Help thousands of older people in Essex live their best lives.
Do you believe every older person deserves to live a happy, connected and dignified life? Join Age Well East as our next Chair of Trustees and lead positive change across one of the UK’s most populous and diverse counties.
Age Well East supported over 4,000 older people last year through nearly 400 volunteers and 23 staff, delivering befriending, benefits advice, social activities, and mental health support. We operate virtually and face-to-face, from our base in Clacton and across the community.
Yet, challenges remain. An estimated 47,000 older people in Essex live in poverty, 29,000 experience loneliness, and we know that in neighbouring Suffolk, 179,000 older people currently have little support
The Role
We’re seeking a new Chair to guide the next phase of our development. You'll provide strategic leadership, act as line manager to the CEO, and ensure we continue to grow our impact while maintaining strong governance.
The expected time commitment is around 2–3 days per month, aggregated across the month to support flexibility. Board meetings are held quarterly (mostly via video call), with additional engagement as needed.
To ensure a smooth handover, the successful candidate will be invited to Co-Chair alongside our current Chair, Nick Avery. The length of this transition period is flexible and will be tailored to the new Chair’s preference, with full transition expected by early 2026 at the latest.
About You
You’ll share our belief that all older people should be able to Age Well. You’ll be collaborative, values-driven, and a confident leader able to support our CEO and work effectively with our Board. While prior Chair experience isn’t essential, we are looking for someone who has served on a Board—whether in the charity, public or private sector. Fundraising experience is a plus, and so is a strong network or voice in support of older people.
The board of Age Well East is inclusive, we are not asking for gravitas, experience as a Chair, nor deep pockets. You will share our values and share our determination to helping older people live their best lives.
You will need to have enthusiasm, drive and vision and experience of the charity environment and governance and be prepared to be an advocate for Age Well East.
Ron lives in Clacton-on-Sea with his wife Angela. He lives with many health challenges, including angina, diabetes, coronary heart disease, depression, and chronic back pain. This means he is unable to carry out daily living tasks without supervision. Angela provides Ron with the support he needs but doing it alone sometimes impacts Angela’s wellbeing. ‘He wakes in the night in pain and finds most days a struggle. It makes us both feel quite low.’ Ron and Angela heard about the work we do and attended one of our local community talks. They initially asked Jo, our support adviser for advice about writing a will but after some additional questions and conversation, Jo was able to signpost the couple to a local solicitor’s free wills service and offer them support to apply for the government granted Attendance Allowance. We also provided advice about equipment that could help with Ron’s daily personal care so that he can live more independently. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I was awarded a higher rate Attendance Allowance which was backdated to 2019.’ ‘We are delighted with the help we’ve had from Age Concern; things are looking much better for us now and we feel more positive. We’ve even got a new chair for Ron which really helps him and have got lots of extra bathroom equipment to help him and for getting in and out of bed too. All of it has made a huge difference to us both. We could not have done this without your help.’
Please apply with a CV or link to your linkedin profile and a short cover letter explaining why you want to Chair Age Well East and why you feel you are the right person to lead our charity. W.e will be considering all applications as they arrive and may close applications early
