RNIB Charity Trustee Role Profile, Person Specification and Duties and Responsibilities

Trustee Role Profile

As the supreme decision making body of RNIB Charity, RNIB Charity's Trustees have specific responsibilities. The Board of Trustees has, and must accept, responsibility for directing the affairs of RNIB Charity, ensuring it is solvent and well run, and that it acts within its objects. Trustees are accountable for their decisions and actions to RNIB's governance structures, the public, courts, funders and service users. Trustees should focus on the strategic management of RNIB Charity, and avoid becoming involved in day to day operational deliberations.

RNIB Group’s Ambition and Values

RNIB Charity is part of the RNIB Group and shares the Group’s ambition and values.

RNIB Group’s ambition is:

"Making every day better for everyone affected by sight loss: by being there when people need us, supporting independent living, creating an inclusive society and preventing sight loss."

Our shared Group values are:

  • Led by blind and partially sighted people: Blind and partially sighted people are at our heart and influence everything we do.
  • Collaborative: We work together to make the biggest difference.
  • Creative: We understand challenges and find ways to overcome them and move forward.
  • Inclusive: We include and value people with diverse experience, abilities and backgrounds.
  • Open: We are honest, candid and transparent, challenging ourselves and others.

Charitable Objects

RNIB Charity shares the objects of RNIB Group which are:-

To promote the better education, training, employment and welfare of Blind and partially sighted people and generally to watch over and protect the interests of Blind and partially sighted people and to prevent blindness.

Preamble

Trustees of RNIB Charity are responsible for controlling the strategic management and administration of the charity.

Role purpose

  1. Together with the other Trustees, to ensure that the charity acts within its objects; functions within the legal, charitable and financial requirements of a charitable organisation and strives to achieve best practice.
  2. To agree RNIB Charity’s strategy, to monitor progress towards achieving strategic goals and to ensure that it pursues its objectives in keeping with that strategy.
  3. To contribute actively in giving firm strategic direction to the organisation, ensuring that RNIB Charity sets a strategy that supports the delivery of the strategic priorities, outcomes and organisational change areas contained in the RNIB Group strategy.
  4. To monitor performance against agreed targets in line with the RNIB Group performance framework.
  5. To act in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries at all times.
  6. To ensure the effective and efficient administration of RNIB Charity, ensuring the financial stability of the organisation and the proper investment of any funds managed on its behalf.
  7. To use any specific skills, knowledge and experience to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions (this will include the scrutiny of proposals, leading and initiating discussions, providing advice or guidance on new initiatives and utilising any specialist expertise and experience).
  8. To chair and/or attend bodies given delegated authority by the Board.

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Person specification

Candidates will be able to demonstrate:

  1. A strong personal commitment to:-

(a) the ambition and values of RNIB Group; and

(b) promoting the interests of blind and partially sighted people.

  1. Experience of operating within a board or committee structure in a charitable, public sector or commercial organisation.
  2. Capacity to contribute actively to the strategic direction of RNIB, demonstrated by evidence of an ability to think strategically and to analyse complex concepts.
  3. Confident and effective communication and influencing skills.
  4. A proven track record of effective, independent, decision making.
  5. An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship.
  6. Proven ability to work effectively as part of a team that makes collective strategic decisions and to accept collective corporate responsibility for decision making.
  7. Personal credibility, with an ability to act as an organisation champion with a variety of stakeholders.
  8. A record of personal integrity and behaviours consistent with Nolan's seven principles of public life.
  9. Confirmation of a willingness to give at least the minimum time commitment required for the role.
  10. The specific skills required by the organisation:-

For 2014, we are particularly looking for candidates with a financialbackground, who are suitably qualified, ideally with a CCAB or similar professional qualification. We also want to strengthen diversity on the RNIB Charity Board and therefore, as well as people living with sight loss, we would welcome applications from women and people from ethnic communities who are able to demonstrate that their skills and experience meet the criteria in the person specification for this role as set out above.

Candidates must be qualified to act as a Trustee

Duties and responsibilities of a Charity Trustee

Who can be a Trustee?

Some people are disqualified by law from acting as Trustees including:

  1. Anyone who has an unspent conviction for an offence involving deception or dishonesty.
  1. Anyone who is an undischarged bankrupt.
  2. Anyone who has been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the Courts or Charity Commission for misconduct or mismanagement.
  3. Anyone who is disqualified from being a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

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What are the duties of Trustees?

Trustees have, and must accept, ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of the charity, ensuring that it is solvent and well-run, and delivering the charitable outcomes, for the benefit of the public, for which it was set up. You need to keep in mind the following areas of responsibility:-

Ensuring compliance

Trustees must ensure that the charity complies with:

  1. Charity law, and the requirements of the Charity Commission as regulator; in particular you must ensure that the charity prepares reports on its work, and submits Annual Returns and accounts as required by law.
  2. The requirements or rules, and the charitable purpose and objects, set out in the charity’s own governing document. All Trustees will be provided with a copy of this document, and be familiar with it.
  3. The requirements of other legislation and other regulators (if any) which govern the activities of the charity; these will vary according to the type of work the charity carries out, and whether it employs staff or volunteers, for example, employment law.
  4. The requirement for Trustees to act with integrity, and avoid any personal conflicts of interest, or misuse of charity funds or assets.

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Duty of prudence

Trustees must:

  1. Ensure that the charity is, and will remain, solvent; this means that you need to keep yourself informed of the charity’s activities and financial position.
  2. Use charitable funds and assets wisely, and only to further the purposes and interests of the charity.
  3. Avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s property, funds, assets or reputation at undue risk.
  4. Take special care when investing, or arranging for the investment of the funds of the charity, or borrowing funds for the charity to use.

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Duty of care

Trustees must:

  1. Exercise reasonable care and skill as Trustees, using personal knowledge and experience to ensure that the charity is well-run and efficient.
  2. Consider getting external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk to the charity, or where the trustees may be in breach of their duties.

More information about the role and responsibilities of Trustees can be found on the Charity Commission website under "The Essential Trustee"

Term of Appointment

The term of appointment will be 3 years. Retiring members of the current Board are eligible for re-appointment or re-election, but may serve for no more than three consecutive terms of three years in office.

You will be required to attend at least 4 meetings of the Board a year (which may include a two day event)and 3 meetings of one of RNIB's Standing Boards. You may also be appointed to sit on other committees. You will be expected to attend training events relevant to the role as necessary, usually in the region of two days per year. Some of these meetings will be held outside London. You must therefore be able to commit at least10 days each year.

Whilst the role is normally unpaid, reasonable expenses are payable in line with RNIB's standard expenses policy.

Please note that successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks prior to formal appointment as a Trustee.

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