Chair of Trustees

Play a key role in leading the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association as our next Chair of Trustees, to support the preservation and development of the Keats-Shelley House and Museum in Rome, and a range of programmes and events in both Rome and the UK.

Applications close at: 9 a.m. Monday 17th February 2025.

Location: London (with occasional travel to Rome)

Time commitment: At least 1 day per month

About the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association

The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association (KSMA) was founded in 1903 to maintain and support the Keats-Shelley House, an 18th-century Palazzo, at 26 Piazza di Spagna, Rome, now a Museum devoted to the English Romantic poets – John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley and their circle, including Lord Bryon and Mary Shelley, especially those associated with Italy.

The Association is also responsible for maintaining the graves of Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Joseph Severn and Edward Trelawny in the non-Catholic Cemetery at Testaccio.

The Keats-Shelley House is open to the public and performs an educational and cultural role in the life of Rome. The Museum houses one of the world’s most extensive collections of memorabilia, letters, manuscripts, and paintings related to Keats, Shelley, as well as Mary Shelley, Byron, Wordsworth, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browing, Oscar Wilde and others. The Keats-Shelley House in Rome offers outreach programmes, lectures, and events and organises a poetry competition for Italian school students.

In the UK, the Association publishes a bi-annual journal, ‘The Keats-Shelley Review’ and periodic newsletters. It organises a range of events such as lectures, poetry readings and dramatic presentations. It also organises the annual Keats-Shelley Prize and Young Romantics Prize for poetry and essay writing. Annual awards ceremonies usually take place in London.

The Association plays an important role in Anglo-Italian cultural relations.

About the role

The Association is a UK-registered charity with a Board of Trustees and three Sub-Committees in the UK for The Keats-Shelley Prizes, Acquisitions and Investments.

The UK Board has 19 Trustees, including the Chair. The Rome Sub-Committee has 16 Members. The Chair of the Rome Sub-Committee is an ex-officio member of the UK Board and a Trustee.

Following a highly successful seven-year term, Sir Ivor Roberts, will be stepping down from being Chair in April 2025 and so the Board of Trustees now seeks a new Chair to succeed him.

As an ambassador and public face of the Association, you will lead the Board and work collectively for the benefit of the Association, for its long-term sustainability and to fulfil its charitable aims.

Who we are looking for

We are keen to encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates who can bring different skills and perspectives and come from a wide range of backgrounds.

In addition to having a strong interest, passion and commitment to the Association and its work, we seek someone with:

• Experience in chairing boards, high-level meetings or senior groups in a commercial or income-generating environment with sound independent judgement.
• An understanding of financial management and the financial and legal duties, responsibilities, risks and liabilities of a charity.
• An interest in Anglo-Italian relations.

We are also looking for someone who is comfortable in an ambassadorial role with the ability to bring added value to the charity through connections which could be in diplomatic, government or financial circles, and willingness to use networks to advance the Association.

Being able to devote the necessary time to meet the responsibilities of the role, including travel and attending events and meetings in the UK and Rome will be vital and whilst knowledge of Italian would be useful, it is not essential.

Please click 'Apply via website’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Monday 17th February 2025.