Organisation Overview
Evolve Counselling is a long-established charitable social enterprise, providing low cost, affordable or funded mental health counselling to adults in Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties. Our professional counselling community is made up of 50 – 60 qualified self-employed practitioners, working part-time to deliver talking therapies both online and in person.
We deliver around 500 counselling sessions per month to a broad range of individuals, many of whom would not otherwise be able to access therapeutic support. Evolve also provides supervision, reflective practice, critical incident support, and mental health awareness and related training to organisations and businesses large and small.
We are in the early stages of developing ambitious growth and innovation programmes, so this is a perhaps the most interesting time to be part of Evolve since we started in the 1970s. Opportunities for new Trustees to make their mark are considerable.
Role Details
Time requirements: Estimated time commitment: approx. 0-5 hours per month, mostly outside office hours.
Attendance: Quarterly board meetings and committee sessions are currently held online. We also have an annual face-to-face AGM (location variable) and occasional in-person trustee away days.
Role Description
We are searching for an experienced legal specialist who can support our board, committees, and the CEO as we move through our next strategic stage of consolidation, then growth. Although long-established and successful, Evolve is reshaping itself and your legal expertise will be instrumental in positioning our charity to successfully meet the ever-growing demands and opportunities for supporting good mental health in our communities. Please note, a background in counselling is NOT a prerequisite for this role. Training will be available in general charity governance and in specific areas such as charity finance.
Your skills and knowledge, whether gained in the charity or commercial worlds, in a legal department or practice, or a specialist consultancy, will help us to plan and “do the right thing” for our small staff and our self-employed counsellors, as we grow.
In addition to the general responsibilities of a trustee, the duties of the legal specialist include the following:
· Liaising with the CEO on all legal matters and keeping the board informed about its legal duties and responsibilities
· Ensuring Evolve operates in compliance with the Charities Act, the Trustees Act, and all other relevant regulatory frameworks
· Tracking all documentation legally required by the Charity Commission, helping the board to ensure Evolve’s records remain up to date and accurate
· Advising the CEO and Head of Counselling on best standards in all legal matters, especially contracts, tenders, bids, property, etc.
· Working with the CEO to prepare, update and/or revise all legal documentation, including but not limited to governing documents, employment contracts, membership contracts, service-provision contracts, health and safety policies, insurance policies etc.
· Helping the board to interpret and develop its general understanding of all legal matters relevant to the operational activities of the CIO
· Assessing legal risks and proposing mitigation strategies for inclusion in the risk register
· Knowledge of data protection/GDPR law would be advantageous
Required Skills and Experience
In addition to the person specification of a trustee, the legal specialist should have the following qualities:
· A recognised legal qualification and/or senior level legal experience
· The skills to examine and interpret legal documentation
· Some experience of charity law (desirable)
· Being prepared to make unpopular recommendations to the board and to be available to staff for advice and enquiries on an ad hoc basis
In most circumstances it is also desirable that the legal specialist has knowledge of the type of work undertaken by Evolve, the operation of charitable businesses, the demands of the Charity Commission, and a wider involvement with the voluntary and community sector and other charity or social purpose business networks.
To apply for or express an interest in this position, please email bicenquiries@weareadvocate.org.uk
