211 Trustee volunteer roles

British Exploring Society is seeking two new Trustees to join our Council of Trustees

Are you passionate about empowering young people through wilderness adventures and life-changing outdoor experiences? We are looking for two dedicated individuals to join our Council and help shape the future of our programmes and organisation.

1. Trustee: Medical & Youth Mental Health Focus - We are seeking a medical professional who can bring both strategic board leadership and expert insight to our work. In this role, you will help inform our long-term planning, offer high-level guidance on expedition medical safety on planned and future programme destinations and operational delivery. An understanding of young people’s mental health challenges is also key to helping us shape holistic support for our participants.

2. Trustee: Youth Work Focus - We are looking for candidates with frontline experience working directly with young people, whether in a youth organisation, community setting, or as a social worker. Your practical expertise will support us directly to inform and enhance how we recruit, engage, and support young people throughout their journey with us.

• Applications are open until 9am on Tuesday 3rd November.

Charity Description

British Exploring Society is a world-class youth development charity with a unique heritage founded on the belief that challenging experiences can transform lives, empowering and equipping young people with the courage, integrity, skills, resilience and motivation to make the most of their future.

We prepare young people for adventures and expeditions virtually, and in remote locations in the UK and overseas where they face challenges, acquire outdoor skills and learn about themselves - as well as undertaking projects with content relevant to their lives and to the fragile environments that they explore.

The results are transformative – not just in terms of practical skills and resilience, but in a new-found confidence and self-belief which they carry forward to their future life. More than this, through their adventure together, our young people forge friendships for life and become part of a unique supportive and continuing community of explorers with shared experiences, values and perspectives on the world.

Our trustees

Our trustees play a vital role at British Exploring Society. They have independent control over, and legal responsibility for, our management and administration. Since 1932 we have always relied on the time individuals donate to us, and our trustees are a cornerstone of that culture of professional volunteering. We want our trustees to enjoy the time they give to us, and to feel motivated and uplifted by the work we do. We do everything we can to involve our trustees in the life of the organisation, to visit and get involved in our activities and to feel the positive impact of their contributions.

Our trustees ensure that we comply with the law, with our Articles, and that we continuously strive to fulfil our charitable purpose. This includes a proactive duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of our beneficiaries and a duty of care to ensure beneficiaries and others the charity comes into contact with do not come to harm.

Key responsibilities

Planning

• Approve our mission statement and review the team’s performance in achieving it
• Annually assess the changing environment and approve the charity’s plans
• Annually review and approve the organisation’s strategy
• Review and approve our financial goals
• Annually review and approve our budget
• Approve and review major policies, including all those relating to financial procedures, health and safety, risk, data protection and safeguarding.

Organisation

• Recruit, appraise, advise, support and if necessary change the CEO of the charity
• Be assured of management succession
• Approve appropriate salaries, terms and conditions of service for staff
• Support sub-committees and fill vacancies as needed
• Regularly audit the performance of Council and approve plans to improve its performance.

Operations

• Review results achieved by our team in relation to aims and objectives, annual and long range goals
• Be certain that the financial structure of the charity is adequate for its current needs and strategy
• Provide open and constructive criticism, advice, comments and support
• Approve major actions of the charity, such as expenditure on items over authorised limits and major shift in activity.

Audit

• Ensure accountability within the charity, particularly where trustees delegate responsibility for particular tasks or decisions to staff or volunteers
• Be assured that Council is adequately and currently informed of the condition of the charity and its operations
• Be assured that published reports adequately reflect the nature of services and the financial condition of the charity
• Ascertain that the CEO has established appropriate policies to define and identify conflicts of interest throughout the organisation and is administering and enforcing those policies
• Appoint independent auditors
• Review and assure compliance with statutory accounting, reporting requirements, relevant laws and standards affecting the charity