1) About Citizens Advice Kensington & Chelsea
We provide free, confidential and impartial advice and campaign on big issues affecting people’s lives.
Our goal is to help everyone find a way forward, whatever problem they face.
Kensington & Chelsea is a borough of extreme contrasts, with both some of the wealthiest and most deprived areas of the country. In North Kensington there are more than 6,000 children and young people living in poverty, with rates of child poverty in three wards higher than both national and London averages. Unemployment and underemployment are significant issues, with more than 5,000 people unemployed, and more than 3,000 people claiming in work benefits. North Kensington is also home to Grenfell Tower, which remains a focus of our work, and HMP Wormwood Scrubs where we have provided advice to inmates for over 30 years.
Last year we fielded over 10,000 enquiries and helped more than 3.500 local people gain almost £2.3 million of support. We see a particularly high number of enquiries related to cost-of-living issues including claiming welfare benefits, managing their money and debts, and getting housing support.
We have a team of 17 staff, around 30 volunteers and operate with a budget circa £1 million. We are a member of both the national Citizens Advice charity and London Citizens Advice, and we contribute to regional and national research and campaign work to improve people’s lives.
2) What will you be doing?
Becoming a Trustee is really rewarding, enabling you to give back to the community, as well as a great way to develop your strategic and leadership skills, put existing experience to use and a fantastic opportunity to learn new things from others. As a member of our Trustee Board, you will share responsibility for deciding how Citizens Advice K&C is run. Our Trustee roles are performed on a voluntary basis.
• Strategy: you will work together with our other trustees to set our strategic direction and, with our management team, to deliver the business plan to ensure we continue to meet the evolving needs of our clients, the targets set out by our funders and our charitable objectives.
• Oversight: you will develop and maintain an awareness of how Citizens Advice Kensington & Chelsea operates and set performance targets to monitor the service we deliver to our clients and our financial position
• Governance: you will become a trustee and director of Citizens Advice Kensington and Chelsea and attend and actively participate in our quarterly board meetings
• Compliance: you’ll work with our other Trustees and team to ensure that we meet our legal and regulatory requirements
• Advocacy: you’ll act as an advocate for our clients and support our core missions of advice and advocacy
3) What difference will you make?
Becoming a Trustee at Citizens Advice K&C offers a fulfilling and rewarding experience:
• Positive Impact: your time, skills and experience will make a positive impact for people in your local area by ensuring that Citizens Advice K&C remains a well-run organisation meeting our charitable objectives and doing the best possible work for our beneficiaries, staff, volunteers, and funders
• Personal contribution: you will have the opportunity to use your skills and experience in a variety of ways, ranging from contributing to Citizens Advice K&C’s strategy to working with our team on specific projects or policies
• Develop skills: you will gain experience to develop your governance, leadership and strategic skills
• Build relationships: you will meet new people and build relationships with our Trustees, staff and volunteers
4) What are we looking for?
We are interested in hearing from candidates with relevant experience across skills such as finance, fundraising, strategy, legal, change and / or service delivery and people leadership. We typically look for a minimum of three years relevant experience gained in the private, public or third sector. Your experience might also include skills gained through volunteering or your own personal experiences.
We welcome applications from people of all ages, backgrounds who are passionate about the Citizens Advice service.
As a trustee you will need to:
• Understand and accept the responsibilities that come with being a trustee
• Have the ability to think strategically and exercise good independent judgement
• Come with an open mind and be non-judgmental, respecting views, values and cultures that are different to your own
• Collaborate with trustees, staff and volunteers to support Citizens Advice Kensington & Chelsea to deliver its service to our clients and community
• Have good listening, spoken and written communication skills
• Be willing to learn about Citizens Advice Kensington and Chelsea’s mission, services and clients. You’ll also need to complete mandatory training modules, including Trustee induction, and continuous learning appropriate to your role
• Value inclusion - Citizens Advice is a charity that believes in equity and diversity, and we believe that an inclusive and diverse Trustee Board will help us achieve our aims. We particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector: people of colour, LGBTQ+ and disabled people.
5) How much time do you need to give?
Trustee boards meet quarterly in the evenings, and you’ll likely need to give approximately 4 hours per quarter for this. There are typically two further meeting a quarter, usually held remotely via Teams. Additionally, we would hope that you will get involved in specific projects and attend an annual trustee “away day”. We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.
We welcome applications from people of all ages, backgrounds and experience who are passionate about the Citizens Advice service. Your experience might include employment, volunteering or your own personal experiences outside of this. As a Trustee you’ll need to have good judgement and be able to work in a team.
We are especially interested in applicants with governance, campaigning and HR interest or expertise.
If you would like to discuss your interest in the role, or any aspect of our work, we encourage you to please contact Trustee Joy Rhoades on [email protected], Joy will be pleased to speak with you.
We are also seeking a Chair or Co-chair. Please see separate advertisement.