The Strawberry Hill Trust

About the role

The Strawberry Hill Trust seeks a new Honorary Treasurer to lead the Board on financial issues and help make it the destination venue for a wide range of interest groups.

Strawberry Hill is run by a Board of Trustees from a variety of backgrounds and skill-sets. The Board is responsible for the strategic leadership of the charity and for ensuring that it delivers on its charitable objectives, is in good financial shape, and complies with charity law. The Trustees support the Director and management team and review and oversee the House’s overall performance.

The Board is seeking an experienced and energetic Trustee of unimpeachable quality to join a fast-evolving team as the Honorary Treasurer, providing strategic leadership to the House at a time of great change and renewed creativity and vigour. The new Trustee will be eager to become involved in overseeing management and development, and will need to have a demonstrable understanding of the issues relevant to the successful governance of a charity.

The Honorary Treasurer’s role is to advise the Board and the Director on financial matters, but also to work closely in a hands-on way with the Financial Manager and Director to provide support and advice. The incoming Honorary Treasurer will help implement Strawberry Hill’s new financial strategy, chair the board Finance Committee, advise on the best ways to ensure financial self-sufficiency and optimise the financial performance of The Strawberry Hill Trust.

All Trustees are expected to attend four ‘in person’ Board meetings per year, normally held at Strawberry Hill House. In addition, the Honorary Treasurer will be asked to chair the Board’s Finance Committee, also held a minimum of four times a year before each Board meeting. Additional Board meetings are normally held by Zoom as required. 

Person specification

Strawberry Hill is seeking a new Trustee to complement the current membership of the board and to replace the outgoing Honorary Treasurer, who is stepping down in July. They welcome applications from individuals with board experience as well as advanced financial acumen, such as someone with extensive experience from a big four accountancy firm, or of a similar calibre. Candidates would ideally also bring previous charity finance experience to the role. More broadly, experience of the heritage charity sector would also be welcomed.

Candidate experience

Required for this role

Trustee experience or aptitude: Sitting on a trustee board requires the ability to take a more advisory approach than in executive roles. If you have not previously held any trustee or non-executive positions, you should demonstrate a track record of influencing the direction of your organisation at board level. If you already have significant trustee or non-executive experience, please detail this. Please include your most relevant experience including role and key achievements

Advanced financial and accounting acumen: In-depth experience of working directly with financial and accounting issues. Experience could be either in a leadership role of a finance function or as a director or partner of a professional services firm in this area. Candidates will be able to lead the board in debates about complex financial and accounting matters and would ideally be chartered within their field.

Desired for this role

Charity finance: Demonstrate experience of issues relating to charity finance, preferably having led a finance function or sat on the Board of a charitable finance organisation.

Additional information 

Number of meetings per annum/time commitment: 4 compulsory Board meetings p.a., 4 Finance Committee p.a. plus other meetings as required.

Daytime or evening meetings: evening

Closing date for applications:       Friday, 19 April 2024

Contact details or web link for applicants to find out more: Please get in touch with Lynn Beard on applications@strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

Organisation website: www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk