Trustee skilled in Change Management

What will you be doing?

Whether you have private, public or voluntary sector experience you are very likely to have seen significant changes in your workplace due to economic or financial pressures, innovation in systems and new technologies or political and social change.

Surrey Community Action (SCA) is looking for a Trustee with senior leadership and/or management experience to join our charity Board - which currently comprises 9 members. Together with our senior leadership team, we are in the process of re-shaping SCA for a new infrastructure charity role as the voice of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in Surrey.

Our first 75 years of service to communities across the County have involved the provision of infrastructure support services to smaller charities and partner organisations while also delivering specific community projects such as Good Neighbour Schemes and Rural Housing initiatives.

In the past SCA has typically been able to access grant funding for its core activities but the recent years of austerity in central and local government spending prompted the Board to commission a three-phased strategic review:

• Phase 1: we appointed consultants Shared Purpose to undertake a review of all our current activities and relationships with partners and stakeholders and to produce a new Strategy.
• Phase 2: the University of Surrey was then commissioned to conduct new research into the VCSE sector in Surrey, leading to publication of our "Bridges and Beacons" report in April 2026.
• Phase 3: re-branding of SCA will be undertaken alongside the transition in local government and Devolution as the new East Surrey and West Surrey Councils take over from the outgoing Surrey County Council and the 11 Boroughs and Districts.

Following his move from SCA to another leadership role, the departure of our former CEO has enabled the Board to recruit an interim CEO to oversee the appointment of his new permanent successor by the autumn of 2026. As a result our new CEO is able to complete the process of SCA's strategic review and in particular to oversee the formulation and implementation of Phase 3.

To support the new CEO and the Board through the widespread changes still to come with Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey - possibly including an elected Mayor - your experience and expertise in managing change will be vital. 

Collaborative relationships with our partners, together with a new ambassadorial approach in representing Surrey's VCSE sector to the County's future decision-makers, will make you an important and valuable asset in the make-up of SCA's Board of Trustees.

What are we looking for?

If you have ever had to re-invent yourself - either because you saw a "must-have" employment opportunity that was too good to miss, or because internal or external forces brought organisational change that led to redundancy or restructuring - there is little better than such lived experience to demonstrate that change can sometimes be an unexpectedly good thing.

That recognition generally comes through having been directly involved in change, accepting and embracing its benefits, then realising it's an unavoidable aspect of life that you can share with others as reassurance that change is natural and not to be feared.

Calmness under pressure and the knowledge that comes with life's experience will serve you especially well as a Trustee, as exemplified in this saying by Reinhold Niebuhr: "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

What difference will you make?

All Trustees are encouraged to use their specific skill sets and/or workplace experience and knowledge to benefit individual staff teams as well as for the organisation as a whole.

The benefits of such sharing are two-way, especially when we are openly receptive to learning from others, whether that is from colleagues on the Board or from the professionals employed at SCA.

The drivers and impact of change have become increasingly apparent at SCA as our traditional funding sources have diminished - so new, innovative income generation streams are sought on which to build our future. However, changes of some kind or another will never be far away - which is why we would welcome your own first-hand experience and knowledge of leadership through change. 

Before you apply

It is important for us to know your motivation in applying for this role. While supporting evidence of your professional background and experience of managing change will be clear from your application CV and covering letter, we place equal or greater value on your interest in, passion for and vision of the future possibilities at SCA that you can help to shape.

On receipt of your application message we'd like to offer you an informal conversation with our Chair of Trustees and a follow-up meeting (in-person or online) with our CEO or a member of the senior leadership team. The next step would be to attend our Board meeting as an observer, giving you the opportunity to decide whether to take on the full Trustee commitment, including registration at Companies House as a Director of Surrey Community Action's Board.