Volunteer Board secretary and trustee | Care Home Volunteers

Job content

Help us grow this small Wiltshire-based charity into a national organisation, reducing loneliness amongst older residents in care homes.

What will you be doing?

We are looking for a trustee with governance, compliance and administration experience to help us build a solid foundation for expansion over the years to come.

We work to reduce loneliness and isolation amongst older residents in care homes, by matching them with volunteers who (normally) visit on a one-to-one basis. During the pandemic, our wonderful volunteers have been providing virtual visits online, writing letters and cards, and making phone calls.

We are growing fast and have aims to achieve some national presence by 2025. So we are keen to recruit a trustee who can help us ensure that our governance, policies and procedures are robust enough to support our growth. Ideally, you will live in or near Wiltshire, though this may not be essential.

We currently have ten trustees and board meetings are held six times per year, normally in Swindon on a weekday morning. But we could be flexible with remote attendance for the right person.

This trustee will have the main duties of all trustees, together with additional responsibilities for leading on governance and compliance, and for the effective administration of board meetings.

Governance and compliance

Responsible for the efficient adminstration of the charity, particularly compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements

• Being familiar with our governing document, the responsibilities of charities under the Charities Act 2009 and our internal governance rules
• Filing statutory returns and information with the Charities Regulator
• Ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct for Charity Trustees and the Charities Governance Code
• Maintaining updated records of our policies and procedures and following a rolling programme for review by the board
• Tracking progress with our risk register/ business plan/ strategic plan
• Maintaining the register of trustees and of trustees’ interests
  

Board meetings

Responsible for assisting the Chair (and Chief Executive when we have one in the future) to ensure effective board meetings

• Planning and agreeing agendas, checking matters arising, bring forward items and action points
• Agreeing the timetable of board meetings for the year ahead
• Circulating board papers in advance
• Taking the minutes at board meetings
  

What are we looking for?

We are looking for someone with experience of governance, compliance, setting up and maintaining policies and procedures, and board administration, ideally in a charity. You will have a tidy and organised approach, with careful attention to detail, to keep us on the straight and narrow. A legal or company secretary background could be helpful but is not essential.

What difference will you make?

No older resident in a care home should be lonely, no matter where they live. We started the charity in Wiltshire and have developed a model which can be rolled out nationally once we have funding and support in place. With your help to ensure we have robust governance and compliance in place, we can bring smiles and friendship through our volunteers’ visits to many more people throughout the country.

What’s in it for the volunteer?

This is a chance to be in near the start of what we hope will grow into a national endeavour to reduce loneliness and isolation amongst older residents in care homes. We are an enthusiastic and friendly team and we would love to have you with us.

Before you apply

Causes

• Older people / later life
  

Many residents in care homes for older people suffer loneliness and social isolation. Research shows that this increases when they leave their homes and communities to go into residential care. ...