Trustee/Treasurer

About South Kilburn Trust

Established in 2009, South Kilburn Trust is a locally focused place-based charity, born of and central to the regeneration of South Kilburn in London, one of the most deprived areas in England. Our role is to understand and champion the needs of South Kilburn’s diverse communities and provide spaces, services, opportunities and support that enable them to thrive. We do this principally through The Granville, our multi-purpose community space in the heart of South Kilburn, providing a range of services, activities and events - co-working spaces, an enterprise hub, venue hire, recording studios, sports, health and wellbeing, music production, games and crafts.

South Kilburn’s communities face many challenges: of the four local neighbourhoods within the area, all are in the 20 per cent most deprived areas across England; almost half of the adult population are not in work, with employment rates low among disabled residents, Muslim residents, women, and those from Black and Minority Ethnic groups (BME groups make up 40 per cent of the population, with a high proportion of young people under 25). Almost one third of residents do not speak English as their main language, a significant percentage have disabilities or long-term health problems, and numbers of one parent and one person households are high.

The Trust is at a crucial point in its development – our key asset, The Granville, is under re-construction and when redevelopment works are complete (expected 2024/2025), we will take control of our new flagship centre, The Carlton and Granville, with 1,410 sq./m of community- and workspace across four buildings, significantly amplifying the Trust’s social, educational and economic impact. We are in a strong position and are well resourced financially, but there is much to do to ensure our future growth, success and impact - we need to manage multiple stakeholder relationships, clarify and communicate our purpose, develop alternative income streams, implement a trading company, and build strong operations for our new flagship centre.

2023 has therefore been a year of reorganising and refocusing. Whilst we have had to pause much of our activity, we are planning bigger and better things for the future and engaging with our communities and stakeholders to ensure that we are ready to deliver our much-needed services when our new centre opens. Our core team (Chief Executive and a team of Community Engagement, Partnerships and Marketing staff) is also working with our newly-established Community Steering Group to build stronger relationships with all parts of the South Kilburn community – providing feedback, information on community needs and insight to the Board.

About the Role - Treasurer

The Treasurer will oversee the financial affairs of the Trust, including risk and strategy, ensuring the charity is effective, fit for purpose and within accepted accounting practice. The Treasurer will work with the Trust’s Auditors to produce the annual report and accounts and with the Chief Executive to support the delivery and reporting of day-to-day financial operations.

About You

You’re likely to be able to demonstrate experience of, or aptitude for much of the following:

• Experience of financial management and accounting.
• A commitment to supporting and advocating the Trust and its values - acting as an ambassador for the Trust, telling its story and explaining the value of its work.
• A willingness to devote necessary time and effort required for the role, preparing for and attending meetings plus occasional strategy reviews/away days and special events.
• An understanding of strategy and an ability to contribute actively in giving strategic direction to the Trust, setting overall policy, defining goals and setting targets, ensuring effective delegation, control and risk management systems are in place, obtaining assurance and evaluating performance.
• The ability to exercise independent judgement.
• A willingness to speak their mind.
• The ability to work effectively as a member of a team.
• The ability to apply specific skills, knowledge or experience to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions - scrutinising board papers, leading discussions, and providing advice and guidance on issues in which the Trustee has special expertise.
• An understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of Trustees.
• A commitment to Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

You may also have:

• A financial qualification.
• Experience in a leadership role within a charity, social enterprise or local authority.
• Board/committee experience.
• Sector knowledge of property and asset management, workspaces and venue hire.
• A connection to the local community of South Kilburn, or to our mission, or the communities we serve.

We’ve got an open mind as to who this trustee might be. If you can bring the skills and experience we are looking for, and you believe in our mission, we’d love to hear from you.

We are committed to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and are looking to identify a wide and diverse field of suitable candidates. Given the demographics of the community we serve, we’d particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds and those from other groups often under-represented on boards – younger candidates, people with disabilities, and the LGBT community.