators – who work with communities to resolve clashes among local residents, and death row pen-pals, who befriend prisoners facing execution in the United States.

Christopher Spence, chief executive of Volunteering England, said volunteering could help provide participants with new skills to further their career. “Modern volunteering is about helping other people and enjoying yourself at the same time,” he said.