Chair of the Board of Trustees (Volunteer)
- Management Board
- Unpaid
- Hybrid/Remote: Scotland wide -most meetings in Glasgow but potential to join remotely
- Closing 31st July 2024
- Advertised from 12th June 2024
Role
Scottish Refugee Council is Scotland’s national refugee charity. We provide support and advice to individuals and families, promote community integration, stand up for refugee rights and campaign for a fairer and more humane asylum system.
We are seeking a Chair to lead our board of directors when the current Chair’s term ends in March 2025. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and influence the development of the organisation as it enters its 40th year.
Currently in the second year of our five-year strategic plan, we are consolidating after a period of rapid growth. Our recently launched Refugee Support Service is an ambitious, Scotland-wide response to the changing context for Scotland’s refugees and wider dispersal of people in the asylum system. We are strengthening our presence across the country to support statutory and voluntary sector partners to address refugees’ needs and protect their rights, while widening access to direct support and advice through our helpline and digital solutions. Continuing to advocate for refugee rights and asylum reform, we are rising to the challenge of ensuring our long-term sustainability by restructuring to deliver the Refugee Support Service and diversifying our funding base.
Of equal importance is ensuring all our work fully involves, and is driven by, people with lived experience of refugee protection. With strong representation at board level and among our committed and creative staff and volunteers, we have a good foundation on which to build.
Your commitment
As Chair of Scottish Refugee Council, you will play a crucial role in shaping the strategic direction of the charity, ensuring the highest standards of charity governance and effective oversight of its operations and advocacy. Drawing on your substantial non-executive experience, ideally as Chair, you will ensure a cohesive and well-functioning board where diverse views are encouraged to improve consensus decision-making.
You will work closely with board colleagues through sub-committees and quarterly board meetings and provide support and constructive challenge to the Chief Executive, Sabir Zazai, and his senior team. With a track record of identifying and mitigating risk, you will protect and promote the charity’s excellent reputation, and represent us at external events and with key stakeholders.
The role currently takes on average one day a week, with busier periods around quarterly meetings. It is an opportunity to make a real difference, helping refugees to navigate challenges and connect, contribute and thrive in their community.
To note, there is the potential for this role to be that of Co-Chair, along with an existing Scottish Refugee Council Board member and this can be discussed further should a Co-Chair option be of interest.
Application notes
For further information, please visit our website.
Closing date: Wednesday, 31st July 2024 at 10.00 a.m.
Board Members (Volunteer)
- Management Board
- Unpaid
- Hybrid: Scotland wide -most meetings in Glasgow but potential to join remotely
- Closing 1st July 2024
Are you interested in joining our Board? Can your skills and experience support us in furthering our aims and objectives?
We want Scotland to be the best place for refugees to thrive, challenge injustice, achieve their ambitions and empower their communities, no matter where they have come from or how they arrived. Are you interested in joining our Board to help achieve this ambition as we approach our 40th year?
Scottish Refugee Council is Scotland’s national refugee charity working with people from the refugee and asylum-seeking communities to offer support and advice to individuals and families, promote community integration, stand up for refugee rights and campaign for a fairer and more humane asylum system. We coordinate the annual Refugee Festival, which takes place in June and work in close partnership with organisations across the voluntary, statutory and private sectors. We are committed to strengthening refugee voice and influence and aim for our Board, staff and volunteers to reflect the communities we work with.
As a number of Board members reach the end of their current term this year, we are specifically aiming to recruit board members with any or all of the following skills and experience:
- Finance, accounting and risk management to join our Finance and Audit committee,
- Service delivery in the refugee or related sector such as advice, housing etc.
- Fundraising
Your skills and experience may be gained through the workplace or through voluntary work. Commitment to the rights and welfare of refugees and a willingness to work collaboratively, bringing your experience to the role, are what matter most. All new Board Members will attend an induction and be offered training and mentoring support.
The Board meets four times a year in Glasgow and we support virtual as well as in-person attendance. You will also attend an annual Strategy Away Day and our AGM in October. You will be expected where possible to take part in one of the three sub-committees (Finance and Audit, Staffing, Strategy and Development) and encouraged to attend community and campaign events when you can. This role is unpaid but travel and out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed.
Your commitment
- The board meets 4 times a year, including a strategy day held annually.
- Our Annual General Meeting
- Members are required where possible to take part in one of the three sub-committees (Finance and Audit, People, Strategy and Development) that support the Board. The committee meet 3-4 times per year.
- Governance and other related training will be offered
- Our headquarters are in Glasgow but meetings can be joined virtually and suitable IT support can be provided.
- This role is unpaid however, travel and other reasonable expenses will be fully reimbursed.
CIS ESOL & Digital Coordinator
- Part time
- £26,408 pro-rata
- Hybrid: The Albany Centre, 44 Ashley Street, G3 6DS and at home by arrangement with your Line Manager.
- Closing 1st July 2024
Community InfoSource (CIS) seeks an ESOL and Digital Coordinator to coordinate, develop and deliver our programme of ESOL and digital inclusion classes, both in-person and online. Working as part of the Wellbeing Project, the ESOL and Digital Coordinator will work closely with the Wellbeing Coordinator to deliver classes appropriate to clients’ needs. The candidate must be able to work well with others in a small team with a flexible schedule, working collaboratively with other projects in our small charity as well as with external organisations.
The person needs to be organised, able to work well with others in a small team, and committed to a human rights ethos and CIS’s values.
Responsible to: CIS Wellbeing Project Manager
- An interview is guaranteed to anyone with lived experience of the UK asylum system who fulfils the essential criteria of the person specification.
- An interview is guaranteed to anyone with a disability who fulfils the essential criteria of the person specification.
Community InfoSource has funding for this post for 1 year and it will then be subject to further funding being available. The post is part-time at 28 hours a week.
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Impact Arts is a leading Scottish creative social enterprise and registered charity. As such we are governed by our Board that comprises up to 13 Trustees. All Trustees including our Chair (Jim Sweeney MBE), are volunteers and from a range of backgrounds. As a result they bring a wealth of experience and skills to the role. In order to take the organisation forward, the Trustees wish to appoint the following:
- 2 x Trustees to the Board
- 1 x Finance Co-optee to our Finance & HR Committee (meets 4 times/ year)
- Associates who bring specialist skills and experience that helps to inform strategic decision making (do not attend quarterly Board meetings but are invited to attend annual Strategy Days and occasional other thematic meetings with Trustees & staff)
Trustee Responsibilities
- Accountable for the overall strategic leadership and direction of Impact Acts
- Championing and promoting the work of Impact Arts through their networks
- Overseeing the affairs of Impact Arts through efficient, effective and accountable governance
- Ensuring the organisation is professionally run, manages risk, operates strict financial controls and acts in accordance with its aims and objectives
- Upholding our core values
Trustee Duties
As a responsible charity, we take best guidance in upholding our duties and responsibilities as Trustees. The following link provides a full overview: Roles & responsibilities - SCVO
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has produced ‘Guidance and Good Practice for Charity Trustees’. The document sets out in detail the duties and responsibilities of charity trustees in Scotland. v10_guidance-and-good-practice-for-charity-trustees.pdf (oscr.org.uk)
Trustee Specification
Our Trustees will uphold and represent our purpose, vision, values and mission in a personal and professional capacity and will come from a range of backgrounds and relevant experience. Our current Board includes Trustees with a range of experiences including youth work, equalities, employability, mental health, social enterprise, placemaking, finance, HR and our youth Trustee with experience of Impact Arts’ projects.
We have a Board skills matrix which helps to identify the mix of experience and knowledge on our Board and also highlights what gaps exist and what priorities we should have for future recruitment.
We are keen to ensure that our Board is representative of those we aim to support through our delivery and as such we particularly welcome applications from people with diverse lived experienceto bring diversity of voice to our Board – being Black, Asian, Mixed Ethnic and/ or a person of colour, LGBTQI, living with a disability, care experience.
Previous Trustee experience is not essential and we are particularly keen to receive applications from Trustees with experience or knowledge of the following areas:
1. Arts/ culture/ creative industries
2. Commercial/ hospitality/ events
3. Digital/ IT/ Technology
In addition, the following skills & experience are beneficial:
- Innovative thinking
- Financial knowledge & understanding
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Collaborative team working
- Data analysis & interpretation
- Knowledge of or commitment to Charity Governance
- Leadership skills
This post is not remunerated however reasonable expenses are payable in line with our standard expenses policy.
Full details can be found in the recruitment pack.
Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire & East Renfrewshire (WASLER) is a charity that delivers domestic abuse services to women and children across South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire, whilst raising awareness of domestic abuse, and we are currently looking for women to join our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for the effective governance and strategic direction of WASLER.
We are looking to appoint a new treasurer to join our Board. The treasurer will be responsible for overseeing financial matters on behalf of our Board and will ensure that the organisation has robust financial processes to meet its legal and constitutional requirements. We are keen to hear from candidates that have experience of charity financial management and/or are chartered in a suitable accountancy field.
We are also looking for general new board members with diverse skills and backgrounds that complement the existing board skillset; previous experience on a Board preferred but not essential. We are specifically interested in recruiting Board Members with skills and expertise in relation to:
- Domestic abuse / gender-based violence
- Social Work / Social Care
- Financial Management
- Procurement
- Service Management / Service Delivery
- Fundraising / Marketing
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