Volunteer - Trustee

Five Talents is currently seeking 2-3 new trustees to join our UK Board. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing, impactful charity as we embark on Year 3 of a five year growth plan seeking to double the number of members we serve through community savings groups in eastern Africa. We are particularly interested in people with the ability and desire to open doors into our key networks (City of London, Philanthropy, Faith, Women’s Empowerment, International Development) as growing our network of supporters is essential in this growth phase. We would also love to hear from anyone keen to be our cyber security / GDPR lead trustee.

Purpose of Trustee Position
To provide leadership to the organisation in close co-operation with fellow Board Members and the Executive team, ensuring that all involved remain focused on achieving the Charity’s mission within its values and ethos.

Principal Responsibilities
- To be personally and visibly supportive of Five Talents’ Mission and Values.
- To attend Board meetings and Board away-days regularly and if unable to attend to provide comments / questions on the papers to the Chair and/or staff as appropriate.
- To contribute to setting the strategic direction and policies of the organisation, monitoring performance in meeting plans and key objectives.
- To serve on one or more working groups or sub-committees, as desired / invited.
- To ensure that management work effectively within a framework of clearly stated organisational strategies and policies.
- To ensure effective and appropriate risk management.
- To ensure financial stewardship and regulatory compliance.
- To undertake visits to Five Talents’ Projects as is feasible.
- To promote strong relationships between Five Talents and partner / potential partner organisations.

Knowledge and Experience
Specific professional knowledge experience and skills in at least one of the following areas are required: Financial expertise; Organisational development/strategy; Fundraising; Marketing and communications; Law; International development.

Terms of Appointment
This is a voluntary non-executive role. Reasonable travel expenses can be reimbursed if required. Term of office is four years, with a possible re-appointment for a second term of four years (i.e. maximum of eight years). All Trustees will be required to sign Five Talents’ Safeguarding, Data Protection and Confidentiality Policies, and a declaration to confirm that they are not disqualified from acting as Trustees and there are no other reasons which would de-bar them from serving as Trustees. They are also required to declare any conflicts of interest at the start of each meeting.

How to apply
The usual process is for a trustee candidate to have an initial meeting with the Chair or CEOs, followed (if both parties wish) by your submission of a CV and short statement of interest which is shared with the Board. If, after reviewing your application and further discussions with you, both parties remain interested, the Board would invite you to attend a Board meeting as an observer, so that you can meet other Trustees. After that, a formal appointment could occur, followed by our new trustee induction process. The Trustees are committed to ensuring diversity and representation on the Board.