Trustees

Tom’s Trust, a children's brain tumour charity, is looking for two new trustees to join our Board.

Although our office is based in Cambridge, where we were founded and where we provided our first service, we have grown from a regional to a national charity and want our Trustee Board to reflect that. We operate a hybrid meeting approach which supports this ambition to expand our Board.

We are particularly seeking trustees in the Oxfordshire or Liverpool areas, where our newest services are based, to work with our current Trustee Board of eight who work closely with our Senior Leadership Team to provide expertise and oversight of our ambitious strategy. Details of the Board are on our website.

We recognise the need to reflect, understand, and network, in each new region for which we provide a service and want to talk to enthusiastic individuals who have the professional skills, connections and understanding to help. Trustee roles are not paid, but Trustees will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, including travel expenses. Trustee meetings are currently on a Monday evening every two months and these are hybrid with Trustees dialling in or attending in person. We have a number of subcommittees to support the main board, including clinical, fundraising, marketing and communications and finance.

In seeking new Trustees, the Board has the following objectives:

1. To make sure that the Board has the experience and skills in line with future priorities.

2. To gain different perspectives on the potential for Tom’s Trust and for its services.

3. To widen our network of contacts and support in new areas to help us support more families and new services.

Tom’s Trust is a growing and ambitious charity. Candidates must:

• Be enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the North West and its strengths and challenges;
• Be willing to support our Team with contacts and ideas as they work hard to get the public to understand our work in the area;
• Support fundraising efforts to find new support to allow our service to continue, contribute to the development of fundraising strategies, and assist in securing resources for our programs and initiatives;
• Understand and uphold charity governance principles and the role of charities;
• Be comfortable working with fellow Trustees and professional staff in a collaborative team, able to negotiate and discuss complex ideas in a respectful way to reach a majority decision;
• Have empathy for the need to help families whose child has been affected by a brain tumour.

If this role resonates with you, we would love to hear from you.

About Tom’s Trust

Tom's Trust is the UK's only charity dedicated to providing mental health support to children and young people, with brain and other central nervous system tumours, and their families. We believe that every child with a brain tumour should have access to the mental health support that they need, as well as their loved ones. Approximately 500 children aged 0-19 are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year. That’s nearly 10 children per week. Many children experience serious mental health issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression, as a result of their tumour, and 62% of children who survive a brain tumour will then live with life-long disabilities (such as blindness, hearing loss, lost motor-function or learning disabilities).

Tom’s Trust clinical psychologists support hundreds of families, working within hospitals in the East, North East, North West and now starting in Thames Valley; helping children from diagnosis, through their brutal treatment and as they return to life at home. Our team is also there to support a family if their child is dying or has sadly died from this devastating disease. It is our mission is to provide psychological support to children with brain tumours and their families in every area of the UK that needs us.