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Trustee with Financial Expertise

Employer
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire
Location
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire - Main Office Cambourne, Cambs
Salary
Voluntary
Closing date
26 Sep 2022

View more

Sector
Charity and not for profit, Education, Environment, Board trustees
Salary band
Unremunerated
Contract type
Long term role
Hours
Part Time
Where will they be working?
Hybrid - mostly home

WT_LOGO_2013

Trustee with Financial Expertise

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is looking for a committed individual with an accountancy qualification to join our Council of Trustees, to complement the skills and experience of our existing trustees and influence the strategic direction of the organisation.

We work locally across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and we have a big mission - we want to stop nature's decline. WTBCN’s Council are the people responsible for providing leadership and direction for the management of the charity. The day to day running of WTBCN is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer. The Trust has full and part-time staff with offices in Bedford, Great Cambourne, and Northampton, and over 1,000 volunteers. It is helpful if the Trustees, like the staff and volunteers, have an interest in wildlife and environmental issues.

What we’re looking for

We are particularly interested in hearing from qualified accountants with a recognised accounting and finance qualification. Our current Treasurer’s tenure comes to end in late 2022 after fulfilling his term of office and we have identified his successor. Your role will be to communicate and explain financial information more generally, helping the Trustees make effective financial decisions. An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship is also desirable.

We are looking for people from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to help us deliver our vision and our commitment to inclusion. We welcome applications from a wide range of backgrounds and recognise the value of diversity of talents and perspectives in the successful leadership of the organisation.

Whilst a passion for wildlife is important, there is no requirement for specialist knowledge or experience of wildlife or conservation. You will be skilled in influencing, negotiating and networking and must act with prudence and integrity. You must be committed to our aims and able to be actively involved and contribute your skills to their delivery.

What’s in it for you? 

  • Become a Trustee and boost your career

Trustees are exposed to a wide range of skills needed to oversee a charity: strategy and business planning, governance, HR, finance, marketing, fundraising, evaluation, property law and more. It can be an effective way to build your skills, your network and your CV. 

  • Become a Trustee and give back to your community

As a Trustee, you can donate your skills, time and attention to a cause you love. Trustees are often drawn to a charity because they’re passionate about a particular cause, whether that’s something they're interested in or something they've experienced themselves.

  • Become a Trustee and share your skills, knowledge and experience

Everyone has something unique to offer a charity.

Before you apply

The Council of Trustees meets four times per year plus a strategy day. Apart from the strategy day our meetings are on Tuesday evenings and Trustees can attend in person or on-line. There are also two standing Committees: Resources Committee and Conservation, Education and Community Committee. Normally each Committee meets up to five times each year. Trustees normally join at least one of the Committees.  You will be expected to join the Resources Committee.

The Trustee role is voluntary and unpaid, although legitimate expenses are reimbursed, and represents an exciting opportunity to make a significant contribution to one of the country’s leading conservation charities. Trustees are required to become members of the Trust. We accept notification of interest from people considering becoming Trustees at any time throughout each year. Trustees are initially co-opted and then put forward to the Trust's AGM.

Diversity and equal opportunities

Diversity and inclusion are extremely important to us and we are committed to creating an environment where people from all backgrounds feel welcome, listened to, and valued. We encourage applications from people currently underrepresented in the environmental movement, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, people from working class backgrounds and LGBTQI+ people.

About The Wildlife Trust BCN

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire is a registered charity (and a company limited by guarantee), whose mission is to:

•          conserve local wildlife, by caring for land ourselves and with others;

•          inspire others to take action for wildlife; and

•          inform people, by offering advice and sharing knowledge.

We are among the largest and most effective of 46 Wildlife Trusts across Britain and we are a major contributor to the nationwide work of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. We currently manage over 100 nature reserves, covering almost 3,945 hectares, and two education centres.  Our work also includes the acquisition and application of information about biodiversity. The Trust’s turnover in 2021/22 was c. £7million and its capital assets more than £18 million, of which £14 million is classified as heritage assets. This Trust was the first to promote the concept of Living Landscapes: large-scale conservation schemes which aim to ensure that wildlife can thrive alongside the human population across an entire landscape.

Our conservation activity is increasingly focused on these Living Landscapes, including the first to be established - the Great Fen in Huntingdonshire – as well as the Ouse Valley, the Nene Valley and the North Chilterns Chalk.

The Trust’s annual report and accounts are posted on our website: Annual Reports and Accounts | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants (wildlifebcn.org)

The work of the Trust for the period 2020 -25 is outlined in “Our Wildlife Trust: The next five years” which can be found at: https://www.wildlifebcn.org/next-five-years.

To achieve the targets within this plan, the Trust is managed and directed by an Executive Board.

The Trust evolved from a group of committed volunteers, and volunteering is still central to its ethos. The working culture of the Trust encourages a professional approach, with a commitment and enthusiasm for nature and its conservation. Mutual respect and teamwork are highly prized among both staff and volunteers. In all its dealings the Trust tries to be fair but firm and in all its activities it aims to be environmentally responsible. Systems, processes and bureaucracy are kept to the necessary minimum for effective performance.

The Chief Executive reports to the Trust’s Council of up to 18 Trustees, who are elected annually from the membership (presently standing at almost 37,000).  Council and its two Committees (Conservation, Education & Community; and Resources) meet quarterly.  There are 100 staff members, with main offices in Bedford, Great Cambourne, and Northampton, and over 1,000 active volunteers. The Executive Board consists of the Chief Executive and the Directors. Reporting to the Executive Board is a team of senior managers.

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