Chair

3-7 hours / week Board meetings every two months 6-8pm + subcommittee work, A unique opportunity to lead a highly-regarded local organisation with 50+ years success in enabling people to make a difference, improve their lives, the lives of others, and the places in which they live

What will you be doing?

Although Kensington & Chelsea (K&C) is known as a desirable and prosperous London borough, it has wards that are amongst the poorest and most deprived in the country. This diversity of circumstance and experience is reflected in our work and those we work with.

Promoting volunteering as a force for personal and social good, the Volunteer Centre is deeply rooted in our local community. Our offices are located in the heart of North Kensington and we work primarily in K&C, operating throughout the borough and offering our services to local residents and organisations. The Volunteer Centre functions both as an infrastructure organisation, working with other public benefit groups, and as a direct delivery organisation supporting people directly on a one-to-one basis. It is built around a volunteer brokerage and support service, giving people inside and outside the borough the tools and opportunities to volunteer in K&C. We also help public benefit organisations to recruit volunteers and make the most of the volunteer time offered to them.

We are a trusted destination for people from every part of our community, including those who experience significant barriers to volunteering. Our core service is supplemented by specialist-support programmes tailored to the requirements of clients who experience those additional barriers to access and inclusion:

· InsideOut, which supports adults with criminal records and forensic mental health diagnoses in their rehabilitation and resettlement across London

· Wellbeing, which supports disabled and learning-disabled people, many with complex needs, and those experiencing moderate to severe mental ill-health

· New Opportunities, which supports the most marginalised and vulnerable local residents into work, training, volunteering or work experience, through individually tailored programmes. Clients vary from teenagers to those close to retirement, the long-term unemployed and those who have never experienced paid employment.

Our team takes the time to get to know and understand each person, investing in building their capacity to make informed choices and plan their own development using training, mentoring, coaching, group-work, placements, and work trials.

We also run the Community & Maternity Champions programme for the Notting Dale ward, a resident-led prevention and early-help intervention focused on health and housing outcomes, Our Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity, developing its aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the charity's governing documents, legal and regulatory obligations and guidance. The trustees are also the company directors of the organisation. The Board supports the Volunteer Centre's work and provides mission-driven leadership and strategic governance as well as financial oversight. Trustees are also responsible for taking reasonable safeguarding steps to protect from harm people who come into contact with the Centre, including clients and staff (whether paid or unpaid). We are therefore seeking the following practical and professional experience and skills for our new Chair:

• Strategic development and planning and/or


• Financial management and/or


• Legal environment for charities, in particular HR and safeguarding


In addition to the responsibilities common to all trustees of the Volunteer Centre, the Chair will have particular responsibility for the following:

• Leadership


• Clarity of Purpose and Considered Decision-Making


• Constructive Relationships


• Cohesive Board
  
  Financial management


• Governance


• Strategic development and planning, In addition to qualities needed by all trustees of the Volunteer, the Chair will ideally have:


• Leadership experience and experience of committee work


• Emotional intelligence, tact and diplomacy


• Good interpersonal and listening skills


• Experience of supervising staff and building consensus


• Ability to see the "big picture" and focus on solutions


• Understanding of governance and awareness of the roles and responsibilities of Trustees


• Motivation to keep informed of current trends in the voluntary, statutory and private sectors


• A degree of flexibility in order to attend regular evening and occasional daytime meetings on behalf of the VCKC


• Willingness to spend time building connections to advance the organisation, for instance potential partners in the voluntary, statutory and private sector to promote volunteering and income development
  
  Since 2017 our work has been delivered in the context of the community's ongoing response to the fire at Grenfell Tower (located in the Notting Dale ward), the wide-reaching challenges of the pandemic, hundreds of newly arrived residents following international upheavals, and the hardships brought about by the Cost of Living crisis, all driving increased rates of poverty and inequality in the borough.


A new Chair will lead the Board in deciding how the Volunteer Centre responds to these challenges and others to come - and shape its future to ensure it continues to enable positive change in K&C