Join Our Board of Trustees
Are you a finance professional looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in your community?
We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed individual with a strong financial background to join our Board of Trustees. This is an exciting opportunity to use your skills, knowledge, and experience to help guide our organisation, support effective governance, and contribute to our long-term sustainability and success.
As a Trustee, you will play a vital role in shaping our strategic direction, ensuring sound financial oversight, and helping us achieve our mission. Whether you are an experienced board member or are looking to take your first step into trusteeship, we welcome applications from individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact.
If you have expertise in finance, accounting, auditing, financial management, or a related field, we would love to hear from you.
Join us and help make a lasting difference.
ROLE DESCRIPTION FOR TRUSTEES OF THE ARCHIE FOUNDATION
The Archie Foundation is passionate about the support and services it provides to the babies, children and families of the North East Scotland and we expect our volunteer Trustees and supporters to be equally as passionate and driven towards delivering our goals with integrity and focus. We need Trustees who are willing to get involved and invest their time, skills and knowledge, supporting the Archie CEO and Team in delivering the strategic business plan, whilst ensuring the appropriate governance is in place.
Below are the key Trustee responsibilities as highlighted by OSCR and some indications of the time commitment required.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL TRUSTEES
With other Trustees to hold the charity “in trust” for current and future beneficiaries by:
- Ensuring that the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction and is focussed on achieving these.
- Being responsible for the performance of the charity and for its developing its ongoing culture.
- Ensuring that the charity complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
- Acting as guardians of the charity’s assets, both tangible and intangible, taking all due care over their security, deployment and proper application.
- Ensuring that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard.
DUTIES AND TASKS TO FULFIL THE FIVE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES:
1. Ensuring that the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction and is focussed on achieving these:
To work in partnership with other Trustees, the Chief Executive and other senior staff to ensure that:
- the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic plan that have been agreed by the Board, and that there is a common understanding of these by Trustees and staff.
- the business, operational and other plans support the vision, mission and strategic priorities.
- decision-making at Board, senior management, middle and junior management level reinforce the vision, mission and strategic priorities.
- the Chief Executive’s annual and longer-term objectives and targets support the achievement of the vision, mission and strategic priorities.
- there are effective mechanisms
- to listen to the views of current and future beneficiaries
- to review the external environment for changes that might affect the charity
- to reassess the need for the charity and for the services it provides or could provide
- to regularly review its strategic plans and priorities
2. Being responsible, with the other Trustees, for the performance of the charity and for its culture:
- To agree the method for measuring objectively the progress of the charity in relation to its vision, mission, strategic objectives/priorities, business plans and annual targets, and to receive regular reports on the performance of the charity.
- To ensure that the fundamental values and guiding principles of the charity are articulated and reflected through the charity.
- To ensure that views of beneficiaries on the performance of the charity are regularly gathered and considered by the Board.
- To appoint the Chief Executive, to set his/her terms and conditions and to ensure that the Chief Executive and the charity invest in the Chief Executive’s ongoing professional development.
- To receive regular reports from the Chief Executive on progress towards agreed strategic priorities.
- To hold the Chief Executive to account for the management and administration of the charity.
- To ensure that the Chief Executive receives regular, constructive feedback on his/her performance in managing the charity and meeting his/her annual and longer-term targets and objectives.
- To ensure that the Chief Executive develops a learning organisation and that all staff, both paid and unpaid, review their own performance and regularly receive feedback.
- To articulate the values of the charity.
- To agree and review Board policies.
- To ensure that there are mechanisms for beneficiaries, employees, volunteers, other individuals, groups or organisations to bring to the attention of the Trustees any activity that threatens the probity of the charity.
3. Ensuring that the charity complies with all legal and regulatory requirements:
- To be aware of, and to ensure that, the charity complies with all legal, regulatory and statutory requirements.
- To maintain familiarity with the rules and constitution that govern the charity, to ensure that the charity complies with its governing instruments and to review the governing instruments regularly.
- If the charity has powers to delegate, to agree the levels of delegated authority, and to ensure that they are recorded in writing by means of minutes, terms of reference for Board committees and sub-committees, role descriptions for honorary officers, Trustees and key staff, etc, and to ensure that there are clear reporting procedures, which are also recorded in writing and complied with.
- To ensure that the responsibilities delegated to the Chief Executive are clearly expressed and understood, and directions given to him/her come from the Board as a whole.
4. Being guardians of all of the charity’s assets, both tangible and intangible, taking all due care over their security, deployment and proper application:
- To ensure that the charity has satisfactory control systems and procedures for holding in trust for the beneficiaries all monies, properties and other assets and to ensure that monies are invested to the maximum benefit of the charity, within the constraints of the law are ethical and other policies laid down by the Board.
- To ensure that the major risks to which the charity is exposed are reviewed annually and that systems have been established to mitigate or minimise these risks.
- To ensure that the income and property of the charity is applied for the purposes set out in the governing document and for no other purpose and with complete fairness between persons who are properly qualified to benefit.
- To act reasonably, prudently and collectively in all matters relating to the charity and always to act in the interests of the charity.
- To be accountable for the solvency and continuing effectiveness of the charity and the preservation of its endowments.
- To exercise effective overall control of the charity’s financial affairs and to ensure that the way in which the charity is administered is not open to abuse by unscrupulous associates, employees or volunteers, and that the systems of control are rigorous and constantly maintained through regular evaluation and improvement in the light of experience.
- To ensure that intangible assets such as organisational knowledge and expertise, intellectual property, the charity’s good name and reputation, etc, are properly valued, utilised and safeguarded.
- To ensure that all income due to the charity is received and that all tax benefits are obtained and all rating relief due is claimed.
5. Ensuring that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard:
- To ensure that the charity has an appropriate governance structure that enables the Trustees to fulfil their responsibilities.
- To reflect quarterly on the Board’s performance and your own performance as a Trustee.
- To ensure that the Board of Trustees has the skills required to govern the charity well and has access to relevant external professional advice and expertise.
- To ensure that there is a systematic, open and fair procedure for the recruitment or co-option of Trustees.
- To ensure that there are succession plans for the chair and the Chief Executive.
- To participate in individual and collective development and training of Trustees.
- To abide by the code of conduct for Trustees.
- To ensure that major decisions and Board policies are made by the Trustees acting collectively.
Trustees are accountable for their personal conduct and behaviour, in line with Charity expectations, with the Chair as a responsible oversight.
ROLE SPECIFIC
6. Attendance and Time Commitment Requirements
- 4x maximum 3 hour duration Board Meetings per year, plus preparation time including reading Board papers. Physically attend the regular Board Meetings unless lodging an apology by prior agreement. Board Meetings are usually held in the evening but other options can be considered.
- Attend other meetings as required, face to face or virtually. Meetings may be held on a variety of subject matters.
- Attend 2x in-service/training/planning days or 15 hours equivalent over year.
- Any additional involvement in committees/fundraising/projects or volunteering is at the discretion of the Trustee around their own interest and availability.
- Full training and induction will be provided.
- Minimum attendance expectation is 75% overall.
- Legitimate expenses can be claimed as per the charity expense policy.
FINANCE SPECIFIC
7. Specific to Finance and Governance
- Attend four quarterly Finance & Governance Committee meetings planned for the year as well as ad hoc F&G meetings if required by Chairperson.
- Attend Lunch and Learn presentations associated with the charity.
- Attend remuneration committee meetings as and when requested.
- Provide focused insights / challenges on the management strategy and its delivery.
- Advise the Archie operational team on reporting improvements / developments required.
- Provide governance input around policies and procedures.
- Assist in ad hoc requests from Chairperson or Archie management team.
To apply please send a covering letter and CV to [email protected]