Thrive Together Birmingham Trustee Information

Thrive is seeking to recruit a new trustee to join our Board and support the sound operation and strategic development of the charity’s work. This is a voluntary role although expenses can be covered. The term of office is five years renewable for a further term.

Background to Thrive

Thrive is an independent Christian charity with close links to the Church of England Birmingham and a national charity, Church Urban Fund. We work in partnership with many organisations, of faith and none, across the Birmingham diocese, which includes Birmingham, Solihull, Smethwick and North Warwickshire. The charity’s aim is to play its part in addressing issues of poverty and working alongside others to improve the quality of life for people living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Through our partnership with Church Urban Fund, Thrive is part of the Together Network of 15 similar organisations working in different regions across the country.

As a registered charity and limited company Thrive’s trustees provide robust governance and good strategic leadership to enable our CEO and Senior Development Worker to continue the development of Thrive. Since it was established in 2013 the charity has grown in the range of work it delivers and its reputation in Birmingham and the wider region. We are therefore looking for individuals with the expertise to guide us through the next stage of Thrive’s life.

This role on the Board of Trustees is a great opportunity to play a significant part in ensuring Thrive continues to make an impact on the lives of people experiencing poverty in communities across the diocese of Birmingham including Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull and North Warwickshire and to help us in our effort to build stronger communities across the region.

Role description

Trustees work with the Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Development Worker to ensure the sound governance of the charity so that the staff team can develop and deliver a broad programme of work.

This is largely achieved through four Board meetings a year with two additional finance meetings and a Trustee Away Day. Trustees will also be expected to use their particular areas of expertise to support the Chair of the Board and Thrive staff team between meetings on a more informal basis.

Key priorities for Thrive in the coming years are to

  • develop effective monitoring and evaluation processes
  • enhance our communication and marketing capacity and systems

Therefore we are particularly seeking trustees who can offer the skills and expertise to help us with these challenges but we are also keen to strengthen our capacity in ICT and digital skills, Human Resources and fundraising and broaden our links into wider and diverse networks that can support and enhance our work.

A major priority for Thrive trustees is to build our understanding of race and other diversity issues and we particularly want to ensure that the leadership of our organisation supports our anti-racist work and practices. We are keen to ensure that where possible our Board of trustees reflect the communities we serve and can draw on the widest range of life experiences and skills. Therefore we particularly welcome applicants from under represented communities particularly those from a black or minority ethnic background who bring the skills and experiences to support us to achieve our aspirations to become a major West Midlands charity impacting on issues of poverty and community building in our region.

Trustees will be required to undertake DBS checks and Safeguarding training

How to apply

To apply please send your CV together with a covering letter summarising your motivations for applying for the role and the particular skills, experience and attributes you will bring to the role for the attention of David Tomlinson to info@thrivetogetherbham.org

For a conversation about the role please feel free to contact David Tomlinson david.tomlinson@stpaulsjq.church

The closing date for applications is 30th November

Trustees will consider all applications and may invite some applicants to meet with them to explore their application and to enable the applicant to meet with members of the Thrive Board of trustees to explore the role further and for both parties to decide on their suitability for the role.