Are you organised? Can you take notes for our charity Board meetings? Do you have an interest in supporting a charity which supports older people in our community?
What difference will you make?
What do we get? Your strategic administrational and planning skills, knowledge, understanding or experience, including ability to take comprehensive notes to turn into Minutes Your abilities to jointly influence plans for our charity's future Enhancement to our overall governance and the Board of trustees Your participation in our collective decision-making, contributing to all areas of our charity work Your enthusiasm What do our beneficiaries get? The ability to continue our support for local older people and our community A forward-looking and agile organisation, with a well-informed and well-managed Board of trustees What do YOU get as a volunteer trustee with our organisation? An opportunity to exercise your strategic administrational & planning skills, probably in a different environment or context An opportunity to influence and collectively-lead an organisation supporting local older people A chance to expand and implement your understanding of our work A chance to augment your experience of charities A boost to your career and CV, if needed Satisfaction of helping an organisation that supports our community, thus giving something back
What are we looking for?
Here is some of what we would expect from our trustees; we appreciate you may want to develop more in some of these areas. We know that you may also need training and support from employees, from other trustees and from external organisations, and that that will be forthcoming, as necessary, to build on any area. Clear commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, valuing differences to make better decisions and deliver better outcomes Understanding of the needs of our beneficiaries is desirable; an empathy with them is essential Skills and ability to take concise and accurate notes, produce formal Minutes from those notes Previous experience in taking notes and producing Minutes would be highly valued, whilst prior charity trustee experience is not required, it would be welcome Secure personal access to digital communication technology (Microsoft Teams or Google Meet preferred); to competently and efficiently use those resources, and to assist other trustees in their use as needed A broad understanding of compliance with Charity Commission requirements for online end-of-year filing would be beneficial; prior experience of this is not a prerequisite Strategic vision; good, independent judgement; ability to think creatively, tempered by pragmatism and reality Skills and ability to listen, even to dissenting views Willingness to speak your mind and to challenge other trustees and employees with good intent; able to make unpopular recommendations to the Board, if necessary Skills to analyse proposals, examine their strategic consequences and make concise recommendations Commitment to the organisation; willingness and ability to devote the necessary time & effort Having appropriate personal and professional contacts & networks, with willingness to draw on those as needed
What will you be doing?
You could be the Honorary Secretary for Age Concern Twyford & District, a local charity whose aim is to promote and maintain independent living for older residents in and around our local area. Initially set up in 1988, we are an independent incorporated charity. We are not affiliated with any similar organisations, but work closely with other Wokingham Borough-based charities, support organisations and local businesses. We provide a Day Centre with options for lunches and take-home meals, many activities including arts, singing, dancing and exercise, plus a range of support services including assistance with form-filling, handypersons and a listening ear to support families. In 2023/24 our income rose (again) to £206k, and our services and facilities remain well-used and very well-appreciated. What we are looking for in a new Secretary Our Board includes people with experience and skills in supporting older people, and we'd expect our new Honorary Secretary to have empathy with our cause and our beneficiaries. You will need good organising skills and the ability to take notes to turn into Minutes of our meetings, but those aren't complex or too formal. You'll be asked to assist with our Charity Regulation and reporting to the Charity Commission, but again those are easy things to implement. In all these things, you'll be assisted and advised by our Centre Manager and other trustees, including our new Chair of the Board. You don't necessarily need prior experience of charity trusteeship, although that would be welcome. Full induction to our organisation will be provided, plus specialist support as a new trustee, including access to external training if needed. We are a charity not a business, but we apply business principles to governing our organisation. We are looking for fresh expertise and experience from a variety of backgrounds to our charity we want to expand the diversity of our board, in all meanings of the word, and strongly welcome applications from people from less-represented groups. The focus of a trustee role is strategic, and trustees will not be expected to get involved in the organisation's operations on a day-to-day basis; however, contact and liaison with other trustees and employees is expected. We ask for up to five hours of your time per month, which includes our monthly meetings, and other discussions. You will need good access to digital communications, as much of our charity's business is run that way.