Would you like to make a real difference to your local community?
Do you want to support the running of a longstanding and highly-effective charity that provides free, confidential and impartial advice in Reading?
Citizens Advice Reading is a local independent charity which has been giving free, confidential and impartial advice to the people of Reading for 85 years.
We are governed and managed locally, and we are also part of the National Association of Citizens Advice, which sets quality standards and campaigns on social policy.
Our trustee Board sets the strategy and direction of our charity, deciding policies and providing overall leadership. In 2022-23, our financial turnover was £770k, a rise on previous years.
The role and what we are looking for in a new trustee
We are now looking for three new Trustees to join and strengthen our Board. In particular, we are looking for specific knowledge or skills in one of the following areas of specialism:
Prior experience of charity trusteeship would be welcomed but is not essential, as full induction will be provided, plus access to external training.
If you can think strategically and plan long-term, you have the primary skills needed; you’ll also need to be able to work collectively with other Board members. Support from our paid employees is always available, as they will be dealing with the day-to-day running of the organisation.
We are a charity not a business, but we apply business principles to governing our organisation. We are looking for people from a variety of backgrounds to join our charity. We want to expand the diversity of our board, and strongly welcome applications from people from less-represented groups.
The focus of a trustee role is strategic, and trustees will not be expected to get involved in the organisation’s operations on a day-to-day basis; however, regular contact and liaison with other trustees and employees is expected.
We ask for approx. six hours of your time per month, which includes all meetings, discussions, etc. You will need secure access to digital communications, as most of our charity’s governance is run that way.
Here is some of what we would expect from our trustees. We know that you may also need training and support from our employees, from other trustees and from external organisations, and that that will be forthcoming, as necessary, to build on any area.
What do we get?
What do our beneficiaries get?
What do YOU get as a volunteer trustee with our organisation?
A detailed Role Description & Skills Specification can be made available to you upon request.
Your CV or similar will be read by our trustees; an interview offered to candidates as soon as mutually convenient.
Appointments are subject to two satisfactory references.
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This appointment is being managed for us by inVOLve Community Services, a charity-support organisation, who offer more information and can arrange to have a no-obligation initial informal discussion (Teams/Zoom/phone) with you at your convenience to assist your application.
