Volunteer Trustee with marketing or administrative skills

What will you be doing?

Our car share scheme launched in February 2025, with four cars available in Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, and now almost 50 users. We are a Community Benefit Society with a key aim of offering an alternative to car ownership in our valley, and thereby reducing car use, air pollution and parking tensions, whilst simultaneously improving mobility for those that need our service.  Our immediate challenge is to reach a wider audience with our publicity, and to generate a higher number of users and bookings. We are growing but we want to become more widely known in the community and we want to ensure the population here knows how a car share could meet their needs. Encouraging more use and more users (i.e. growing a little more quickly) will help us achieve the financial sustainability set out in our business plan.  Any new trustees will join a highly committed and creative team, albeit too small to take forward our plans. We need new directors to share the strategic and overall scheme management, as well as providing specific skills which could include organisation (Board secretary), volunteer support and marketing. We also have long-term plans to expand into e-bike rentals and into more rural areas of the valley, and would be delighted to welcome on board anyone who shares this vision of a more environmental sustainable Calder Valley. 

What are we looking for?

Strategic management, project management or marketing experience; a commitment to environmental sustainability; an ability to work as part of a team.

What difference will you make?

Our Chair (myself), Treasurer and lead Director for grants and research were re-elected in June. Community Benefit Societies are required to have a named Director as Secretary, and we would also hope to enlist a dedicated Membership Secretary. As part of our Board, you would be fully involved in shaping POD's future and its strategic direction, supporting our Manager and volunteers, and carrying out other tasks such as leafletting on market day, contributing to grant applications, organising publicity events or liaising directly with local authority contacts.    POD has the potential to make a huge impact on people's lives here.  Testimonials and feedback from our users tell us that POD is simultaneously enabling people to live more easily here without owning a car and improving their mobility. Our users have become very passionate about POD and are currently having an extremely positive experience of car sharing! By being a Director for POD, you can be part of encouraging a new way of thinking around car ownership and use and help us to contribute to a more sustainable, less polluted and less car-dominated local area.