Trustee (People Strategy Lead)

Trustees play a vital role in ensuring Middlewich & District Foodbank meets its core purpose by overseeing the management and administration of the charity and ensuring that the foodbank has a clear strategy in line with our vision and goals.

What will you be doing?

As the People Strategy Lead Trustee, you will ensure the highest standards of governance in policies and practice related to employee and volunteers’ relations, recruitment, retention, reward, and recognition. You will also be involved in developing the longer-term strategic direction of the food bank’s staffing requirements and succession planning.

Key tasks:

Trustee (People Strategy Lead) Responsibilities:

• to ensure that the Trustee board understand their legal and regulatory responsibility on matters relating to employed staff and volunteers.
• to ensure the Trustee Board monitors and reviews the performance of the foodbank manager, rewards performance accordingly and identifies appropriate development opportunities.
• to ensure that the Trustee Board monitors and reviews the charity’s volunteer programme, ensuring that volunteers are trained, managed and supported.
• to drive the succession planning process.

Other responsibilities, along with the board of trustees, include:

• to approve, support and guide the charity’s purpose, vision, strategy, goals and objectives.
• to manage the charity’s resources responsibly, including ensuring the charity’s assets are used only to carry out its purpose, avoid undue risk, and not over-commit the charity.
• to ensure appropriate financial plans are in place, budgets are monitored, and progress is evaluated.
• to review and approve financial statements.
• to ensure the charity has appropriate procedures to comply with current legislation and good practice, including employment, health and safety, equity, diversity and inclusion, safeguarding and GDPR compliance/data protection.
• to prepare for and regularly attend and participate in board and subcommittee meetings and any trustee away days.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for people who want to help their local community and work towards the eradication of food poverty. Our ideal candidates would demonstrate:   

• some knowledge or experience of working in HR or Volunteer Management.
• an understanding of the differences between employees and volunteers.
• a willingness to learn to fill any current knowledge gaps.
• it is not necessary to have previous board experience as training and support will be provided.
• this role could support someone taking their first steps to develop wider board level and governance experience.

Whatever your background, we want to make sure you are supported and empowered and enjoy your time volunteering with us. We know that having volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds, with varying experiences, can help to make what we do as effective as possible. As such, we welcome all applicants regardless of age, religion or beliefs, disability, ethnic background, gender reassignment, sex, or sexual orientation. We also encourage those with lived experience of poverty to apply.

What difference will you make?

By supporting the governance of the food bank, you are part of a team providing a vital holistic support function in your local community, ensuring a dignified experience to anyone visiting or anyone who comes into contact with Middlewich & District Foodbank.