About the role
A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join the Smart Works Newcastle Board of Trustees as a Shadow Trustee, someone who can gain experience from the current board in an advisory role. This is great progression into an official trustee role. (A Trustee is a legal term for anyone in a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of others.)
The Shadow Trustee will support in raising the profile of the Smart Works Newcastle service with the aim of helping younger clients aged 16-25 access the service, advocating for and being the voice of young people, helping shape the service to appeal to the younger demographic offering insight and advice. You really need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of a younger person and give that perspective.
This will enable us to continue to deliver our core service and increase the number of women we can support into work by dressing and coaching women for interview and job success.
This is a brilliant development opportunity for someone with the aspiration and potential to become an advocate for young people in the Northeast.
The time commitment for this voluntary, unpaid role is an average of equivalent of around two days per month, with more time given at busy periods of the year, we are flexible to fit around other commitments. There will be a requirement to attend board meetings four times per year (they are usually 3 hours) and share ideas with the staff team, join board meetings, take part in discussions and inform decision-making. There may also be some mini projects which may or may not include sitting on a working group from time to time. We also run brilliant events around fashion, support, coaching and sales which you can get involved in.
You won’t be thrown in at the deep end and you’d be given support and coaching by the experienced Trustees.
If you feel you have valuable experience and skills to contribute to the Smart Works mission and would like to develop your career and experience in the charity sector and speak for younger people, we would love to hear from you.
General Duties of Smart Works Trustee
- Work with the Chair of the Board of Trustees to ensure the centre is well-run and governed effectively.
- Provide support to determine the strategic direction of the Centre.
- Advocate for the Centre, raising its profile and the awareness of the Smart Works service in the geographic area.
- Build strong working relationships with the Chair, fellow trustees, staff, volunteers and supporters.
- Work in a small team and tailor strong interpersonal and communication skills to all levels of seniority.
Personal Specification
The successful applicant is not required to have any experience just the willingness to support our Smart Works mission.It is a fantastic opportunity to learn from and be mentored by the current board who will support and nurture them. The successful applicant will need to be enthusiastic and able to communicate and share their ideas effectively.
They will be a voice for young people in the service. They should be able to advise us from a young person’s perspective on things like clothing offer, socials and outreach.
As this is a voluntary, unpaid role it requires a self-starting and proactive approach with the capacity and time to challenge, engage and contribute to the work of the Board in a positive manner.
It is essential that all applicants believe in the mission of Smart Works and align with our core values, share a commitment to fairness and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, acting at all times with honesty and integrity.
Smart Works particularly welcomes applications that will represent our diverse client groups and candidates with lived experience of unemployment, to increase the representation of our client groups within the Charity.
Learn more and how to apply
If you are interested in learning more about the role before applying, please email recruitment@smartworks.org.uk to be connected with a member of the Smart Works Newcastle Board of Trustees.
To apply for this position, please send a CV and covering note to recruitment@smartworks.org.uk by 4th October 2024.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview w/c 14th October. From this, selected candidates will meet with the Smart Works Charity CEO for appointment.
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