Could you make a significant contribution to help people live later life well?
Are you a member of the Methodist Church in Britain seeking to use your skills, expertise and gifts in a new way?
We are seeking a Methodist Church nominee to join the board of Methodist Homes (MHA).
You will be working collaboratively with other MHA trustees to help shape MHA’s future strategy and ensure good governance across the charity.
As a Board Member you will have passion for the wellbeing of older people and will bring a wide-ranging skills and experience.
Expressions of interest are invited from both lay and ordained members of the Methodist Church in Britain. You're encouraged to apply if you feel that overall, your skills and experience meet the role requirements.
Reflecting the diverse communities that MHA are proud to serve, MHA is committed to widening the diversity of its leadership and board. Therefore, we actively and warmly encourage applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences.
If you would find it helpful to discuss the role before applying, please contac us to arrange a phone conversation with a member of the Nominations Committee.
Closing date: 28 May 2024
Short listing date: 30 May 2024
Interviews /exploratory conversations: 10 June 2024 (PM)
The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Unfold does governance differently. An award winning charity, we are led by the people we serve, with inclusive, participatory governance structures which have twice been short-listed for excellence in the Charity Governance Awards.
Unfold (previously known as Westminster Befriend a Family) is an established local charity that gets people where they want to be. Powered by volunteers, we support children, young people and families with one to one mentoring and peer support groups across Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. We're open to everyone, but we target those who face the most challenges: 93% of our service users are people of colour, 75% are single parent families headed by a woman and in 50% of the families we support there is a child with disabilities or special education needs.
We support the local community and we have also developed specialised programmes for people with specific needs, including refugees, children excluded from mainstream school and children with experience of the care system.
Unfold Trustees
We have a dynamic, committed, open and friendly board, and we're seeking two new trustees to join us, bringing skills and experiences from the not-for-profit or public sectors.
To reflect the experiences of our service users, we're aiming to maintain the diversity of our board - we're particularly keen to hear from people from the global majority, women, and people who identify with other under-represented groups, including those with disabilities or who identify at LGBTQI+.
We have grown considerably in the last five years, and we now support ten times as many people a year, with five times the budget. Along the way we've re-branded, undergone a digital transformation, become user-led and significantly expanded our team. This rapid change reflects both the extent of the community needs, and our ambition to meet those. We're looking for trustees who can help us go to the next level as we set our strategy for the next five years.
Trustees play a key role in ensuring that Unfold achieves its core purpose and overseeing the overall management and administration of the charity. They also help to ensure that Unfold has a clear strategic vision and that we are working in line with our charitable aims. Trustees support and challenge Unfold’s CEO to enable Unfold to thrive.
We are looking for two Trustees to support our vision and take on the following responsibilities:
Responsibilities
- Engage with and be accountable to our service-user accountability structures, our Youth Advisory Council and our Women’s Advisory Council, who support us in setting strategic direction and to whom we are accountable.
- Support and advise on Unfold’s vision, goals and activities
- Approve operational strategies and policies and monitor and evaluate their implementation
- Oversee the charity’s budgets and financial plans and monitor and evaluate progress
- Ensure that risks are being identified, monitored and managed effectively
- Ensure the effective administration of the charity
- Provide support and challenge to Unfold’s CEO
- Keep up to date with changes within the environment that Unfold operates
- Contribute to reviews of the charity’s governance
- Attend board meetings and be adequately prepared to contribute to the discussion. These meetings are held in person in our fully accessible London office.
- Support the promotion of Unfold's aims and reputation
- Contribute to the charity’s sub-committees and attend sub-committee meetings adequately prepared to contribute to the discussion
Skill and Experience
- Knowledge and experience of the charity sector
- An understanding of and commitment to participatory and inclusive governance.
- An understanding of and the ability to support Unfold’s fundraising strategy
- An understanding of statutory services which might be supporting families, children, young people, mental health and wellbeing, which might be through knowledge and experience in local authorities or the public sector
- Strong communication skills and able to contribute to board discussions
- Knowledge or lived experience in the borough of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea or neighbouring boroughs
- Understanding of safeguarding the welfare of children or vulnerable adults
Personal Attributes
- Personable and positive
- Willingness to learn and contribute.
- People orientated with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion
- Passionate about supporting families to improve outcomes for children, young people and parents.
Values
Trustworthy, non-judgemental, transparent, caring and compassionate, empowering, proactive, self-motivated and accountable
We particularly encourage applications from:
- Candidates from under-represented groups including women and those from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds
- People from marginalised groups, such as people who consider themselves LGBTQ+, disabled or otherwise facing challenges.
- Individuals with knowledge or lived experience of Westminster and the surrounding boroughs.
- People with less experience but a keen enthusiasm and commitment to our aims based on lived experience.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Our trustees play a vital role in making sure that Upbeat Communities achieves its core purpose. They oversee the overall management and administration of the charity, and they also ensure we have a clear strategy and that our work and goals are in line with our vision. Just as importantly, they support and challenge the leadership team to enable Upbeat Communities to grow and thrive, and through this, empower refugees to thrive.
Through regular meetings, strategy days and written reports provided to the board, trustees are able to set the direction of the organisation, develop its strategic objectives and support and keep the staff team accountable in delivering on these
strategic goals.
Trustee meetings are currently held every 2 months either in person in Derby or online (hybrid). We have an annual strategy away day and trustees are also invited to be part of our sub-committees. Trustees are requested to be available to attend occasional ‘unscheduled’ meetings or engage in email communications which address urgent business as it arises, join working groups when needed and spend time preparing for meetings by reading and considering the papers circulated before meetings.
Benefits of Being a Trustee
We believe being a trustee of Upbeat Communities offers a number of fantastic
benefits:
- Strategic decision-making that positively impacts the lives of over a thousand
- asylum seekers and refugees every year
- Supporting an innovative, talented and passionate staff team as they develop
- our work and explore new services and ways of working
- Being part of a committed and focused trustee team working to see the charity
- grow
- Using your skills, experience and passion to contribute to an effective and wellfunctioning
- board
- Opportunities to learn new skills and experiences to contribute to your own
- personal development
Duties
Any individual acting as a trustee for Upbeat Communities would be required to
carry out the following:
- Promote the vision, mission and values of the charity
- Ensure Upbeat Communities and its representatives function within all legal and
- regulatory requirements applicable, and in line with its constitution, continually
- striving for best practice in governance
- Determine the overall direction and development of Upbeat Communities
- through good governance and clear strategic planning
- Approve operational strategies and policies, and monitor and evaluate their
- implementation
- Oversee Upbeat Communities’ financial plans and budgets and monitor and
- evaluate progress
- Review and approve the charity’s financial statements
- Ensure that key risks are being identified, monitored and controlled effectively
- Provide support and challenge to Upbeat Communities’ Chief Executive in the
- exercise of their delegated authority and affairs
- Contribute to regular reviews of Upbeat Communities’ own governance.
- Attend Board meetings, and be adequately prepared to contribute to
- discussions.
- Use independent judgment, acting legally and in good faith to promote and
- protect the charity’s interests, avoiding any personal conflict of interests
- Take appropriate professional advice in all matters where there may be a
- material risk to the charity
- Maintain confidentiality about all aspects of the trustee’s business
Finance Specific Duties
- Lead on the strategic financial management of the charity at board level
- Liaise with our outsourced finance team (including our Finance Director)
- Chair the finance sub-committee (which meets 6 times per year ahead of every
- board meeting)
- Maintain a clear grasp of the charity’s financial position and ensure full and
- timely financial transparency and information disclosure to the board
- Support the board of trustees in financial decision making processes
- Review and approve annual budgets
- Advise on banking and investments
- Take an active role in the financial audit process
- Contribute to the financial management of our trading subsidiary (Upbeat
- Enterprises Limited)
Empowering individuals and families to thrive as they rebuild their lives.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.