Trustee with Legal Experience

Organisation Overview:

We have been successfully supporting people into homes and communities across West Yorkshire since 1972. We are a registered charity working to prevent homelessness. Each year we support around 1,000 of the most marginalised people, including young people, families and children. We do this by providing supported accommodation and floating support to individuals, couples and families in the form of emergency 24-hour accommodation, small group homes, shared houses and single and family tenancies in the community. Our services include outreach street support for people sleeping rough and supported accommodation for people living with drug and alcohol dependence, mental and physical ill-health, criminal justice involvement and domestic abuse.

Role Details:

Time commitment: Four quarterly meetings per year minimum (each meeting is two hours) and the Annual General Meeting and one strategic planning day.

Attendance: In person at TLA Central Office, 4 Ashbrooke Business Park, Leeds, LS11 5SF.

Role Description:

The Board of Trustees are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of your organisation.

Being a trustee means making sure that the charity is carrying out the purposes for which it was set up, and supporting the charity in planning for a successful future. It means ensuring that the organisation abides by the law, manages its assets properly and safeguards the organisation’s reputation. Trustees don’t usually do the day-to-day running of the charity. Instead, they play the role of a ‘critical friend’ to the Chief Executive by giving support and advice.

Remuneration: The role of Trustee is not accompanied by any financial remuneration, although expenses for travel may be claimed.

Reporting to: Membership of TLA

Job Description

To be a Trustee/Director of an organisation is an exciting and fulfilling role. The role of a Trustee/Director is to ensure that TLA fulfils its duty to its beneficiaries by delivering our vision, mission and values.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Post in collaboration with other Trustees:

• Ensure that TLA has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction and is focused on achieving these
• Agree and regularly monitor the TLA’s strategic direction and ensure that it pursues its objectives in keeping with this.
• Actively contribute to giving firm strategic direction to TLA – agreeing overall policy and evaluating financial performance.
• Make sound commercial decisions on the future of TLA which are aligned with market demand.
• Ensure that the organisation functions within the legal, charitable and financial requirements of a charitable organisation and strive to achieve best practice.
• Act in the interests of TLA and to adhere to the requirements laid down in the Membership Agreement and the TLA’s Articles of Association.
• Act in your charity’s best interests
• Manage TLA’s resources responsibly
• Act with reasonable care and skill
• Implement appropriate financial controls
• Manage risks
• Ensure the financial stability of TLA and the proper investment of funds.
• Be responsible for the performance of the charity and for its “corporate” behaviour; ensuring that the charity complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
• Act as guardians of the charity’s assets, both tangible and intangible, taking all due care over their security, deployment and proper application.
• Ensure that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard.

The statutory duties of a trustee are:

• Ensure the organisation complies with its governing document - sometimes known as a trust deed, constitution, or articles of association.
• Ensure that the organisation pursues its objectives as defined in its governing document.
• Ensure the organisation applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objectives - the charity must not spend money on activities which are not included in its own objectives, no matter how 'charitable' and 'worthwhile' those activities are.
• Safeguard the good name and values of the organisation.
• Ensure the financial stability of the organisation.
• Protect and manage the property of the organisation and to ensure the proper investment of the organisation's funds.
• Appoint the Chief Executive Officer and monitor their performance.

Required Skills and Experience: 

We are looking for trustees with leadership and management experience and hopefully a legal understanding of adult and child safeguarding, housing legislation, charities and business law and general legal matters.

To apply for or express an interest in this position, please email bicenquiries@weareadvocate.org.uk