Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum

The Opportunity

The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is currently seeking a new Chair of the Board of Trustees, to provide non-executive leadership to lead our organisation through an exciting period of development. We are looking for an experienced individual, ideally with a professional background in museums, to act as a key representative and advocate for our proud independent regional military museum.

Over the next five years, Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum will be taking ambitious steps to develop our audience, deliver capital projects which will improve our visitor offer, and secure long- term financial sustainability. As a small, volunteer led museum with minimal paid staff, the Chair will oversee the design and implementation of a new strategic plan which seeks to place the Museum at the heart of the Gloucestershire county and its communities.

The Chair will ensure good governance and high standards of organisational and financial management. The Chair will lead the Board in making informed ambitions and strategic decisions. The Chair will need to establish a constructive and supportive working relationship with the Museum Director.

Responsibilities

Working with the Museum Director, team of volunteers and fellow trustees, we would expect the Chair of Trustees to:

• Act as a key representative and advocate of the Museum both internally and externally, to a range of stakeholders across the museum sector, military sector, and the county.
• Chair meetings of the Board of Trustees, ensuring effective management of the agenda, discussion, and reporting.
• Support the Museum Executive Director in carrying out their duties, acting as a point of contact for any guidance or queries as required.
• Provide strategic leadership to the Museum and the Board of Trustees with regards to museum development, financial sustainability, and community engagement.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

We are looking for an excellent individual to lead the Museum through a period of great change and growth. We anticipate that you will have the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

• You will ideally have professional museum experience in a position of leadership, either as a Museum Director or a Chair of Trustees. We do not require candidates to have a military background.
• You will have had experience of Chairing committees to enable inclusive, constructive debate leading to properly reasoned, minuted and deliverable decisions.
• You will have experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders and with volunteers, ensuring the maintenance of an inclusive and collaborative culture
• You will ideally have knowledge and experience of working in the wider museum landscape, including working with funding organisations such as Arts Council England and other governing bodies such as the Association of Independent Museums
• You will ideally have a knowledge of and interest in the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, military history, and the county of Gloucestershire

The Commitment

The full Board of Trustees meets three times a year, which the Chair is expected to attend in person. There are also several other committees and working groups which meet once a month, and the Chair will be expected to provide a supportive working relationship with the Museum Executive Director.

Overall, we anticipate the time commitment for this role to be three or four days a month.

The Museum is a registered company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The Board comprises one ex officio Trustee being the appointed Colonel for the Glosters for Gloucestershire, 12 Ordinary members and 4 Nominated by the RGH trustees. Ordinary members are appointed for an initial term of four years and can be re-elected indefinitely. However, due to the desired requirements of this role in developing and implementing a new strategic plan, we envisage that a Chair will be appointed for an initial term of five years. All the members of the Board are also members of the company and in addition there are three members of the company who can vote at an AGM. There is a small wholly owned subsidiary which is the charity’s trading company.

Daytime or evening meetings: Both

Closing date for applications: 2 February 2024

Contact details or web link for applicants to find out more: https://www.soldiersofglos.com/new-chair-of-trustees/