New Trustees: Inner Circle Educational Trust
The Inner Circle Educational Trust is a charity focussing on improving the educational chances of young people in the Camden area who are, or have been, in care. With an initial fund of circa £1 million, we have developed a scheme of intensive support for two groups of young people over a number of years to give them the best possible chance of succeeding in higher education.
We are now looking for new trustees with fresh perspectives.
The scheme will launch later this year and our new trustees will have a major part to play in making it successful.
We are looking for people who have:
A strong belief that higher education should be available to all who have the interest and ability to succeed, regardless of their circumstances
A strong belief that well designed, targeted support will remove the barriers to success that can hold back some young people with experience of being in care
We welcome expressions of interest from anyone who shares our vision, whatever your background but we are particularly keen to hear from you if:
You have been in the care system yourself
You have been in the care system yourself and completed a degree course
You have worked with looked after young people; the more recently, the better
You are, or have been, a secondary school teacher
You are a lawyer or accountant
You do not have to have been a trustee before. You must be at least 18 and though we cannot pay you for your time we can pay your expenses.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
We ask you to commit to 4 – 5 meetings a year. You will need to read papers in advance of meetings and be ready to raise questions and identify issues.
You will be expected to volunteer for tasks at these meetings and to carry them out within an agreed timescale, reporting back on the results
Together with the other trustees, you would be required by law to ensure the good standing of the Charity. This means, to make sure the charity is always working towards its charitable objects (does what it was set up to do and only what it was set up to do; nothing else). To do this, all Trustees must
Agree an appropriate strategy
manage the money properly
assess and manage the risks to the charity
ensure that the charity complies with charity law, the requirements of the Charity Commission and the law more generally
satisfy all relevant financial regulations, accounting and reporting requirements (with professional advice)
follow the charity’s own rules (laid out in the Articles of Association)
act always in the best interests of the charity and manage any real or potential conflicts between the best interests of the charity and those of its trustees.
Protect equally the interests of current beneficiaries and those of the future.
A Trustee Board has collective responsibility i.e. you must act as a team and work together effectively, contributing your skills and expertise as appropriate and seeking to build consensus with your fellow Trustees.
You must act according to the Principles of Public Life (sometimes called the Nolan Principles) that is, you must act selflessly, with integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and show leadership.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
You share our belief in the power of education to transform lives
Ideally, you fulfil one of the personal requirements we are looking for:
you have been in the care system yourself
you have been in the care system yourself and completed a degree course
you have worked with looked after young people; the more recently, the better
you are, or have been, a secondary school teacher
you are a lawyer or accountant
You must be able to commit to the time requirements of the role:
4 – 5 meetings a year, held in the day time
Able to pick up follow on actions that could take up to 12 hours, whenever you wish, following each meeting
You are willing to be a charity trustee and have at least a basic understanding of the key responsibilities and requirements
TO APPLY
Please send your CV with a short note about why you are interested in the role to info@innercircle.org.uk