Trustee, mySociety

We are recruiting for new Trustees to join the board of mySociety.

As a Trustee, you’ll help us engage with fascinating and challenging opportunities around expanding the scope of our impact, in responsible and equitable ways. You'll also be able to apply your leadership skills and experience towards the growth and development of a unique charity. 

If those are goals that motivate you in the way they motivate our staff and volunteers, we would love to hear from you.

What does the role involve?

Trustee of mySociety is a rewarding role, requiring an appropriate level of commitment and time.

• You'll work closely with your fellow trustees and the Chief Executive to decide upon the organisation’s priorities, approve and help set budgets and strategy; and you'll be able to represent the organisation amongst your peers and the wider sector.

• You'll be required to attend quarterly board meetings. These are mostly held virtually, but we hold some in-person meetings, and these take place in London. If access to these could present a problem, we will always accommodate remote participation.

• We'll expect you to handle the emails, actions and documents that come out of meetings  — this is a commitment of a few hours each month at most.

• Occasionally, unfolding events may require your input as they arise, with varying degrees of urgency. For example, time sensitive queries being referred to the board for comment will ideally be processed within a timeframe that prevents lengthy hold-ups for staff. 

• You’ll be welcome to join us at our annual retreat, and events such as TICTeC (The Impacts of Civic Technology Conference) — again, these return to an in-person format after having shifted online during the pandemic, but we are committed to continuing to provide remote access alongside all 'real life' activities.

What we’re looking for in a trustee

As a trustee, you’ll work closely with your fellow trustees, the Chief Executive, and the senior management of mySociety to help shape and direct the growth and development of an influential and impactful global charity. 

We are currently particularly looking for trustees who can bring one or more of the following:

• FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCE with relevant connections, to help us raise our profile and deliver our fundraising objectives.

• An interest in championing TRANSPARENCY and FREEDOM OF INFORMATION to help us make the most of our strengths in this area.

• Familiarity with the CLIMATE sector, to help us make strategic partnerships and grow our impact on this pressing challenge.

• Experience in CAMPAIGNING AND ADVOCACY work, to help us get democratic institutions to meet citizens’ needs. 

• FINANCIAL ACUMEN and willingness to chair our Finance & Planning Committee.

• Experience in ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT to support us in being a brilliant place to work with an inclusive and equitable organisational culture.

We believe that the right trustees for us will:

• be passionate about our mission with a vision for the impact that mySociety can have. [Essential] 

• be an advocate for democracy, and/or care deeply about the climate emergency, and/or understand the vital importance of transparency, and/or see the possibilities in community. [Essential]

• understand a little about the potential of data, digital technologies and research in our areas of operation, even if you don't have direct experience with them. [Essential]

• be comfortable representing mySociety publicly and be prepared to speak on our behalf from time to time. [Desirable]

• have an empathy and understanding of the democracy world along with a desire to energise citizens to act. [Desirable]

• be willing to put in a little time learning about the organisation's history and culture. [Essential] 

• have experience with digital-first, remote-working, organisations of our size. [Desirable]

All trustees are required to ensure that the charity is well-run, solvent, operating within the law, and making the right strategic decisions. Information from the Charity Commission on trustees' legal responsibilities can be found here: gov.uk/guidance/charity-trustee-whats-involved. 

As a charity that handles personal data and Freedom of Information requests, we are also regulated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Ultimately, trustees are responsible for ensuring the organisation is compliant with current Data Protection law. Systems and processes are in place within the organisation to ensure that responsibilities under this law are met. 

We are interested in appointing trustees from a range of diverse occupational and personal backgrounds. 

Trustee roles are voluntary and therefore unpaid, but reasonable expenses will of course be covered. 

Are you and mySociety made for each other?

We suspect that if you have read this far, you’ll already know whether mySociety sounds like the sort of organisation you’d be keen to join. You may also be interested in finding out about our existing board members.

Importantly …

• We want to bring trustees and NEDs on board from a range of diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Our tools are used by multiple, intersecting demographics, and the composition of our board of trustees who set the strategic direction of our organisation should reflect this reality. 

• Even if you do not fulfil every requirement outlined above, we’d encourage you to apply for this role – we are committed to nurturing and aiding the development of our board members. 

• If there are any barriers to either participating in the recruitment process or delivering aspects of the role itself, which you feel might exclude you from applying, then please contact us. We are keen that our processes are inclusive and that we do not miss out on great candidates.

How to apply

To apply for the position of Trustee, mySociety, please include your CV and covering letter outlining why you are interested in the role and what you will bring to it.

We are monitoring our recruitment processes to ensure we are doing everything we can to encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We would ask you to please complete our optional equalities monitoring form. The information you share in the form will be anonymous and will not influence the assessment of your application. We will shortlist all applications anonymously. So please use your initials rather than your name on your CV and cover letter, and don’t include identifying details such as your name or email addresses on these attached documents.