Role: Leeds Hospitals Charity Trustee (voluntary)
Application Deadline: Monday 30th June 2025
Meet the Executive Team and Board of Trustees: May 22nd 2025 3.30pm – 6.00pm
Interviews to take place: Wednesday 23rd July 2025
Location: Hybrid
About Leeds Hospitals Charity
Leeds Hospitals Charity is the charity partner of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. We champion, support and gives thanks to our NHS, bringing together thousands of donors so we can make a real difference to the people and patients of Yorkshire. We do this by funding life-saving equipment, treatments, research into rare diseases and home comforts – whatever will make the biggest impact to the people who need it most.
We are passionate about healthcare and about making our hospitals amazing – our vision is to make Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to be the best hospital, in the healthiest city in the UK.
Each year we award grants of around £4 million to support the innovative work of our hospitals. Our most recent fundraising appeal, for the Rob Burrow Centre for MND, will see a brand new, purpose-built care centre be opened at Seacroft Hospital in late 2025, transforming care for patients with motor neurone disease and their families.
People are central to everything we do here and we pride ourselves on Leeds Hospitals Charity being an organisation that is a friendly, diverse and welcoming place to work. Our core values of ‘together, transparent and transform’ underpin all of our work and ensures that we are impact driven, working hard to benefit patients, families and NHS staff.
Our Trustees
Leeds Hospitals Charity (Registered charity no. 1170369). has a fully independent Board of Trustees, who are also appointed as Directors of Leeds Hospitals Charity (Company Number 10492128), which is incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 as a private company. We also have a separate trading subsidiary, LHC Enterprise Limited (Company Number 13438357), with its own Directors.
The Board of Trustees currently comprises 12 Trustees; the Chair is Dr Yvette Oade OBE, who is in her second three-year term as a Trustee and her second year as Chair of the Charity.
The Role
Leeds Hospitals Charity is looking to appoint up to four new Trustees to enhance the Board’s skills and expertise to help shape and grow the Charity to provide the best support to our NHS.
The successful candidates may have interest and insight into the issues facing health-related charities and they may also have experience as a Trustee, or in a similar role in another context, but neither of these are essential.
Trustees use their knowledge and experience to make a strategic and principled contribution to the work of the Charity, encouraging innovation and bringing to bear their analytical skills. A willingness to be challenging but constructive, and an ability to engage with detail, are essential for this role.
We are seeking candidates with a wide range of relevant skills and experience but are particularly interested in those candidates with experience in the following sectors:
· Accountancy or audit
· Legal
· Academic or health
· Community or charity
Leeds Hospitals Charity strongly believes that greater diversity improves performance and we aim to attract talented people to reflect the communities with which we work. We strongly encourage applications from groups which are under-represented on our existing Board, including, in particular, candidates with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
Although they are volunteers, our Trustees have independent control over, and legal responsibility for the charity’s management and administration. Trusteeship can be rewarding for many reasons, from a sense of making a difference to the charitable cause, to new experiences and relationships.
Commitment
This is a voluntary role, but reasonable expenses will be reimbursed. Trustees are expected to be able to commit around 12 days a year, for committee meetings, Board meetings and development days.
We welcome candidates from a range of backgrounds and flexibility is offered to those candidates who may have caring responsibilities.
We are looking for someone who will:
· Support and provide advice on the Charity’s purpose, vision, goals, and activities.
· Approve operational strategies and policies and monitor and evaluate their implementation.
· Oversee our financial plans and budgets and monitor and evaluate progress.
· Ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation.
· Ensure that key risks are being identified, monitored and controlled effectively.
· Provide support and challenge to the Charity’s CEO in the exercise of their delegated authority
· Keep abreast of changes in the Charity’s operating environment.
· Contribute to regular reviews of the Charity’s own governance.
· Attend meetings, adequately prepared to contribute to discussions.
· Contribute to the broader promotion of the Charity’s objects, aims and reputation by utilising your skills, expertise, knowledge, and contacts.
The successful person will:
· Bring relevant experience from their own professional sector, with some additional knowledge of the third sector.
· Be constructively challenging and attentive to detail.
· Be able to use their independent judgment, acting legally and in good faith to protect the Charity’s best interests.
· Have an interest in health-related charity issues or prior Trustee experience (although these are not essential)
How to apply:
Applications should consist of a full Curriculum Vitae detailing experience and relevant qualifications, accompanied by a covering letter describing briefly how candidates meet the recruitment criteria, why the appointment is of interest and what they believe they can bring to the role. If candidates wish, these may be reflected in a video (no more than three minutes long) rather than in writing.
Applications should be emailed to Helen McDougall by the closing date. Email details can be found in the Trustee Information Pack on our website. Interested candidates are also welcome to visit the Charity’s offices, at Leeds General Infirmary, on 22nd May 2025, to find out more about the role and meet the Executive Team in advance of the closing date. To arrange a time to drop in, please email Helen McDougall.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by an interview panel of Trustees and the Chief Executive of the Charity.
For more information about the position and the charity, please visit Leeds Hospitals Charity's website and click on Join the Team.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we commit to offering all applicants who consider themselves to have a disability an interview if they demonstrate they possess the essential skills and experience required for the role. Please advise on your covering letter if you consider yourself to have a disability.
Thank you for taking the time to apply for our position. We appreciate your interest in Leeds Hospitals Charity. If your application is selected to continue in the interview process, a member of the Team will be in contact with you.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Since 2002, we’ve delivered a structured, high-impact, programme of mentoring, a paid internship, skills masterclasses, and workplace visits for young people from under-represented backgrounds.
Our programme empowers them with new-found skills, confidence, aspirations, and support networks, boosting their life outcomes. It also enables employers to engage with and shape future talent, adding value to their organisation, and make a positive difference in their local communities.
Our values
Our people are committed and passionate about changing the lives of young people. Our organisational values underpin how we work and are at the core of everything we do.:
· Trust
· Bravery
· Collaboration
· Empowerment
· Inclusion
We have 40 colleagues across the UK, and strong collaboration across a remote working environment is critical to our success. We champion flexibility and wellbeing, and strive to be a positive place work, both in terms of our mission and our culture.
Our impact and growth
Across the UK in 2024 we supported 4,238 young people across our two programme cohorts, with 4,395 volunteers supporting them. We worked with 374 employers to provide mentors and summer internships in 2024 and have 194 school and college partners.
Thanks to the support of our network, we’re able to have the following impact for young people:
· 99% of programme graduates go into higher education, apprenticeships or work
· 90% of students said they felt more confident than before the programme
· Career Ready alumni have a professional network twice the size of their non-programme peers
· 90% of students rated their career skills a strength following their paid internship
Following a challenging couple of years in the charity sector and wider economy, we have just closed the 2024/25 financial year in a more positive position. We are set to embark on a new 2025-30 strategy which focuses around 4 key pillars:
· Income sustainability
· Digital enablement and adoption
· UK programme alignment
· People & Culture
As some of our longstanding Trustees have recently retired, we are looking for individuals with skills and backgrounds that will help us excel our new strategic focus.
About the role
Role purpose
As a Trustee you will make a significant contribution to creating empowering opportunities for young people from under-represented backgrounds.
The role of the Trustee is to ensure that Career Ready is carrying out its purpose, as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and that it complies with the law.
Trustees must always act in the best interests of Career Ready, with reasonable care and skill, whilst also ensuring it is accountable. They must also ensure that Career Ready manages its’ resources effectively and sets the forward direction of the organisation.
Main responsibilities and accountabilities
· Ensuring that Career Ready functions within the legal and financial requirements of a Charitable Company
· Account for the work of Career Ready to Companies House, The Charity Commission, OSCR, funders
· Managing risks, protecting assets (reputation) and people
· Ensuring that Career Ready strives to achieve best practice in all aspects of its work
· Determining the overall policy and direction of the Charity
· Fixing the annual budgets and approving accounts
· Recognising and dealing with conflicts of interest
· Appointing the Chief Executive Officer when required
· Agreeing strategic and work plans
· Collaborating with members of the senior management team in the development of strategic plans
· Hearing membership appeals against the decisions of the Chief Executive Officer
· Ensuring that Career Ready maintains and complies with a policy of equal opportunities in respect of staff, members and stakeholders
· Act as a champion and ambassador for the work of Career Ready
Person Specification
We are looking for 3-4 Trustees who have:
· A commitment to the mission of Career Ready
· An understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of Trusteeship
· Integrity
· Sound judgement
· Strategic vision
· A willingness to contribute ideas and challenge
· Willingness to actively participate in developing the senior leadership team through sharing of skills and expertise
As part of this recruitment exercise, we aspire to have greater Trustee representation from the following sectors/areas of expertise:
· Digital/technology/systems
· Comms/marketing
· Fundraising
· Finance
· Government/Policy
· Operations
In addition, we welcome applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, to align with the diverse range of young people we serve, for example, lived experience of social mobility.
Commitment
At least four meetings per year plus AGM. Usually held in person in London/other locations with opportunity to join remotely.
Up to three-year initial term.
Invitation to join Career Ready team at annual All-Colleague event.
Encouraged to support and participate in Career Ready events.
Opportunities to join and influence other projects and governance committees.
Timetable
Applications close at 5pm on Thursday 31st July.
Please note that the closing date may be brought forward if we receive strong applications.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
What does a Trustee look like?
Look in the mirror!
Right now, less than 3% of charity Trustees are under 30, 8% are people of colour and 36% are women. We are looking for people from across the UK and are keen to recruit trustees from all nations in the UK.
We value the many skills and experiences that you can bring to the Marine Conservation Society. We are committed to a Board culture that enables everyone to be their authentic selves and to enjoy the Trustee experience.
It’s a critical time for our ocean. There is not a moment to waste. Our goal is to recover the health of our ocean so it can help with healing our climate; to make seas protected in law to be protected in practice; and to stop the tide of plastic that’s getting into our waters. By joining as a Trustee, you will help navigate us through the risks and opportunities that we meet.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are essential to achieving ocean recovery so everyone can expect to be treated with consideration and respect in an atmosphere without prejudice, discrimination, harassment or violence.
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for people to join our Board with expertise in one or more of the following areas – click on the links for a fuller description:
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Governance/Legal – expected to be a legal professional with experience in charity, company or regulatory law.
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Marine Conservation – knowledge of the marine environment, with policy and/or practical experience of conservation. A network of contacts across the marine sector, particularly with business or government, would be an advantage.
What you can bring to our Board can be just as interesting as where you’ve been working. Ideally, you will have the relevant skills and experience set out in the profile but you should not feel prevented from applying if you do not have experience across all criteria. You do not need to have previous charity trustee experience, but you will need to be comfortable participating at a senior level with complex discussions and the need to be comfortable making pragmatic but key decisions.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We tackle the ocean emergency by working with communities, businesses and governments.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.