Member of the Board of Trustees (HVC-1000)

Citizens Advice Havering provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities, thereby enabling people to deal with problems they face .We aim to improve policies and practices that affect people’s lives and as an equal opportunities organisation, we value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.

 A major part of Citizens Advice Havering are the Trustees who are responsible for ensuring that the charity is well run. They are the employers of the paid staff but are not responsible for the day to day running of the charity which is done by the Chief Executive.

 We are looking for new Trustees to join our Board:

• Any skills are welcomed for those who have a passion for improving the lives of local people.

• From our skills audit, having about 5 years’ experience in people management and/or experience in fund raising or research and campaigning would be desirable.

 What you need to know:

• The minimum time required is attendance at 4 Trustee Board meetings per annum lasting approximately 2 hours. They tend to be on a Wednesday evening from 5pm – 7pm, either in Hornchurch or virtually and will require some preparation time for each meeting.
• We would like Trustees to occasionally attend the monthly staff and volunteer meetings, which are held either virtually or in Hornchurch during working hours;
• There are sub-committees within the organisation. For example, if you join the Research and Campaigns sub-committee (to support our very active volunteers), meetings are every 2-3 months during office hours.
• Due to the times of some of the meeting, if you are currently in paid employment, we would like you to have the support of your employers whom we would expect to see this volunteering as part of their Corporate Responsibility to local society.

There are comprehensive in-house e-learning Training Programmes and a mass of online information is available to support Trustees. There are also occasional external events organised specifically for Trustees to help them carry out their duties responsibly.

Skills

• No specific qualifications are required, although computer literacy and ability to understand, but not necessarily use applications would be useful. Some knowledge of spreadsheets is advisable.
• We are looking for people who have experience in business, campaigning, fund raising, education or other voluntary organisations.
• Enthusiasm and commitment are more important.