Finance Committee Member

Letter from our Provincial

Thank you for your interest in the role of lay committee member of our Finance Sub-Committee. The following documents will tell you more about the role and our expectations. It also includes some details about applying for the role.

Our province of Central Europe and the Islands comprises England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Malta, Germany, Austria and Hungary. In England and Wales, we are a registered charity. As a member of our Finance Sub-Committee, you and two other lay colleagues would work alongside three of our sisters to advise our trustees in England and Wales as well as our Provincial Team.

On behalf of the Society, we welcome the opportunity to work alongside lay colleagues. We are grateful for the expertise you can bring to us in optimising and managing our resources so as to fulfill our mission. We welcome applicants from all section of the community. We ask that you respect our beliefs and ethos.

If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please contact our Executive Director, Catherine Hennessy.

We look forward to receiving your application by Monday October 6th.

With my thanks,

Margaret Wilson RSCJ

Provincial Superior CEI and Chair of Trustees England and Wales CIO

About us

The Society of the Sacred Heart is an order of women religious in the Catholic Church. As a registered charity in England and Wales, the Society undertakes work in the fields of education, spirituality, justice and peace. In addition to the care of our sisters, the Society makes use of its resources to support the work of other charities, educational institutions and faith groups. You can read more about our history and our work on our website. Our care home provides care and support for up to sixteen of our thirty seven sisters in England and Wales. The remainder live in community and individually, with the majority in London. The Society has a long tradition of working successfully in partnership with lay colleagues and we currently employ a range of lay staff in areas such as care, health, safeguarding and finance.

About the role

We are seeking applications from suitably qualified individuals to become members of the Finance Sub-Committee of our Board of Trustees. As a member of this group, you will offer strategic financial advice to our Board of Trustees and to our Provincial Team - the canonical leadership team of our province of Central Europe and the Islands. The work will include advising on all aspects of the Society’s finances including our properties and investments. This is a new committee reflecting our desire to improve our financial governance.

The Committee will oversee the work of our existing investments committee and a financial advisory group.

Commitment

After an initial induction day, we anticipate that the group will meet three times each year for a two-hour period. Meetings will be a mixture of online and face to face meetings in Hammersmith, London.

This is a voluntary position. We will pay all reasonable expenses including travel and refreshments at meetings.

Term Length

We are seeking an initial commitment of 3 years.

About you

We are looking for experienced Board or Committee members with a background and expertise in finance, property, risk or audit at a senior level.

As a member of our Finance Committee, you will help the Society in England and Wales to ensure that we have effective financial governance arrangements and will help to monitor our financial performance.

We invite scrutiny and challenge of our financial affairs and sound advice to our trustees and leadership team.

We expect that applicants will respect the Catholic beliefs and ethos of the Society.

Skills and Expertise

We are seeking to recruit individuals with a wide range of skills and experience

• Relevant financial or property management qualifications e.g. accountancy qualification

• Experience of service on a finance committee or Board of Trustees

• Knowledge of Charity law and accounting practice

• Experience at a senior level of financial management, scrutiny and planning

• An understanding of investments and management of an investment portfolio

• An understanding of organisational risk and risk management

• Understanding of audit practice within charities

• An ability to understand budgets and to review audited accounts

• A collaborative approach and a supportive nature.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community.

How to apply: To apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter that outlines how your skills, experience and qualifications match those set out in this pack.