Volunteer Chair to help drive new strategy

What will you be doing?

Refugee Action Kingston (RAK), a very active forward-looking Kingston charity, helps refugees and people seeking asylum to access essential services, including immigration and welfare advice, English classes, counselling and support into employment, volunteering and training. RAK is seeking two trustees including a chair of trustees. The board is keen to expand its diversity. We seek people who have judgement and can think strategically. We seek trustees with lived experience of being a refugee or migrant in the UK, with local knowledge of the public and voluntary sectors, and/or with experience of fundraising or business. We are looking for candidates from any of these backgrounds:

lived experience of asylum-seeking, being a refugee or vulnerable migrant knowledge of the South West London community, public and voluntary sectors experience in fundraising experience in business

You will believe in:

Social justice and inclusion: a commitment to promoting social justice and equity for all individuals, regardless of religion, culture, or background.  Respect for diversity: valuing and respecting diverse backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs, and fostering teamwork through inclusivity.  Responsibility and impact: using time and resources efficiently and responsibly to maximise the impact of our services for clients.

As a trustee you will lead or contribute to:  

Regular trustee board meetings and key activities, including recruitment of trustees Development and implementation of a strategic plan for RAK Governance of the organisation to ensure it meets the legal and regulatory requirements Monitoring operational performance and implementation of a continuous improvement programme Oversight of financial performance and fundraising strategy to ensure long-term sustainability of RAK

To apply, please submit your CV along with a personal statement of no more than 300 words that outlines your interest in joining our board of trustees. Closing date: 15 January 2024 Interviews are expected to be held in late January 2025. 

What are we looking for?

Serious interest in refugees, people seeking asylum and vulnerable immigrants Understanding of the problems, needs and ambitions of these groups Understanding of the trustee role Experience of how a small, charitable organisation works How their experience will enable them to contribute Openness to change and creativity the qualities of empathy and listening, weighing up arguments, reaching balanced judgements readiness to commit time and effort to what is a fulfilling and demanding role willingness to learn, where experience is lacking in any area

What difference will you make?

As a trustee you will be a member of a team working to improve the language, employment, and housing of refugees and people seeking asylum, factors which have a lasting impact on refugee integration. In 2023/4 we helped over 2,000 clients and their families with:

learning English providing housing advice providing immigration advice accessing welfare benefits, healthcare and education providing careers advice and employment support

Every one of our stats represents a person with hopes, fears and a unique story to tell. Our support lasts for the entirety of that person’s integration journey, and many of our clients engage with multiple project areas.