Charity Trustees x3 - posted Nov 24

The Role and What We Are Looking for in a New Trustee

We are looking to recruit 3 additional Trustees to increase the range of skills and experience on the Board. This is essential for us to make the best decisions for Home-Start Guildford and our families. There is no requirement for you to have been a trustee before, however, you do need to be passionate about improving the lives of children and the families we support. You will be good at working with others, ready to speak up and ask questions, be thoughtful and open to learning, and able to stand back to see the bigger picture. You must take the responsibilities of a Trustee seriously.

We are looking to better reflect the experiences of our community, to bring the skills and experiences of diverse Trustees to the Board. We are particularly interested in hearing from individuals with experience in areas such as marketing, fundraising, business strategy, governance, event planning, bid writing, local networks, IT, and media.

Trustees are the people who make the top-level decisions for our charity. Our Board includes people with experience and skills in early years, education, and business. We expect new trustees to have empathy with our cause and our beneficiaries. Support from local charity-support organisations is always available, and a full induction to our organisation will be provided, including access to external training.

If you can think strategically and plan long-term, you have the primary skills needed by our trustees. You’ll also need to be able to work collectively with other Board members. Support from our paid employees is always available, as they handle the day-to-day running of the organisation.

We are a charity, not a business, but we apply business principles to governing our organisation. We are looking for people from a variety of backgrounds to join our charity. We want to expand the diversity of our board in all meanings of the word and strongly welcome applications from people from less-represented groups.

We ask for about six hours of your time per month, and the ability to join face to face board meetings in Guildford that are usually held every 6-8 weeks on a Monday or Friday morning.

 

 

 

What does becoming a trustee involve?

As part of the trustee role, you will be expected to:

  • Attend, and prepare for, a minimum of six meetings per year.
  • Undergo a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
  • Undergo a selection process as outlined by Home-Start Guildford.
  • Commit to the legal and financial responsibilities of the role, as outlined in the charity’s Constitution (‘Foundation’ model constitution).
  • Visit and engage with the office and staff to enhance your understanding of how Home-Start Guildford works.

 

Training and Support?

Trustees are fully inducted into Home-Start before beginning their new role; they will receive:

  • An online welcome event and e-learning, introducing Home-Start’s service and your responsibilities.
  • Training in key areas including safeguarding.
  • Reimbursement of paid expenses.
  • Access to Home-Start’s online community via HSUK intranet – full of information and guidance on running a local Home-Start.
  • Tailored support by other trustees and staff.

 

What do you get as a volunteer trustee with our organisation?

  • An opportunity to exercise your strategic planning skills, probably in a different environment or context.
  • An opportunity to influence and collectively lead an organisation supporting families of young children.
  • A chance to expand and implement your understanding of our work.
  • A chance to augment your experience of charities.
  • A boost to your career and CV, if needed.
  • Satisfaction of helping an organisation that supports families, thus giving something back to your community.
  • Induction training from us; training, support, and assistance from local charity-support & advice agencies; reimbursement of reasonable expenses, if needed.

What do we get?

  • Your strategic skills, knowledge, understanding, or experience.
  • Your abilities to influence plans for our charity’s future, especially in this cost-of-living crisis.
  • Enhancement to our overall governance and the Board of trustees; improvement in our operational growth.
  • Your participation in our collective decision-making, contributing to all areas of our charity work.
  • Your enthusiasm.

All prospective volunteers must have the legal right to stay in the United Kingdom and you will be asked to produce evidence of this as part of the induction process.

 

For more information, please visit our website: Trustees | Home-Start Guildford.

Mission Statement

"There for parents when they need us most, because childhood can't wait"

Parents Supporting Other Parents - a simple idea that really works!

Home-Start Guildford has been supporting local families across the Guildford Borough for over 25 years. 

We're a non-judgemental organisations that helps local parents who are struggling, for any reason. Some of those reasons may include; multiple births, mental health, an abusive partner, isolation, mental or physical handicap, or the pressure that loss of employment brings to a family.

 

What we do

Our charity provides a preventative service that aims to support families who are struggling by offering regular volunteer support to parents with at least one child under the age of 5, usually referred to us by Health Visitors.

We provide one-to-one support for parents:
Our volunteers visit the family’s home for a couple of hours every week.  They tailor-make their support to the needs of the parents and children. Volunteers are very committed and will keep visiting until the youngest child turns five or starts school, or until the parents feel they can stand on their own two feet.  Parents and volunteers often develop a deeply trusting relationship which can lead to powerful change within the family.

We also run two family groups for referred families, one in the Pirbright Community Centre and the other in the Guildford Family Group, Hazel Avenue.

 

Our values

  • We offer families choice
  • We work in partnership - with each other, with families and with other agencies
  • We work in a spirit of openness, encouragement and enjoyment
  • We are flexible and responsive to the needs of families

 

Volunteering Opportunities 

There are several ways that you can help in a voluntary capacity:

  • by supporting a family as a Home-Visiting Volunteer
  • by helping at one of our Family Groups
  • by joining the Trustee Board
  • by becoming a Friend of Home-Start Guildford
  • by supporting us as a Digital / Office Volunteer

Please see the volunteer roles listed for more detail.