Volunteer Board of Trustees

What will you be doing?

Summary

Hours: Voluntary, but Trustees are expected to commit to a minimum of 10 hrs per month  Location: Board meetings are a mix of online and in-person, at times arranged to suit the Trustees. Ability to travel to London is necessary Reports to: Chair/Charity Commission/Companies House Function: Governance

  Particular areas of expertise Whilst we are looking for trustees with a broad range of skills, we are particularly interested in finding people with skills and experience in the following areas:

Youth work. Experience as a senior or strategic practitioner, especially within vulnerable and marginalised communities. Legal work. This could be in human rights, discrimination, employment law or general charity law, but we are open to other areas of expertise, including regulatory, risk and governance expertise. You may not be a lawyer but could bring knowledge of legal systems more widely, or networks who can support this area as required. HR management experience. An experienced HR professional who can bring a strategic HR perspective to board discussions and support GI in developing effective and inclusive people practices.

If your experience does not fall into these categories but you would still like to be considered, please do let us know. The best trustees can come from all sorts of backgrounds, and we’d love to know what your experience can offer us.   Commitment  We currently hold five scheduled Board meetings a year and occasional ad hoc meetings as deemed necessary. Additionally there is the opportunity to join subcommittees and working groups to allow deeper involvement in an area of particular interest. In order to facilitate availability for each meeting, to read all necessary paperwork in advance, and to be available to advise in your area of expertise, we consider that successful candidates should be able to commit to being available for a minimum of 10 hours per month.Appointments are for an initial three-year term, renewable for up to two further terms.More information about being a Trustee, including a checklist to confirm that you are eligible is available from the Charity Commission here. Training and support will be provided to successful candidates to ensure that all responsibilities can be met.

What are we looking for?

We want our Board to embrace a spirit of personal and organisational improvement. We understand that applicants may not have all the elements listed below, but if you don’t already have the following, we would expect you to demonstrate a willingness to use your time with us to develop them.

An understanding of trans, non-binary and gender questioning people, especially young trans people An understanding of the not-for-profit sector Understanding of equality and diversity issues Ability to use your skills and knowledge to support the delivery of direct services Ability to work in a team and engage in discussions and productive debates Analytical thinking Willingness to get involved

Being a trustee means you will provide oversight for all of the activities of Gendered Intelligence. This is a big responsibility, and includes important legal accountability, but is one held collectively with the other Board members.   The charity is run by a dedicated and experienced Senior Leadership Team, and the primary role of the Board is to meet regularly with this team to provide feedback, oversight and decision making. Together, the Board and the executive team create the strategy that the organisation will follow, and ensure that it is sticking to its purpose.   Board members are expected to engage with a range of issues, inform themselves of GI’s legal, social and charitable responsibilities and remain abreast of the context within which GI operates. They are expected to take informed decisions on the future of the charity and to provide both support and challenge to the SLT.   Board members also have an ambassadorial role, publicly representing the charity in both formal and informal settings. Whilst a trustee is not expected to maintain a public profile should they not wish to, there will be opportunities to attend GI events representing the Board as a whole. At the same time, Board members are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that befits the charity and its aims and objectives.

What difference will you make?

We are a Registered Charity that is committed to the idea that everyone can be more intelligent about gender. Our vision is of a world where people are not constrained by narrow perceptions of gender and where diverse gender expressions are visible and valued. Our mission is to increase understandings of gender diversity and to improve the quality of life of trans people, and young trans people in particular. All of our varied activities are focused on supporting this mission. We work with trans, non-binary and gender questioning communities and those who impact on trans lives, including parents/ carers, teachers, policymakers, employers, service providers and other organisations. Our external activities are structured around three departments:

Youth and Communities Services  Professional and Educational Services Public Engagement

The areas are closely interlinked, with regular communication between staff: a number of colleagues work across different teams. We believe this shared learning provides a major benefit for all individuals who use GI services whether young people, family and carers, members of the public or professionals in their working lives. We are a trans-led, trans-majority organisation with a core of skilled, trained and experienced staff, supported by a diverse and vibrant body of volunteers, who are especially active within Youth Work.  We want to play a substantial part in encouraging the cultural shift needed to gain understandings of trans and gender variant lives. We place trans people at the heart of our organisation and we believe that a key way to improve the quality of trans people’s lives is to educate the people around them about gender diversity.