Role Description
- Role title: Trustee
- Location: Flexible (travel to London will be required at least three times a year for in person board meetings)
- Salary: None – this is a volunteer role, for which travel expenses are reimbursed
Time commitment:
- Attendance is required at minimum of 3 in-person board meetings in London annually, and at monthly online sub-committee or update meetings, including preparation and reading time
- Various ad hoc commitments, such as recruitment, attending events and activities and meetings with staff
Term:
- Trustees are appointed for an initial 3-year term with the option of renewal for up to a total of 3 terms, so the maximum term for all trustees is 9 years.
Purpose
The role of the board is to govern Breaking Barriers effectively, in service of our vision and mission, and as required by our constitution. Trustees provide support and challenge to the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and are ambassadors for the charity.
Essential Duties of the Trustee Role
- Ensure Breaking Barriers is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit
- Comply with Breaking Barriers’ governing document and other laws that apply
- Act in Breaking Barriers’ best interests: prioritise Breaking Barriers’ objectives, avoid conflicts of interest, and follow procedures to manage any conflicts.
- Ensure Breaking Barriers is accountable: meeting legal, accounting and reporting requirements
- Manage Breaking Barriers’ resources responsibly: managing risks, protecting assets and people, getting the resources we need, having appropriate controls and procedures
- Act with reasonable care and skill, using your abilities and experience, decide when you need professional advice, and ensure Breaking Barriers remains solvent.
Other Responsibilities
- Understanding the vision, mission, goals and values of Breaking Barriers together with maintaining a good grasp of the operational context and the expectations of partners.
- Strategic leadership and vision: help to guide the organisation with a strategic vision, aligning the board and staff’s efforts with the mission. Ensure that the organisation defines its goals and evaluates performance against agreed targets.
- Leveraging opportunities: Support and participate in fundraising strategies, leveraging networks, and engaging with donors and stakeholders to secure necessary resources for the organisation’s work.
- CEO and SLT support: Maintain a constructive relationship with the CEO and SLT, creating a positive and strong working relationship to jointly set and achieve appropriate targets, staying in regular contact and acting as a sounding board to discuss strategic or staffing related matters, issues – coaching, supporting and challenging as necessary.
- Ambassadorship: Act as an ambassador, representing and promoting the organisation’s mission, values, and interests to external stakeholders, enhancing its reputation, and fostering collaboration, fundraising and promotional opportunities
Person Specification
We are seeking board members with a passion for the mission, vision and values of Breaking Barriers, a commitment to creating positive change for our clients, and the time to take an active role in the governance of our organisation.
At this time we have vacancies for up to two new trustees, and we are seeking individuals with:
- Experience of being a senior leader and/or a charity trustee; and either
- Experience and knowledge of developing initiatives or programmes in areas directly relevant to the charity’s mission, such as employability or recruitment, or experience of working with and for refugee clients (this trustee will be supported to take over as our lead trustee for safeguarding); or
- Fundraising and income generation expertise, with the ability to contribute to achieving our fundraising goals, such as by generating leads and making introductions to relevant networks and relationships, or connecting our team to potential future partners and funders.
We believe that Breaking Barriers can more effectively achieve its aims by having a diverse board of trustees.
We particularly welcome applications from people with direct lived experience, including those from a refugee background or with first‑hand experience of seeking sanctuary or forced migration to the UK. We recognise the unique contribution lived experience brings to our governance and decision‑making.
If you have lived experience and meet the requirements above, your application will be prioritised and progressed automatically. We are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive environment where trustees with lived experience can thrive and shape the future of our work.
Considerations
As part of our safeguarding commitment to our clients, we carry out checks to ensure that successful applicants are suitable to work with adults at risk. These include basic DBS checks, obtaining references and verifying a candidate’s identity and right to work in the UK.
Recruitment Process
Applicants will be shortlisted against the requirements stated in the person specification, and we then expect to meet with candidates to ask some formal interview questions, and for a more general dialogue about the role.
Further information about Breaking Barriers is available on our website. If you have any questions or would like to arrange a short informal discussion about the role ahead of applying, please contact Justin Irwin, Interim CEO, on [email protected].
How to apply
Please apply by submitting your CV and your cover letter to [email protected], stating why you wish to join the organisation, how your skills and experience would add value to the board, and how you meet the requirements of the person specification. We would be grateful if the entire application is less than 4 pages. The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 22nd June. Thank you for your interest.
