Trustee

We’re on the lookout for new volunteers to join our Board of Trustees. Could that be you?

Who are we?

PSS is a social enterprise that supports people to live happy, healthy and hopeful lives, whether they’re:

• adults who have learning or physical disabilities, challenges with their mental health or difficulties as they’re getting older;

• people in and around the criminal justice system; or

• families who’ve been through unsteady times.

Founded by Eleanor Rathbone and Dorothy Keeling back in 1919, PSS has always been a firecracker, beginning its life with the title Liverpool Personal Services Society. Our motto was: ‘a society for any citizen in difficulty’ – and that is exactly what we were, and what we are today. For the last 100 years, we’ve been providing services that change people’s lives for the better.

From our Liverpool home, we’ve been responsible for starting a whole host of social movements, believing in and passionate about making sure all people matter, moving and shaking the first services of their kind across many different disciplines of social care (we kicked off a ton of recognisable names – from Age UK, Legal Aid and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to Relate and Riverside Housing). Where we saw a need for change, we approached gently, listened closely, imagined the possibilities and came back with a service that fit the bill. 

Our founder Eleanor Rathbone said ‘what ought to be done, can be done’ and when everyone else was turning a blind eye or unsure of how to help people in their time of need, we said ‘we hear you, let’s see what we can do’. We’ve always been unapologetically different, a rebel with a gritty and heartfelt cause – and although our organisation has grown and developed in so many ways since 1919, that’s never changed – and it never will.

Today our head office is still in Liverpool but we run services and have offices in North Wales, Manchester, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Staffordshire and the East of England. 

What is a trustee?

Trustees are volunteers who help lead PSS and make important decisions about how we’re run.  Being a trustee means you’ll sit on our Board as a volunteer, giving your time and expertise, and in return, we’ll give you all the feel-good vibes and a fuzzy heart guarantee.

What will I do as a trustee at PSS?

You’ll live and breathe our values and make sure we’re doing things by the book.

You’ll also help steer the direction of the organisation by supporting us to be the best we can be for the people we support, making sure we’re able to stick around for future generations.

What skills and experiences are we looking for?

In a nutshell, we’re looking for people who have lived experience of accessing services like the ones we provide at PSS, as well as skills in areas like finance, social care, digital technology or campaigning/lobbying/influencing (we go into more detail in our trusty trustee candidate pack—see what we did there?).

Who can apply?

Anyone can apply, but we’re encouraging applications from:

• People with lived experience of a learning disability and/or autism
• People from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community

We want our Board to represent the communities we serve and bring fresh perspectives to the table.

Will I be paid?

This is an unpaid role, but we’ll reimburse you for all reasonable expenses. This includes cover for caring for children or other dependents for when you need to attend meetings.

Where is this role based?

Board meetings take place at our head office in Liverpool but there are options to join online too.

Want to know more?

You can read our PSS trustee candidate pack or easy read trustee pack on our website to get the full lowdown about being a trustee at PSS. You can also check out the role description and person spec.

How to apply

We're using Charity Job's Quick Apply function.  If this doesn't work for you, please contact executive businss partner Mandy Howe to discuss how we can best support your application (details can be found in the candidate pack).

We also have an easy-read version of the candidate pack - at the time of writing, this is too large to upload to Charity Job's website (we're working on it!) but if you would like a copy, please contact Mandy who will send you one over email.