Trainee Trustee
Spitalfields Music Voluntary Closing date 06 December 2023
Spitalfields Music is a learning organisation, with a strong commitment to creating opportunities for people otherwise under-represented in the music sector. This extends into governance, where we want to offer up to five opportunities to shadow our board of trustees over the coming year, so that Spitalfields Music and the wider arts sector can benefit from more diverse perspectives and experiences. (If you'd like to know more about what it means to be a trustee, have a look at https://www.gettingonboard.org/be-a-trustee for a great overview).
The programme will encompass four elements:
• A paid-for place on an online ‘essentials of trusteeship’ course
• Observer status at the four Spitalfields Music board meetings held between January & December 2024 (it’s likely that two will be held online, and two in real life)
• A board ‘buddy’, in the form of an existing trustee, to help explain and navigate the responsibilities of directors of the charity
• Pre- and post-board meetings (online) with Spitalfields Music senior leaders so that those on the programme understand fully the agenda, papers and implications and impact of decisions made by trustees
Trainee trustees will be encouraged to participate fully in board meetings as they will bring new perspectives and lived experiences. However, they will not be full trustees with legal or financial responsibilities during their ‘traineeship’, nor will they have a vote at AGMs or at other points.
This will be the third time Spitalfields Music has run the scheme. In the first two years of the scheme, we have worked with nine individuals from under-represented backgrounds. Three former Trainee Trustees have since taken up full trusteeships across the sector, including one joining the Spitalfields Music board.
This initiative is primarily available to:
• People of the Global Majority
• D/deaf, disabled and neuro-divergent people *
• People aged under 35
* We will help with the costs of BSL interpreter/ caption facility/ access support worker as required.
We have highlighted these groups in particular, as they are under-represented amongst our trustee body at present. People who do not fall into one of the above categories are welcome to apply but are unlikely to be selected for interview.
We are seeking proactive people who are interested in becoming a trustee but currently lack experience or knowledge of what is entailed. We will recruit on passion for the arts, commitment to becoming a trustee in the future, and awareness of the skills that you could bring to Spitalfields Music over the next year. We would ask that you make yourself available for all four board meetings over the course of the scheme. Meetings are typically two hours long; take place in the evening and are held in February, April, July & October. Exact dates and times of meetings will be confirmed later in the recruitment process.
We want to make this process as inclusive as possible.
Applications can be made in writing, by video, or by audio file. Please keep written submissions to max. two pages of A4, and video/audio to c. 3 minutes. We’re not judging your editing skills; a simple recording on a phone is fine!
Please tell us why you want to be a Trainee Trustee, what your interest is in Spitalfields Music and the wider arts sector, and what you feel you would gain from being part of the scheme.
Please email this to recruitment@spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk , headed ‘Trainee Trustee Scheme’, alongside the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form. This form will not be disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application.
Applications will close on Wednesday 6th December at 5pm.
Interviews will be held on Zoom on Tuesday 12th December.
The first board meeting will take place on Thursday 1st February 2024 in Central London from 6pm-8pm. Future board meetings will be confirmed in due course, they are likely to take place in late April; late July and late October.
Good luck, we look forward to meeting you.
07311622393
Spitalfields Music, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS
The programme will encompass four elements:
• A paid-for place on an online ‘essentials of trusteeship’ course
• Observer status at the four Spitalfields Music board meetings held between January & December 2024 (it’s likely that two will be held online, and two in real life)
• A board ‘buddy’, in the form of an existing trustee, to help explain and navigate the responsibilities of directors of the charity
• Pre- and post-board meetings (online) with Spitalfields Music senior leaders so that those on the programme understand fully the agenda, papers and implications and impact of decisions made by trustees
Trainee trustees will be encouraged to participate fully in board meetings as they will bring new perspectives and lived experiences. However, they will not be full trustees with legal or financial responsibilities during their ‘traineeship’, nor will they have a vote at AGMs or at other points.
This will be the third time Spitalfields Music has run the scheme. In the first two years of the scheme, we have worked with nine individuals from under-represented backgrounds. Three former Trainee Trustees have since taken up full trusteeships across the sector, including one joining the Spitalfields Music board.
This initiative is primarily available to:
• People of the Global Majority
• D/deaf, disabled and neuro-divergent people *
• People aged under 35
* We will help with the costs of BSL interpreter/ caption facility/ access support worker as required.
We have highlighted these groups in particular, as they are under-represented amongst our trustee body at present. People who do not fall into one of the above categories are welcome to apply but are unlikely to be selected for interview.
We are seeking proactive people who are interested in becoming a trustee but currently lack experience or knowledge of what is entailed. We will recruit on passion for the arts, commitment to becoming a trustee in the future, and awareness of the skills that you could bring to Spitalfields Music over the next year. We would ask that you make yourself available for all four board meetings over the course of the scheme. Meetings are typically two hours long; take place in the evening and are held in February, April, July & October. Exact dates and times of meetings will be confirmed later in the recruitment process.
We want to make this process as inclusive as possible.
Applications can be made in writing, by video, or by audio file. Please keep written submissions to max. two pages of A4, and video/audio to c. 3 minutes. We’re not judging your editing skills; a simple recording on a phone is fine!
Please tell us why you want to be a Trainee Trustee, what your interest is in Spitalfields Music and the wider arts sector, and what you feel you would gain from being part of the scheme.
Please email this to recruitment@spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk , headed ‘Trainee Trustee Scheme’, alongside the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form. This form will not be disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application.
Applications will close on Wednesday 6th December at 5pm.
Interviews will be held on Zoom on Tuesday 12th December.
The first board meeting will take place on Thursday 1st February 2024 in Central London from 6pm-8pm. Future board meetings will be confirmed in due course, they are likely to take place in late April; late July and late October.
Good luck, we look forward to meeting you.
Contact details
recruitment@spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk07311622393
Spitalfields Music, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS