Sanctuary Breaks aims to enable people seeking asylum, refugees and survivors of trafficking or torture, to find respite from the emotional traumas they have experienced and recover confidence and ...
Chair for Stroud based refugee support charity
Practical details
Volunteering • Ongoing role
Contact person
Sally Pickering
Provided
Requirements
#129043
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Stroud charity providing respite breaks to people seeking asylum, refugees, and victims of trafficking seeks a new Chair who shares our vision
Responsibilities of the Chair
- Ensure the board discusses and agrees the purpose and values of the organisation and remains focussed on them.
- Lead the board in identifying key strategic decisions, including the financial strategy, to be made and delivered.
- Ensure timely and well-founded decision-making that advances the values and purpose of our organisation.
- Work with the board and staff to further our strong commitment to equity diversity and inclusion
- Ensure the organisation has in place appropriate policies, systems and procedures to operate legally and effectively
- Monitor the progress of the organisation in light of the strategic objectives.
The Chair will work with trustees to:
- Manage potential conflicts of interest to ensure probity and that there is appropriate transparency.
- Review board composition, and ensure timely trustee recruitment and development.
- Build an effective, high performing board team, supporting individuals, facilitating good relationships, promoting co-operative working.
- Chair board meetings, making sure they are minuted, and that follow up actions are communicated and monitored.
- Ensure board members are equipped to carry out their duties, identifying any learning, development, support, information, or advice that may be needed.
The chair will work closely with the Manager to:
- Develop and maintain a productive and supportive working relationship Ensure high quality relationships with staff and volunteers, enabling our organisation to deliver confidently, consistently and to a high standard.
- Relate any concerns of the board to the staff
- Work with the Manager to schedule and plan board meetings and ensure the provision and dissemination of relevant information to board members from the staff/ volunteer team.
Externally the Chair will seek to:
- Work, as required, to build relationships with key stakeholders.
- Be an ambassador for the organisation.
Time commitment
Attending 6 Board meetings per year plus other meetings and email correspondence with senior staff and other trustees in between as required, as well as attending other relevant events relating to the Charity's work.
In between Board meetings, there are Working Groups of 2-3 people (at least 1 trustee plus, volunteers, specialist advisers or staff) who work on specific areas including HR, Governance, Fundraising, Property issues and Finance to research and prepare proposals to bring to Board meetings and to implement decisions the Board has made. These groups meet as agreed by their members and entail mainly working from home in your own time. All trustees are expected to be a member of at least 1 group and the Chair is likely to be involved in more, depending on how many other trustees there are to share the work.
Location
Ideally, Board meetings are held at Hill House, just outside Stroud, as we find we are a more effective Board when we meet face-to-face. However, at times, meetings can be held on Zoom if a Trustee is unable to attend in person (we have found hybrid meetings less effective).
Our other trustees all live locally around Stroud so work in between meetings may be either by email or meeting elsewhere in Stroud.
What are we looking for?
Knowledge
- Good knowledge and understanding of governance, business models/finance/funding and charity regulation compliance
- Good knowledge and understanding of the charity sector and ideally, the refugee sector
- Good understanding of what it means to be an employer including HR and the duty of care to staff, volunteers and trustees
Skills
- Ability to develop and manage relationships with partners; trustees; staff and CEO; volunteers and people with lived experience
- Ability to influence internally and externally in order to pursue the charity’s mission and purpose
- Relationship management skills that get the best out of all the skills and experience
- around the board table
- Business and management skills around problem solving, good process and time management, staying focused
- Change and crisis management skills and some experience around managing risk, uncertainty and reputational threat
Leadership Attributes
- A commitment to the vision, purpose and values of the Charity
- A Strategic thinker and future orientated
- Supports trustees to come to firm collective decisions
- Shows integrity through living the values of the charity in the way you lead
What difference will you make?
You will join an experienced group of women and men who will embrace your new ideas and insights to help us deliver our Mission, which is:
- To enhance the wellbeing of people seeking sanctuary by providing a place of welcome, safety, rest and hope, for short breaks, day visits, and a range of activities;
- To provide opportunities for contact, inclusion and engagement with the surrounding community and
- To increase confidence and self-esteem amongst the otherwise largely excluded community of people seeking sanctuary by enabling people to develop and demonstrate their skills
Your skills and experience will help ensure that our charity operates safely, legally and in line with best practice and that our small team of paid staff and committed volunteers are supported, have the resources they need and, along with our guests, have a positive experience through their involvement with Sanctuary Breaks..
After a year with some turnover on our Board as long-standing Trustees have stood down, we are now in the process of building a fresh team and so this is an exciting opportunity for a new Chair to shape and develop this new team into an effective and dynamic Trustee Board.
Alongside regular Board meetings (held at Hill House, Amberley, just outside Stroud),there will be plenty of opportunity to take part in all Sanctuary Breaks' activities such as day trips with guests, shared meals, and fundraising events.
Related to
About Sanctuary Breaks
Sanctuary Breaks aims to enable people seeking asylum, refugees and survivors of trafficking or torture, to find respite from the emotional traumas they have experienced and recover confidence and self-esteem in a community that understands and accepts them. We provide, at Hill House in Amberley, a place of welcome, safety, rest and hope, for short breaks, day visits, and a range of activities that provide opportunities for contact, inclusion and engagement with surrounding communities and for developing and demonstrating their skills, thus increasing confidence and self-esteem.
See more opportunities by Sanctuary Breaks