Our trustees play a vital role in making sure that Bath Welcomes Refugees achieves its core purpose. Bath Welcomes Refugees is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. This means that trustees are both company directors and charity trustees. The Board does not directly manage the day-to-day work, but provides oversight, shaping organisational strategy and supporting our staff and volunteers. We are more hands-on than most charity boards.

 

Board members have a collective responsibility. This means that trustees always act as a group and not as individuals.

 

The Trustee Board is supported by a Management Committee that is responsible for operational decision-making, covering Practical support, Language provision, Resettlement and Befriending, Social activities, Fundraising, Benefits and finance advice, Safeguarding and Communications.

 

Trustee Duties

Trustees have oversight of the overall strategy and direction of the charity. We act to ensure that the charity is meeting the needs of the people we work with, is managing risk, is managing our budget effectively, and is acting in accordance with the law and our own governing document.

Even if a trustee has a specific role, all trustees remain jointly responsible for the charity.

 

General Trustee duties:

· Offer guidance and support on the organisation’s purpose, vision, goals and activities to ensure that Bath Welcomes Refugees delivers the vital work that it was set up to do, in the best possible way for the people we work with.

 

· Scrutinise Bath Welcomes Refugees’ budgets, management accounts and financial statements, making sure that the organisation uses its resources to meet its charitable objectives and complies with the relevant regulatory requirements.

 

· Make sure that Bath Welcomes Refugees complies with its governing documents and the relevant laws, as well as updating and reviewing its own policies and procedures.

 

· Approve operational strategies and policies, and monitor and evaluate their implementation.

 

· Make sure that key risks are being identified, monitored and controlled effectively.

 

· Act, with care and skill, in Bath Welcomes Refugees’ best interests.

 

Terms of appointment

Trustees are expected to serve for three years. A trustee may be re-elected for another term of office at an Annual General Meeting.

Board members are unpaid, but reasonable expenses (including travel to meetings) can be reimbursed.

Specific activities you will carry out include:

• Attendance at an induction session about Bath Welcomes Refugees.

• Attendance at monthly trustee meetings (2 hours plus prep/reading: ~3 hours). These are currently held on the first Thursday of every month in the evening, and can be held in person or remotely via Google Meet.

• Attendance at biannual meetings with the Management Committee (2 hours plus prep/reading: ~3 hours); these can be held in person or remotely via Google Meet.

• Attendance at the Annual General Meeting, held in person usually in the month of July.

• Ad hoc attendance at fundraising/promotional events.

• Other support you may be able to provide for the charity according to your background and skills.

As a small charity, there will be times when the trustees will need to be actively involved beyond Board meetings. This may involve developing or reviewing policies or grant applications, leading a small team to focus on a specific project, providing advice and guidance on new initiatives, representing the charity to external stakeholders, or other initiatives in which the trustee has special expertise.

 

What we are looking for

We are looking for people willing to bring energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the role, and who will broaden the diversity of thinking on our board.

 

You do not need previous Trustee experience; we will provide a full induction, training and support.

 

Each trustee must have:

· Commitment to the rights and welfare of refugees and asylum seekers, and to Bath Welcomes Refugees’ vision, mission, and values, and a desire to use your skills and experience to make a difference for others.

· Ability to think creatively and strategically, exercise good, independent judgement and work effectively as a board member.

· Effective communication skills and willingness to participate actively in discussion.

· A strong personal commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

· An understanding and acceptance of legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of being a Trustee, or a willingness to learn.

We are particularly looking for people with experience in the following:

· Financial management, income generation and enterprise

· Experience of the UK charity sector, especially management and/or governance

· Fundraising

· Communications, public relations and social media

· IT and data security

· Lived experience as a refugee or asylum seeker

Find out more about Bath Welcomes Refugees here.