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St Basils is looking for a new Non-Exec Director / Trustee to join our Board as the Designated Safeguarding Board Member.
About Us
St Basils works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities and ultimately prevent homelessness.
We help just over 4,000 young people each year across the West Midlands, with services in Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Our services range from providing supported accommodation to outreach, advice, support, employability and engagement services to help young people regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives, gain skills, confidence and employment and move on. The aim is to help them successfully break the ‘cycle of homelessness’ so that they can go on to experience a bright, fulfilling future and never return to a state where they are at risk of homelessness again.
About our Board
We are a registered provider of social housing, a charity and a company limited by guarantee, meaning our Board members are both Directors and Trustees.
To navigate our challenging regulatory landscape, we need to be tightly governed. At the heart of this is a Board with the right knowledge, values, skills and diversity, all whilst working towards our vision that homelessness should not be part of growing up.
As a member of St Basils’ Board, you will be a guardian of St Basils’ charitable purpose. You will be responsible for holding the Senior Leadership Team to account through constructive challenge and support, and for ensuring St Basils’ strategic priorities are met.
You will form part of St Basils’ governance framework, providing oversight of key business areas, such as business planning, safeguarding, risk, finance, health and safety, EDI and business development.
Our Board is made up of 14 members, 2 of which are designated for young people who have lived experience of homelessness and / or St Basils’ services.
St Basils has adopted the RACE Equality Code and is actively seeking applications for Board members from Black communities to ensure our Board is reflective of both the young people that we serve and our dedicated workforce.
About the Role
We are looking for a voluntary Director / Trustee with a professional background in safeguarding to join our Board as the Designated Safeguarding Board Member. Our new Board member will need to have a strong understanding of safeguarding, ideally with experience in supporting vulnerable young people.
As the Designated Safeguarding Board Member, you will:
- Work with St Basils’ Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to regularly review safeguarding reports, trends and serious incidents
- Act as a safeguarding champion at Board level, supporting other Directors / Trustees to develop their understanding and confidence in safeguarding
- Provide oversight of allegations or safeguarding concerns relating to staff, volunteers or Board Members
- Attend regular meetings and engage with services, staff and young people to maintain visibility of safeguarding in practice
- Support the Chair, CEO and DSL in ensuring appropriate governance oversight of serious safeguarding incidents, including reputational considerations
- Ensure the Board receives appropriate assurance on safeguarding risks and how they are managed
Our new Director / Trustee will sit on our Service Delivery & Development Committee which oversees both the housing elements of our services as well as the support / progression we provide to our young people. This committee meets virtually, one a quarter.
Although the role is voluntary, reasonable expenses will be paid for costs incurred in undertaking the role.
About You
You will be a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or have significant experience in a senior safeguarding role.
You will demonstrate sound judgement and be able to challenge confidently and constructively, although you do not need to have Board experience.
You will work within the principles of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and understand the needs of the diverse young people we serve.
You will put the needs of young people first, be passionate about ending youth homelessness and share our mission, vision and principles.
Time Commitment
You will need to be able to attend the majority of Board and Committee meetings, one of each is held each quarter (8 meetings total per year). Each meeting will last around 2 hours and will normally be held late afternoon/early evening (usually 4pm – 6pm). Board meetings are held in person at St Basils’ Head Office in Birmingham, and Committee meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The dates for meetings are set by calendar year, towards the end of the previous year.
Meeting papers will be shared via an online portal one week in advance of the meeting to allow for sufficient preparation time.
A Board away day is held each year, usually October, and every other year this includes an overnight stay. This will be fully paid for by St Basils.
We encourage Board members to visit our accommodation services to deepen understanding of our work and support effective governance and decision-making. We would like all Board members to make 2 visits a year if possible.
All travel expenses incurred in attending Board meetings / conducting site visits will be reimbursed by St Basils.
What’s in it for you?
We offer a series of essential online training courses (for example GDPR, Cyber Security, EDI, Safeguarding, Risk Management) and the opportunity to do additional online or in-person training, such as Psychologically Informed Environment training. As part of our commitment to race equality, we provide mandatory Anti-Racism training for all staff and Board members.
You will be part of a knowledgeable and supportive Board and have the opportunity to work alongside young people with lived experience.
You will have the guidance of a knowledgeable Chair to support your development as a Director / Trustee, and you will have access to St Basils’ Senior Leadership Team to help you fulfil your role.
St Basils is a learning organisation and therefore we are able to support and develop Board members who are new to the role. In addition, St Basils has membership with the Board Development Agency, which provides our Board Members with access to webinars and development tools specific to housing sector Boards.
Being a Director / Trustee at St Basils is more than just attending meetings – if you would like to contribute to an organisation that has young people at its core, where you can visibly see the difference you are making, then this is the role for you.
For further information please see the link to the full job pack.
We welcome early applications and will interview on a rolling basis.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Background for Citizens Advice Salford’s Chair of Trustees:
Citizens Advice Salford is looking for a new chair for our board of trustees. The service is an independent charity, employing 35 people and benefiting from the support of about 70 highly trained volunteers. We are a full member of the National Association of Citizens Advice, our membership organisation, which supports our work.
Our chair plays a critical role in leading both the board and the organisation, as well as in representing the Salford service within the broader Citizens Advice movement. They will also provide strategic leadership and support the service’s chief executive.
The service provides advice to about 18,000 people each year, and is regulated by various bodies. Our offer is primarily through face to face contact, telephone advice, web access and we are looking at what new digital approaches such as AI can do for us.
We hold the specialist advice giving quality mark. Citizens Advice Salford has a strong reputation as a campaigner for change, for fighting against poverty, lobbying and campaigning on behalf of our clients, together with working across Greater Manchester with our colleague local citizens advice services.
Financially we have a range of contracts with public bodies such as the Council, together with a range of other grants and funding for specific projects.
The current chair is reaching the end of her six year term, but will still be a member of the board. It is a strong board consisting of ten people, with a diverse range of skills and experience.
If you would like to have a more general discussion about the role please feel free to contact the current Chair, or the Chief Officer. Contact details are available on our vacancy page via the apply button.
- What's in it for you?
- use your experience to make a positive impact for people in Salford by ensuring Citizens Advice Salford is sustainable and meeting the needs of the community
- meet people and build relationships with trustees, staff and other volunteers
- build on your governance, leadership and strategy knowledge and skills
- increase your employability
- be a part of infl uence and change work that looks to reduce poverty in Salford, and to make it and the country a better place for all.
How much time do you need to give?
Trustee boards usually meet in the evenings and you’ll likely need to give two or three hours, six times a year and you may need to attend other meetings if you’re involved in specifi c projects, or meet with volunteers and staff occasionally within Citizens Advice Salford. We can be fl exible about the time spent, so come and talk to us.
Valuing Inclusion
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBT+ and non-binary people, and people from global majority communities.
If you are interested in becoming a chair of trustees and would like to discuss fl exibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.