Call for Trustees

Background

We are looking for people to join our Board of Trustees. This is a really exciting time for the centre, and we’d love for you to come and help us drive things forward as we continue to focus becoming the best community cultural hub we can be!

Many of you will have noticed how much work being a Trustee has been over the last 16 months, and you’re not wrong! We’ve been doing far more than Trustees should, or than we ever signed up for, and we don’t expect anyone else to do the same.

Some of you have told us you don’t want to be a Trustee because of how much work it is, and we get your concern. However, this perception is out of date - we’re in the process of pairing down our involvement and transitioning from an operational (running the centre) to strategic board now that funding has been secured to hire much needed staff, including an all-important Operations Manager who will take the reins next month.

Realistically, there is still some operational stuff needing done - we know that, and some of us will choose to do it as volunteers. But we anticipate the actual role of a Trustee to look something like a monthly board meeting with one or two smaller meetings in between.

What we need

What we now need is a board of Trustees with vision, community spirit, and enthusiasm, and commitment to the project who are willing to lend their expertise to shape the strategic future of the Centre.

Specific skills we are looking for:

• Finance / bookkeeping / accounting background (we have a finance manager, but we need a point of contact for them)

• HR / contracting / legal / insurance (general expertise in these areas is a massive help as and when issues crop up)

• Events management / programming (help guide our year-round programme of theatre, music, performances, arts workshops, and exhibitions)

• Fundraising / grant writing (we are about to embark on a new year of funding applications and having experience on the board would be a massive help)

• Stakeholder engagement / community building (we’re always looking to engage with the community, and could be doing much better)

• Secretarial (we need someone to take over as board secretary, keeping our minutes and governance up to date)

• Even if you don’t fit the above, if you’ve got community spirit, enthusiasm, and some time to offer then we’d love to hear from you and would welcome you with open arms! Whatever you have to offer, it will absolutely be helpful.

So what do you say? Will you come join us?

The board currently has five Trustees, with two of planning to stand down at the AGM. We need four Trustees to be quorate, and eight to have a full compliment. This means that we need at least one new Trustee to continue, but ideally are looking for five.

If you are interested, or indeed would be willing to come onboard and help us steer the Rockfield Centre into the future, please reach out: trustees@therockfieldcentre.org.uk. The process of applying to be a Trustee is straightforward, and we are happy to discuss the role and answer any questions you may have.

Any interested potential Trustees will be fully briefed on the current financial position before standing, alongside all current and potential issues. We think its really important that anyone joining us has a full picture of where things stand before they commit - we’re not out of the woods and its likely that we’ll always be fragile (because most community-owned cultural spaces are!), but we have a solid plan in place and a 15 month track record of seeing that plan through. We’re optimistic that, as long as we can find people willing to come help us - we see the Centre having a bright future we can all be proud of!