1. Legal background
The directors of our charitable company are trustees and Council members
and as such have an obligation to the Charity Commission to ensure
that the property of the Society is applied for the Society’s
purposes as set out in the Articles and Memorandum.
Council members, as company directors, also have responsibilities
to the members of the Society under company law.
2. Functional background
Council is a formally organised group, designed to take decisions
and solve problems, taking advantage of the benefit of using groups
rather than individuals in the process of decision-making. Council
is therefore designed to use the resources of members, produce more
solutions than individuals, eliminate inferior ideas, make more risky
decisions, allocate tasks and roles, and minimise the sense of responsibility
for individual members.
3. Skills required
Good trustees need skills such as the ability to collect, study and
assess information; the ability to persuade, to appear emotionally
uninvolved with the issues presented to Council; to be concerned with
what is acceptable to others; and to be able to get themselves noticed
when they wish to speak.
Trustees need life skills such as common sense, powers of reasoning,
judgement etc in addition to traditional business skills.
Trustees must be good communicators in the same way that a treasurer
must communicate the finances to the rest of the trustees in a way
that they can understand. It is not enough for the treasurer to merely
be good at looking after the money.
JOB DESCRIPTION
1. Legal responsibilities
To act bona fide in the interests of the Society.
To avoid any conflict between their own interest and the interests
of the Society.
To declare any private interest in any contract or other matter being
considered by the Society.
2. Skills
To apply their individual personal skills and experience to progressing
the work of the Society.
To develop the necessary skills to take an informed and sensitive
view of the management and work of the Society and not rely simply
on professional competence or commitment and enthusiasm.
3. Knowledge
To strive to understand the Society’s work and its vision.
To ask the staff to provide as much information as they need to know,
without having unrealistic expectations.
Not to make decisions on complex subjects with insufficient information.
Not to vote on an issue unless they are sure that they fully understand
it, and do not have a conflicting personal interest.
To give sufficient time to study and absorb the information provided,
if further information is required to request this in advance for any
meeting.
To strive not to reject information that is cot consonant with the
data, convictions and beliefs that they already hold.
4. Teamwork
To strive towards a clear commitment to partnership between Council,
staff and members.
To focus, in Council meetings, on the process of coming to an agreement.
To stimulate other Council members & staff in the production of
new, creative ideas.
Not to be influenced in decision-making by personality factors.
5. Strategic planning
To work with the Chief Executive and the staff management team in
strategic planning and policy making.
6. Management
To review the role and performance of the Chief Executive at periodic
intervals.
To work with the Chief Executive and the staff management team in
implementing policy, budgeting, decision-making, setting objectives,
prioritising, planning, monitoring progress and problem solving.
7. Functional
To prepare for all meetings by reading all appropriate communications
from the Society.
To respond by the required date to all communications from the Chair
and the Chief Executive.
To attend all Council meetings and, where appropriate, Sub-committee
meetings unless there are strong personal or business reasons for being
unable to do so.
To attend all general meetings of the Society.
To keep trustee expenses to a minimum by booking public transport
in advance etc.
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