Trustee for Citizens Advice Reading

Would you like to make a real difference to your local community?

Do you want to support the running of a longstanding and highly-effective charity that provides free, confidential and impartial advice in Reading?

Citizens Advice Reading is a local independent charity which has been giving free, confidential and impartial advice to the people of Reading for 85 years.

We are governed and managed locally, and we are also part of the National Association of Citizens Advice, which sets quality standards and campaigns on social policy.

Our trustee Board sets the strategy and direction of our charity, deciding policies and providing overall leadership. In 2022-23, our financial turnover was £770k, a rise on previous years.

The role and what we are looking for in a new trustee

We are now looking for three new Trustees to join and strengthen our Board. In particular, we are looking for specific knowledge or skills in one of the following areas of specialism:

• Fundraising and campaigning
• Journalism and media relations
• Public Sector, Local Authority/Council
• Governance, charity and/or corporate

Prior experience of charity trusteeship would be welcomed but is not essential, as full induction will be provided, plus access to external training.

If you can think strategically and plan long-term, you have the primary skills needed; you’ll also need to be able to work collectively with other Board members. Support from our paid employees is always available, as they will be dealing with the day-to-day running of the organisation.

We are a charity not a business, but we apply business principles to governing our organisation. We are looking for people from a variety of backgrounds to join our charity. We want to expand the diversity of our board, and strongly welcome applications from people from less-represented groups. 

The focus of a trustee role is strategic, and trustees will not be expected to get involved in the organisation’s operations on a day-to-day basis; however, regular contact and liaison with other trustees and employees is expected.   

How to apply  

This appointment is being managed for us by inVOLve Community Services, a charity-support organisation, who offer a no-obligation discussion by phone or video. A detailed Role Description and Skills Specification can be made available to you upon request.  

Trustee appointments are subject to satisfactory references.

Your CV or similar will be read by our existing trustees, and an online interview offered as soon as mutually convenient.   

I need to know more   

Contact Mike Allen via Quick Apply below for more information and arrange to have a no-obligation initial informal discussion (Teams/Zoom/phone) and assistance with the easy application process.

We ask for approx. six hours of your time per month, which includes all meetings, discussions, etc.  You will need secure access to digital communications, as most of our charity’s governance is run that way.