Freelance Treasurer
Job Description
Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education, is seeking new Trustees to join our Board in November 2023 including a Treasurer. The Board, which currently has eleven members, holds four meetings a year and an annual away day. The process for recruitment is led by the Nominations Committee.
Engage works towards supporting visual arts participation and engagement, directly working with that workforce. Our mission is that ‘everyone has the opportunity to engage with visual arts in ways that enrich their lives.’
We achieve this through:
- Training the workforce.
- Diversifying the workforce.
- Increasing the profile and visibility of members’ practice.
- Providing opportunities for members to debate and shape practice.
- Leading sector advocacy
The Board is seeking candidates for Treasurer with particular expertise in Charity Finance.
Please note that the deadline for applications Monday 16 October 2023, 9:00am.
Person specification
The role of the Treasurer is to maintain an overview of the organisation’s affairs and ensure its financial viability in line with good practice and in accordance with the governing document and legal requirements.
The Treasurer will ensure that proper financial records and procedures are maintained and report regularly to the Board on the above. We seek a finance professional with Charity SORP knowledge and experience, with enthusiasm for and commitment to visual arts education.
As Treasurer you will need to demonstrate knowledge of Charity Finance and SORP and have experience of interpreting accounts for non-financial colleagues. You do not need to have had prior charity board experience as we can support your induction and training.
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Who are the charity’s Trustees?
Engage, The National Association for Gallery Education, is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.
The Board has between six and eighteen members (currently eleven). The key roles are Chair, Vice Chairs, and Treasurer, and Board champions aligned with our projects.
All members are unpaid, non-executive Directors of the Limited Company. Though these positions are voluntary, expenses may be reimbursed for travel and accommodation to attend in person Board meetings and away days and for loss of earnings for those working as freelancers.
Engage is also a registered charity, so Board members are also Trustees and subject to charity law.
The Board is supported by a small professional staff team led by the Director.
The roles and responsibilities of the Engage Board
The Board of Trustees is critical in setting and overseeing Engage’s mission and working with the executive team to lead on and enact the vision for the organisation’s future. You don’t have to have previous experience as a Board member or Trustee or be from an arts or culture background.
What we do want are diverse, enthusiastic and committed applicants who believe in the fundamental value of arts and culture, and who are able to apply their skills and life experience to this dynamic organisation.
The role of the Board is to provide leadership, continuity of purpose and accountability. The primary duty of Trustees is to act with honesty and good faith in the best interests of the organisation.
The Board’s duties also include:
- Agreeing policy
- Setting budgets and approving annual accounts
- Employing and supporting staff
- Advocacy and fundraising
- Monitoring performance against aims and objectives
- Financial, legal and charitable governance responsibilities
Our Board members will:
- Act as an advocate for Engage
- Can operate as an effective Board member at formal meetings and to discuss, listen to, evaluate and have respect for different views
- Be willing and able to make time to attend quarterly Board meetings and annual away day
- Be prepared to offer advice and expertise in their specialist areas
- Be willing to participate in additional meetings, events and interviews from time to time
- Attempt to remain aware of developments in the fields relevant to the organisation
- Be loyal to Board decisions and maintain confidentiality
- Serve the organisation rather than a particular interest group within it
- Support senior staff
- Avoid conflict of interest in relation to any matters of personal interest
- Adherence to the Nolan principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership
Minimum time commitment
The minimum time commitment for Trustees is four daytime meetings per year, which currently take place online and each last up to three hours. There is also an annual away day for the Board and lasts approximately four hours, which is hybrid and in a venue with excellent public transport routes from across the UK.
In addition, you will need time in advance of meetings to read papers and to think about how to gather further information at the meeting.
As Treasurer you will also attend a further four daytime online Finance Committee meetings (approximately one hour) per year, usually two weeks prior to the main Board meeting. You will also need time in advance to read papers. You will Chair the Finance Committee meeting.
Trustees are expected to:
- Attend and actively contribute to every Engage Board meeting by reading papers ahead of the meetings
- If you wish, volunteer to be part of additional Committees, these meet online up to four times a year and include Nominations Committee (concerned with Trustee recruitment) and Development Committee (focused on diversifying the income of Engage, particularly through trusts, foundations and partnerships with Higher Education Institutions and corporate organisations.)
- Support Engage at online or in-person events by attending these e.g. the online Annual General Meeting c one hour long.
- Support the staff team where possible with specific activities such as: preparation of key funding applications; the review of policies and procedures; support with the recruitment of staff or selection for awards, grants or bursaries as part of Engage’s activities
A term on the Engage Board of Trustees is three years. Retiring Trustees are eligible for re-election but will not normally serve for more than two terms of appointment consecutively.
Board Diversity and Inclusivity
We need our Board of Trustees to be representative of our members, the artists and arts professionals we work with, and the wider arts and cultural workforce. We therefore strongly encourage applications from people who identify as being from any of the following groups, which are currently underrepresented on our Board: Black, Asian, Ethnic Minority, LGBTQ+, deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, from lower socio-economic backgrounds or who represent a less-advantaged group.
Support for new and less experienced Trustees is provided through training and mentoring and we are committed to making any necessary adjustments for Trustees with a health condition or impairment.
About Engage
Engage is the leading charity for promoting engagement and participation in the visual arts. Through advocacy, research and training we help ensure the quality, inclusivity and relevance of engagement and participation opportunities across the UK. We are a UK-wide organisation with regional coordinators at Engage Cymru and Engage Scotland. Engage was established as a membership organisation in 1989 and currently has 750 members in the UK and internationally.
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How to apply
Having a range of perspectives and lived experiences on the Board, helps the Board remain innovative, relatable and agile to adapt to changing environments.
If you feel your skills and experience might match a Trustee role at Engage, we encourage you to apply. Please submit your CV to
re*********@en****.org
9:00am on Monday 16 October 2023, and complete our short online application form and monitoring form.
Should you need application details in another format please contact
in**@en****.org
.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to meet with representatives of the Board online on the morning of Friday 27 October.
If you would like to discuss this role in confidence, please email Jane Sillis, Director, at
ja*********@en****.org
.
How to Apply
Please apply via Engage website: https://engage.org/jobs/engage-trustee-role-description-voluntary-position/75 total views, 0 today