Trustee (Risk and Assets 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?

The Risk and Assets Lead Trustee will be responsible for the management of a risk register, ensuring that the Board of Trustees are aware and kept up to date regarding their legal, regulatory, and governance responsibilities. In this role you will monitor the food bank’s risk log, ensuring that the Board of Trustees at Middlewich & District Foodbank are aware and kept up to date with regard to current risks and their status.

Key tasks:

Trustee (Risk Lead) Responsibilities:

• to ensure that the Trustee board understand their legal and regulatory responsibilities with regard to the maintenance and updating of the charity’s risk register and other matters relating to risk.
• to maintain the risk register for the charity, liaising with the Chair of Trustees and wider board to identify when risks require review.
• to ensure, along with operational management support, that policies and risk assessments are in place and kept up to date with the changing internal and external environment.
• to be the allocated point of contact for risk related enquiries.
• to liaise with relevant teams at Trussell to ensure that the risk register is updated in line with current best practice guidance
• along with operational management support, to ensure that all relevant staff, trustees or volunteers are aware of the correct process to follow when risks are identified, including how to raise any concerns.
• to ensure that the charity’s assets are properly maintained and insured.

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:   

• knowledge or experience of risk management and a charity’s legal and regulatory responsibilities in relation to risk management.
• an ability to lead on and monitor any matters relating to risk.
• 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.