Finance Trustee
Abbeyfield Southern Oaks
Finance Trustee - As a finance Trustee you’ll be an ambassador for the organisation and its work. You’ll share our vision to help older people in our local communities. To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter, which should indicate why you are interested in applying for this particular role and how you meet the selection criteria. If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please email Lucinda Shaw, lucinda@eastsidepeople.org to arrange a convenient time.
We’re now recruiting the next generation of Trustees with appropriate skills and experience. Trustees with skills in marketing, public sector (many of our residents’ accommodation is funded by Local Authorities) and project management have recently joined us, and we now need someone with strong financial skills to help us ensure that our in-house financial administration is run proactively and effectively. We have a clear vision for developing the charity, our existing and newer Trustees are skilled people, and we all have a passion for and real commitment to what we are doing. We are seeking an individual who is enthusiastic about what we want to achieve, has good financial and commercial experience and who can operate at both a strategic and executive capacity. However, this charity will not suit someone who only wants to attend quarterly Board meetings. We hope to find someone who wants to get thoroughly involved and is interested in contributing to other aspects of our work. We very much look forward to receiving your application. Overall purpose of the Finance Trustee role: o Overseeing the financial affairs of the organisation, providing assurance to the Board of Trustees, and ensuring that they are legal, constitutional and within accepted accounting practice. o Ensuring that effective financial policies, procedures and controls are in place, giving expert strategic advice to the executive team to ensure good practice and compliance with charity accounting rules. o Chairing the Finance Committee, a sub-committee of the Board working with the Services Committee, which oversees all financial matters and leads financial planning and practice, reporting to the Board. o Working with the Risk and Oversight Committee. To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter, which should indicate why you are interested in applying for this particular role and how you meet the selection criteria. If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please email Lucinda Shaw, lucinda@eastsidepeople.org to arrange a convenient time. The closing date for applications is Monday 21st April.
Advice, Information & Support,Finance & Accountancy,Trusteeships & Committees
Basic IT skills - internet & email, Bookkeeping & Finance, Maths, Communication Skills
The Finance Trustee will bring the following qualities, skills & experience: ESSENTIAL o A qualified accounting and finance professional or another suitably qualified professional with extensive business management experience. o Significant, practical finance experience at a strategic level, including especially the development and monitoring of business plans and performance for sustaining and growing the Society’s business o Experience of overseeing and supporting staff responsible for accounting, budgeting, longer term financial planning and management reporting to Trustees o Experience of managing finance systems sufficient to lead and oversee the finance and related systems aspects of any potential takeover of, or merger. o Ability to communicate complex finance and accounting issues to non-financial colleagues so as to lead on financial reporting to regulators, and Board members o Confident, sound, independent judgement and ability to think creatively. o A good team player, willing and able to work at both a detailed and strategic level to solve problems and assure effective and efficient operations. DESIRABLE o An understanding of charity reporting requirements, including SORP o Experience of managing a relatively complex set of service charges with significantly different categories of householders (including reference to legislation regarding social and affordable rents, supported housing, exempt accommodation, Housing England and other associated issues) o Experience of older people’s services in the statutory or voluntary sectors
Strategic experience Strategic experience can be hard to come by. It can often take decades to find yourself in a role which requires strategic oversight. A not-for-profit Board role is a fantastic way of getting a head start on this, at once giving you the opportunity to develop and hone your critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills as well as developing vital strategic sensibilities and team working skills. The strategic experience which can be gained through a Board role can have an immediate and powerful impact upon your career, opening doors to new responsibilities and more senior job prospects. Equally for those who have already had some strategic responsibilities, a not-for-profit Board role provides an opportunity to use those skills in a significantly different context. Our plans will require strategic thinking from our Finance Trustee to help the Board to identify the best way forward. Continued personal development Joining a Board can be a very interesting experience, not least because it allows you to adapt and apply everything you have learned to date into an entirely new context. Through a not-for-profit Board role, you can gain a clearer idea of your own professional strengths and weaknesses whilst simultaneously learning altogether new skills. Understanding how to adapt your professional knowledge to useful and impactful ends is a good reminder of your own versatility, giving you confidence in your existing abilities whilst challenging you to push the boundaries of your expertise. Most of us are idealists at heart, even if life has shown us that things are not as simple as we once thought. As a Trustee of ASO you will be able to combine your own sense of purpose with your expertise and skills to bring a great deal of benefit to others. Teamworking As a Board member at ASO you will be part of a team and will have the opportunity to apply your unique skills and experience, while also learning from others. Working closely with a passionate team of people who have different perspectives is often one of the most enjoyable aspects of the role. The ability to collaborate effectively with others and to challenge constructively the ideas of fellow Board members as well as those of the Senior Management Team, is essential to ensuring the Board’s strategic decisions are fully informed, reasonable and effective. Negotiating, empathising, listening and clearly communicating ideas and concerns are key factors in this process and often help to set the tone and culture of Board meetings. What we can offer you Becoming a Trustee is a fascinating way to engage in the not-for-profit sector. It’s a role which will give back just as much as you put in and often much, much more. Our Trustees have already proved themselves and recognise that they have developed a wealth of personal and professional skills which they can continue to apply, outside the salaried work environment for the benefit of others, as well as continuing to apply those skills in their personal life. So, becoming a Trustee will empower you with a new sense of contribution in the pursuit of a wider purpose. Contributing to a great cause There is no doubt that being a Board member in a not-for-profit organisation is one of the most powerful ways in which you can contribute to a cause you really care about. As a Board member, you will have an opportunity to have a real impact on our work addressing the needs of older people, especially loneliness, across the wider communities in which we are located. Our work helps them to live the life they want and do the things they choose.
Time Commitment: Monthly Services Committee meetings (2-3 hours) – the Services team is the group of Trustees who, along with the Director of Business and Operations (DBO), provides the operational oversight and guidance to the professional staff, and which reports to the full Board quarterly. Quarterly Board meetings (2-3 hours). The Finance Trustee reports to the Board on the overall finances of ASO (ie both operations and non-Service Committee activities) Periodic phone calls, monitoring of financial data as it emerges, discussion with professional staff between meetings (an average of 1-2 hours pw) Other projects as they arise. Duration: Trustees are appointed until they wish to step down or the Chair feels their value is diminishing Remuneration: Unpaid; expenses covered in line with policy The closing date for applications is Monday 21st April.
KT17 1FL
Nonsuch Abbeyfield, Old School's Lane, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 1FL
Ewell West train station is set back from the main road. At the main road, turn left. Walk along the road, which curves around to the left at the traffic lights. Take the first road on the left, Old School's Lane following the path past four cottages in a gated setting on the left. We are just a little further up on the right hand side (not Priory Court Nursing Home).
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