Are you passionate about families and looking to make an impact? Baby Umbrella is an award-winning small charity offering breastfeeding and early parenting support to 1,000 families each year in West Kent. We are seeking a new Chair of Trustees.
Baby Umbrella is an award-winning small charity offering breastfeeding and early parenting support to over 1,000 families each year in West Kent. Our vision is for every family in West Kent to have access to skilled and compassionate support during their parenting journey. We are here to listen, support and empower parents to make the decisions that feel right for them and their babies.
Now in our fifth year, our Chair's term is coming to an end and we are looking to bring in an empowering leader who is passionate about the impact we make as a small charity to lead our board over the next phase of our development.
Baby Umbrella was founded in August 2020 and has experienced considerable growth and development in the past 3 years, reaching £100k of income and supporting 1,100 families per year with 1,600 specialist 1-1 appointments and 600 social visits. We were recognised in 2022 as the Kent Charity Awards Start-up Charity of the Year, and in 2023 and 2024 we were Highly Commended in the Kent Wellbeing Awards.
The next 3-5 years will see us entering a new phase, that of investment in our charity’s core systems and processes to further drive our income and enable us to bring services into additional parts of our community. We are committed to listening to all parts of our community and being creative about how to deliver the support they need from us.
Could you be the special person to join us as our Chair of Trustees and help us deliver this next phase when our current Chair’s term ends in September?
We see our Chair of Trustees as an enabler. You will set the tone for the culture of our board, empowering their diverse voices, supporting them to contribute to the charity as best they can, and bringing an understanding of and compassion for the families we serve. You will be a skilled leader, facilitating open discussion and encouraging listening. You will work closely with our charity management team to ensure we work best for our community. Previous experience of sitting on boards or committees as well as experience of the charity sector is essential to this role, however we welcome applications from those who have not chaired a board in the past and training will be provided.
Baby Umbrella makes a powerful and long lasting impact on families. For too many families, their experience of birth and early parenting is overwhelming and lacking in support. A baby’s first 1,000 days have a huge impact on their ability to grow, learn and thrive, so building family resilience and confidence in those first vulnerable weeks and months is critical. This work begins with supporting families.
We aim for all parents to feel seen, validated and supported in their journey. We have supported over 4,500 families over the past 2.5 years and receive recommendation rates of close to 100%. We make a significant difference in people’s lives at a time where they really need kindness and support.
Here is some recent feedback from families we have supported:
"Baby Umbrella has been an incredible support to me since having my baby boy. They listened, made me feel confident and reassured which I really appreciated."
"I am so grateful for the support of baby umbrella. I was unable to breastfeed my son and so when it came to my infant daughter, I felt very anxious and unsure about breastfeeding. It was also causing me pain. I attended a 1-1 appointment with the lactation consultant and it has helped massively! Been breastfeeding my daughter successfully since."
A message from our outgoing Chair of Trustees:
"After receiving phenomenal care from Baby Umbrella when my child was born, I wanted to give something back and agreed to take on the Chair of Trustees role. My background in leading and managing teams has helped support our amazing trustees and management committee in delivering some brilliant results. I encourage anyone who is passionate about helping others achieve to consider whether they could support Baby Umbrella in a similar way."
Please answer the following in your application:
1) What attracts you to work with Baby Umbrella charity?
2) What skills and experience do you bring that would be relevant to the role of Chair of Trustees at Baby Umbrella?
3) What values do you believe are essential for effective leadership, and how do you embody these values in your day-to-day work?
4) Can you share an example of a successful growth initiative or strategic project that you led, highlighting the strategic decisions you made, any challenges you encountered and the outcomes achieved?
Please apply through Reach. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete our additional application form.
