12 March 2018

Dear Prospective Chair,

Thank you for your interest in joining the Royal Air Forces Association as Chair of the Audit Committee.

I am pleased to enclose an information pack thatshould give you all the details you require about the Association, the role of Chair and the appointment process. You will also find a description of the responsibilities of the role and the types of skills and experience that we are looking to appoint.

If you have any questions about the enclosed, please contact Nick Bunting, our Secretary General, via his email phone him on 07827083536. He will answer your questions, or put you in touch with me or another trustee as appropriate.

To apply, please send a copy of your CV with a covering letter to Nick by email before 5 pm on Monday 16 April 2018 marked Private and Confidential. Within your covering letter it would be helpful if you could describe why you are interested in this opportunity and the value you feel you can bring to the Association. Whilst RAF service or RAF family experience is of interest, we are particularly interested in candidates with professional qualifications, skills and expertise in finances, internal control and risk management.

Further details about the RAF Association can be found on our website I have also enclosed a link to the Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 December 2016 and a copy of the 2020 Strategy and Operating Plan 2017/2018.

I hope that you have found this pack informative. If you feel you have skills and experience to offer the RAF Association, we would welcome an application from you.

Yours sincerely,

John Cliffe

Air Vice-Marshal J A CliffeCB OBE

Chairman of Council

Charitable Object

The Royal Air Forces Association (the Association), is a member-led charity that provides welfare support to the RAF family. Receiving no government contributions, its work is completely funded by the generosity of its members and supporters.

The Association exists in the recognition that RAF personnel and their immediate families dedicate their lives to their country, and to ensure that such a sacrifice does not result in suffering, poverty or loneliness.

Whether it’s an injured airman fighting to get back on his feet, a young child missing their parent away on overseas operations, or a World War II veteran needing a shoulder to lean on, the Association is here to help all generations of RAF Service personnel and their families.

History

How it all began – a brief history of the RAF Association

In 1929, in the Sergeants’ Mess at RAF Andover, threemen met to discuss the formationof a single organisation dedicated to the welfare ofserving and ex-serving RAF personnel: one whichwould replace the many smaller organisations thathad grown to keep former servicemen in touchsince the end of the First World War.

By 1930 a provisional committee had beenformed called “Comrades of the Royal Air ForcesAssociation” and the first general meeting of thenew organisation took place. Air Ministry support forthe Comrades came in 1933 when the Air Councilofficially recognised the organisation. Throughoutthe early thirties, the new Association made rapidprogress, establishing benevolent schemes anddistributing Christmas hampers tounemployed members.

Then, in 1936, King George VI gave his patronage and the Association has been honoured withRoyal patronage ever since. Following the outbreakof war in 1939, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Forcereformed, and the Women’s Royal Air Force OldComrades Association (created in 1919) opened itsmembership to all ranks of thenew female air service.

In 1941, the two Old Comrades organisationsfor airmen and airwomen merged, resulting in acombined membership of nearly 20,000. By 1943,with more than a million serving in the RAF, theorganisation’s name was changed to theRoyal Air Forces Association. The foundations of the charity’s present structure were laid during the remaining wartime years, but at the beginning of the 21st Century it was clearthat the Association needed to adapt to an ever-changingsociety and its welfare needs. TheAssociation underwent a complete reorganisationand its headquarters relocated from London to the heart of thecountry in Leicester.

In recent times the Association has continued tobe at the forefront of providing support to the RAFfamily. As well as continuing to help those whoserved in World War II, we have given assistanceto vast numbers of Service personnel, includingveterans of the conflicts in Korea, the Falklands andthe Middle East, and those affected by the ongoing campaign in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

Today, the Association carries on its vital work and isneeded even more than ever. It continues to operatea wide network of over 400 branches worldwide,with the majority in the UK being individual charities in their own right, and has a membership of over 72,000. Our WelfareOfficers continue to seek out those in need andthe Association provides a range of services, including our hotels andother accommodation, to help ease their suffering.Over eighty years later we are still making a hugedifference to the lives of former servicemen andtheir families.

There are over 1.5 million people in the RAF familywho are either serving or who have served in theRAF (whether as a regular or reservist), together withtheir spouses, partners or dependent children.Family doesn’t stop there, so for some of our workwe also count parents and close relatives, air mindedyouth organisations, contractors and civilservants supporting the RAF as part of the family.

Strategic Objectives

The Association has five strategic priorities for 2020 which were developed and agreed by the Council:

  • Grow the net membership into the 100,000.
  • Establish the Association as a leading provider of welfare services to the RAF family to improve the lives of beneficiaries.
  • Grow annual income to a minimum of £15M in a diverse and sustainable manner to meet service needs and ensure financial stability for the charity.
  • Champion the interests of our members and beneficiaries and the sector as a whole.
  • Become an organisation recognised for excellence, achievement and responsibility.

Governance

The Association is governed by its Council (the Board ofTrustees), which has eight Committees:

  • Finance and Investment
  • Income Generation
  • Welfare and Strengthening our Membership
  • Member, Supporter and Partner Engagement
  • Information Environment
  • Annual Conference
  • Audit
  • Remuneration

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee’s role is to help Council meet its responsibilities by providing independent oversight of the Association’s systems of internal control, risk management and financial reporting, and through supervision of the quality, independence and effectiveness of both the internal and external auditors.

The Chair of Audit Committee is an independent appointment and will not be a member of Council/ trustee of the Association. However, the Chair will attend Council meetings to advise the trustees on the work of the Audit Committee.

Diversity Statement

We embrace the benefits of having a diverse membership and see a wide-ranging diversity at both Council and Committee level as an important element in achieving our purpose, vision and values. The Association will adopt the positive action provisions in the Equality Act to seek to address disadvantage and under-representation among protected groups at both Council and Committee level. In its advertising, the Association will make clear that it welcomes applications from groups with protected characteristics that are under-represented within the Board’s and committees’ membership. Where candidates are equally qualified the Association will appoint from under-represented groups.

We will encourage candidates to stand for election or appointment who have a wide range of personal characteristics, skills, knowledge and relevant experience.

Package

Salary: The role of Chair of Audit is unpaid. Committee members can claim reasonable out of pocket expenses for travelling to meetings, accommodation and subsistence

Responsible to: The Chair of Council

Responsible for:Providing effective leadership of the Audit Committee, challenging and supporting the Senior Management Team to ensure that the Charity’s risk management and governance processes and system of internal control is satisfactory and delivers regulatory compliance.

Job Purpose:As Chair to ensure the Audit Committee provides independent assurance that the Association’s risk management and internal control processes are operating effectively.

Objectives: a) Work in partnership with other Committee Members, Council members and the Senior Management Team to contribute relevant experience, expertise and insight, and to add value to the work of the Committee.

b) Ensure that there is effective governance within the Audit Committee, including an annual review of the effectiveness of the Committee’s performance.

c) Agree with the Director of Governance & Risk and the Chair of Council a reporting format for Council, ensuring that the objectivity and independence of the Audit Committee is not compromised and to ensure that an update report of each Audit Committee meeting is presented to Council.

d) Ensure there are appropriate arrangements for meeting with the external auditor and, where relevant, the internal auditor independently from the Senior Management Team, at least once a year.

Time Commitment: You will be asked to lead the AuditCommittee which meets twice a year on weekdays plus other periods necessary to complete the internal audit work that you and the committee have requested from time to time.

You will also be required to attend the Council meetings which follow the Audit Committees in order to report on the work of the Committee and you may attend all Council meetings as an observer. There are five Council meetings per annum.

In addition there is a strategy planning day and four training days (which are usually held on the day before a Council meeting). The majority of these activities take place on weekdays at our Head Office in Leicester.

Attendance at our Annual Conference is preferred. The event lasts for two days over a weekend in early May, culminating on the last day with a short Council meeting.

Location:The RAF Association’s Head Office is based at Atlas House, 41 Wembley Road, Braunstone Frith, Leicester, LE3 1UT

Term in Office:The term of office is for three years, with the possibility of re-election for a maximum of three terms, subject to mutual agreement

Person Specification

Although the Chair of Audit is not a charity trustee, you must be able to demonstrate the skills, abilities and personal qualities similar to those required of a trustee of the Association and you are expected to meet the same eligibility criteria as a charity trustee, including not being disqualified under the Charities Act. For example you must not:

  • Have an unspent conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or deception (such as fraud).
  • Be bankrupt or have entered into a formal arrangement (e.g. an individual voluntary arrangement) with a creditor.
  • Have been removed as a company director or charity trustee because of wrongdoing.

General Abilities and Skills

You must be able to:

  • Work effectively in a team with other Committee members, Councilmembers and the Senior Management Team.
  • Read, understand and analyse both written and numerical reports presented to the Committee for decision, scrutiny and information and to draw out points for discussion and act as a critical friend.
  • Express views in a formal meeting environment making reasoned and thought-through contributions.
  • Challenge constructively while respecting the roles, views and feelings of others.
  • Contribute to forming a consensus with other Members when involved in decision making and influence through discussion.
  • Make balanced and informed decisions.
  • Consider the long-term implications and broader view of issues, spotting opportunities, identifying key risks and the means of mitigating them.

Additional Abilities & Skills

As Chair of the Audit Committee you must be able to demonstrate:

  • Experience of chairing meetings in a non-executive capacity
  • A strong risk management background
  • Significant, recent and relevant financial experience
  • Knowledge of charity finance
  • Understanding of legal and financial guidelines set out in current legislation, including charity law

Personal Qualities

There is no specific age range stipulated for Committee Membershipand the Council strives to reflect diversity. Specifically, candidates are expected to:

  • Have a genuine interest and commitment to the provision of membership and welfare services to the RAF family.
  • Have ahigh degree of integrity.
  • Be committed to the Association’s s equal opportunities and diversity policies.
  • Be able and willing to allocate sufficient time to the Committee’s business.

Recruitment process

The Association intends, subject to any exceptional circumstances and matters outside our control, to adopt the following recruitment timetable:

  • Closing Date for Applications:5 pm on Monday 16 April 2018
  • Interviews with Chairman and the Secretary General: To be confirmed
  • References sought: after successful interview
  • Audit Committee Meetings in 2018: 28 March and 17 October 2018
  • Trustee Meetings in 2018: 11 April, 5 September and 21 November 2018