Location: Mix of online and in-person meetings.
In-person meeting locations can be UK-wide but will most often be in Manchester or London. Most in-person meetings can be joined remotely if required, though in-person attendance is encouraged.
Estimate of time required: Approximately 1-3 hours per week on average. Approximately five Board meetings per year, some additional committee meetings and the Annual General Meeting. Most meetings take place during Monday-Friday, between 10am and 4pm. Trustee Directors are also expected to regularly read and respond to BABCP emails between meetings.
Deadline: 11.59pm Sunday 8th June 2025
About BABCP: The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) is a charity and the lead organisation for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the UK and Ireland. We are a membership body with over 23,000 members and as a professional organisation we promote, improve and uphold standards of CBT practice, supervision and training. Our CBT Register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. We were founded over fifty years ago, and have experienced significant growth in recent years, moving from a highly regarded special interest group to a professional association. We recognise the importance of high-quality mental healthcare that is evidence-based, and we help to protect the public by supporting best practice. We value diversity, integrity and professionalism – you can read more about our strategy and values on our website. BABCP is a registered charity and a limited company in law. We have a staff team of around fifty people and annual income in excess of £3m.
What we are looking for?: We are looking for up to two new lay people to join our Board as ‘Lay Trustee Directors’, meaning you will be both a trustee of the charity and a director of the company. Our Board is made up of ten Trustee Directors who are elected from within BABCP’s membership and up to three Lay Trustee Directors. We are looking for Lay Trustee Directors with a proven track record of excellence in their field, who can bring fresh perspectives and experience from other professional sectors and walks of life.
You should:
- Be able to take important decisions using sound, objective reasoning and with good attention to detail.
- Be willing to ask questions and constructively challenge the status quo.
- Be able to think creatively and strategically, while being committed to operating with integrity.
- Have the capacity to devote time and effort to the role.
- Understand the responsibilities of the position.
- Not be barred from acting as charity trustee or company director (further eligibility declarations and checks will be required if appointed).
We particularly welcome applicants with skills and expertise in any of the following:
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Digital and data governance
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Marketing, communications and public relations
- Legal, ideally in the professional regulation sphere
- Risk management
- Governance and charity management
We recognise that skills and experience come in many forms, and that some groups have traditionally faced barriers in accessing formal opportunities. BABCP welcomes applications from those who possess the relevant attributes and experience drawn from all aspects of their lives and those who may have had a less traditional career pathway.
While we are looking to bring fresh ‘lay’ perspectives to our Board, if you are one of the millions of people who have direct or indirect lived experience of CBT and related therapies, you may find this experience helps to bring the value of this role to life.
What will you be doing?: As a Trustee Director you will, as part of the wider Board, oversee the organisational structures, systems, policies and resources in place to achieve the charitable objects of the Association. You will help ensure that BABCP exclusively pursues its stated purpose against a defined strategy and in compliance with its governing document and relevant legislation and regulation. You will attend our Board meetings, reviewing all Board papers in advance. You may also be asked to participate in additional committees or working groups focused on specific themes areas, taking into account your areas of expertise and interest where possible.
The role is voluntary and unpaid, though travel and approved out-of-pocket expenses will be covered.
How you will you make a difference?: There are very few who are not affected by the consequences of mental health difficulties in the UK and Ireland. By volunteering your expertise and experience with BABCP, you will ultimately be helping to improve the mental wellbeing of those nations and to protect the public who are directly or indirectly impacted by mental health issues.
How to apply:
For more information, please download the Person Specification.
Please email a CV and covering letter by 23.59pm Sunday 8th June 2025. It is anticipated that interviews will be held remotely in mid to late June 2025.
Within your covering letter, we encourage you to provide information relevant to your application but also:
- Why you wish to become a Lay Director with BABCP
- Why you feel you would be suitable for the role
- What areas or expertise and experience you can bring to the organisation.
This vacancy may close ahead of the above-mentioned deadline if a large number of applications are received. We therefore encourage early submissions.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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!
The role
The role of the Independent member is to provide the Safety Committee and the Movement with knowledge and experience for making key decisions. The role is pro bono, but reasonable expense will be paid in accordance with The Scout Association (TSA)’s Expenses Policy.
The Safety Committee reports directly to the Board of Trustees which has overall legal responsibility for TSA. The committee is Chaired by an external appointee who is a Trustee of the board. The safety committee comprises independent members with Health & Safety expertise across a range of sectors and members from the movement. The purpose of the committee is to hold to account those with responsibility for delivery of Health & Safety across Scouting.
Main responsibilities
The remit of the Committee is to support the Board of Trustees to fulfil its responsibilities in relation to Safety by:
- providing vision and direction for consideration and endorsement by the Board (as required), by identifying and contributing to the development of safety policies, procedures and guidance;
- ensuring that youth members, adult volunteers, parents and staff are engaged in contributing to the development of safety policies;
- developing and overseeing a performance framework to ensure that safety policies, procedures and practice are monitored to provide assurance to the Board (relating to members, staff and service users) and use this management information to inform and drive improvements; monitoring the local and national implementation of safety policies and procedures to ensure practice is effective and consistently applied;
- ensuring that appropriate connections are made with other areas of the Association’s work that may have an impact on safety (for example Adult Training by using incident data to highlight areas of success or concern);
- ensuring that members receive appropriate support and communication to aid understanding of their responsibilities to enable Safe Scouting;
- leading the process for Fatal Accident and/or Near Miss inquiries from commissioning through to completion;
- reviewing and overseeing actions from inquiry reports (this should be in conjunction with the respective staff functions, particularly where there is specific policy, procedure and/or practice changes that need to be recommended for consideration by the Strategy and Delivery Committee and/or Board (as required);
- identifying possible areas of development for the Association’s safety activities, taking into account relevant national agendas and learning from reviews whether this be external or internal to the Association.
The person
Past or present membership of The Scout Association would be an advantage but is not an essential requirement.
What is essential is a commitment to the vision and values of Scouting and the ability to challenge the Association’s policies and practices positively.
We welcome applications from individuals with experience in a wide range of sectors, not just those from traditionally highhazard industries. We are committed to diversity and actively seeking applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, in particular, Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.
Skills
Primary Technical Skills (Core)
- Competence: Experience of application of safety principles, regulations, and best practices within hazardous environments.
- Legal Compliance: Clear understanding of legal obligations related to health and safety in the workplace and how this translates across to Scouting to assure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
- Application of Health and Safety Regulations: Experience of applying health and safety regulations and standards to ensure compliance. This should be combined with an understanding and ability to identify relevant health and safety regulations and standards applicable to the volunteering sector.
- Risk Assessment and Audit and Assurance: Experience of identifying potential hazards, assessment, developing strategies to mitigate risk and audit and assurance in a work environment, including risk assessment methodologies and strategies.
Analytical Skills (Essential)
- Analytical Skills: Capacity to analyse data related to safety performance, incident reports, and trends to identify areas for improvement.
- Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to identify safety issues, evaluate alternative solutions, and implement effective corrective actions.
- Continuous Learning and Professional Development: Commitment to staying updated on industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in safety management.
Enabling Skills (Desirable)
- Management Skills: Experience of leading safety initiatives and managing safety teams to influence organisational safety culture to prioritise safety – demonstrating an understanding of business operations and aligning safety practices with organisational goals.
- Communication and Influencing Skills: Experience of effectively conveying safety protocols, policies, and procedures to employees to influence behaviour, management, and regulatory authorities, showing the ability to lead by example and inspire others to prioritise safety.
- Interpersonal Skills: Understands the need for building positive relationships with stakeholders, including volunteers and employees, management, regulatory agencies, and community members to improve safety culture.
Secondary Technical Skills (Desirable)
- Safety Training and Education: Experience of developing and or delivering effective safety training programmes to employees at all levels within an organization.
- Accident Investigation: Skill in investigating workplace accidents and incidents to determine root causes and prevent future occurrences.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: Knowledge of emergency procedures and the ability to develop and implement emergency response plans.
Experience
- Experience of hazardous environments
- Experience of working in safety as a safety practitioner/holds a safety qualification
- Experience of leadership to achieve safety culture change within a complex organisation
- Expertise welcomed in mental health/wellbeing, human factors or occupational health
- Expertise welcomed in the application of strategic health protection principles (e.g. public health, food safety, and other health related safety issues)
- Experience from an activity-based sector (e.g. outdoor and adventurous activities) welcomed
- Experience of working or volunteering with charitable or youth organisations welcomed
- An understanding of governance structures and the role of boards and their sub-committees would be an advantage with experience of providing strategic advice and guidance at this level
Time Commitment
For this role, the appointed candidate should expect to spend the equivalent of a day per quarter on The Scout Association’s work after the induction phase. This is based on preparation for and attendance at the scheduled Safety Committee meetings (four in each year, with the intention that two are held online and two face to face).
Appointment Term
These appointments would normally be for a three-year term (subject to appraisal), extendable by mutual consent by no more than one further three-year term.
Safeguarding rules - Yellow Card
We are a youth organisation who takes safeguarding seriously. The post holder agrees to comply at all times with the safeguarding rules as set out on TSA’s yellow card, which can be found here, This is shared with young people and carers, as well as employees, so everyone knows our rules of engagement.
In order to comply, stringent vetting procedures take place including checking against an internal database to assess suitability and also Basic/Enhanced DBS checks as required.
Data Protection
The post holder hereby agrees not to disclose any confidential or sensitive information to a third party or outside organisation except where required to do so by law and to adhere to our Data Protection policies.
Health and Safety
The post holder agrees to abide by TSA’s Health and Safety principles and code of conduct and to take all reasonable steps to ensure both their own safety in the workplace as well as that of their colleagues.
Equal Opportunities
The post holder agrees to promote and uphold the principles of equal opportunities in accordance with TSA’s Equal Opportunities Statement and all related policies.
How to apply
If you are interested in the position and would like to apply, please send your CV and supporting statement outlining your suitability for the role. The closing date for applications is: Tuesday, 20th of May 2025
If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please contact the Governance Team.