Clerk to the Board of Trustees

The Clerk to the Board of Trustees will perform the duties of secretary and manage the business of the Boards, including; servicing Board meetings, advising Trustees and the CEO on governance and compliance, and reviewing governance policies and procedures and related documentation.

Time Commitment

The Board are each scheduled to meet 6 times a year. Additional Board meetings are convened as necessary. Further time commitment will be needed to fulfil other responsibilities of the role as referred to below.

Reporting and Management

The role of the Clerk will be directly managed by the Board and assisted by the CEO of the Board.

Responsibilities of the Role

o In consultation with the Chair, Chief Executive, produce a schedule of meetings and plan of business for the Union Board.

o Prepare, in consultation with the Chair and Chief Executive, agendas for Board meetings and co- ordinate the timely provision of supporting papers in line with the Board’s requirements;

o Arrange the timely circulation of the agendas and supporting papers to Board members and the timely distribution of hard copies as required;

o Attend Board, taking minutes of them and a note of actions required; prepare timely minutes in a professional manner and in line with Charity Commission guidance, together with a note of actions to be taken;

o Seek the Chair or in the Chairs absence the Vice Chair’s approval to minutes and action notes, and circulate them for confirmation to Board; arrange for minutes when confirmed to be published on the Union’s website;

o Arrange for those responsible for follow-up actions from Board to be prompted as necessary; o Co-ordinate effective liaison between the Boards

o Keep up-to-date with charity legal requirements and guidance on matters relating to governance and compliance, and advise the Board as necessary, providing appropriate briefing notes;

o Keep up-to-date with compliance requirements of the Board.

o Advise as necessary on the need for changes to terms of reference of the Board and the and any other aspects of the Board’s work so as to promote effective governance;

o Arrange all necessary filing at with the Charity Commission, including changes in trustees and their details

o Maintain the Registers of Interests of Trustees of the Union and other relevant registers as required;

o Undertake such other work as might be required effectively to promote effective governance and compliance, including reviewing governance policies and procedures, assisting in the review of governing documents and risk registers, assisting in the preparation of Trustees’ Annual Reports and assisting in the induction of new Trustees and Senior Managers.

People and relationships

• Develop and maintain effective professional working relationships with the chair, the board and executive leaders.
• Oversee the clerking arrangements at academy committee level.
• Contributes to the coordination of effective learning and development opportunities for
• those involved in governance, including induction and continuing professional development. Personal Development:
• Undertake appropriate and regular training and development to maintain his/her knowledge and improve practice.
• Keep up-to-date with current educational developments and legislation affecting academy governance.

• Participate in regular performance management.

Support for HSO Executive Committee Board

• Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.
• Be aware of and support difference to help ensure everyone has equal access to the services of HSO and feels valued, respecting their social, cultural linguistic, religious and ethnic background.
• Contribute to the trust ethos, aims and development/improvement plan.
• Undertake personal development through training and other learning activities
• including performance management as required.
• General
• This job description is a representative document. Other reasonably similar duties may be allocated from time to time commensurate with the general character of the post and its grading. This is a new post. The person appointed will be expected to work flexibly and the exact nature of the duties described above is subject to periodic review and is liable to change.
• Other
• HSO is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check will be carried out on the successful candidate. Altus Education Partnership is committed to equal opportunities for all.
• The successful candidate will be required to provide two satisfactory references, identity check and right to work.
• Qualifications and Knowledge:

o Educatedtodegreelevelorrelevantexperience

o HighlyproficientuserofMicrosoftWord,Excel,PowerPoint,andAdobeAcrobatandability

to learn to use new tools

o Undergoneminutetakingtraining

o ICSACertificateinCharityLawandGovernanceorICSACertificateinAcademy

Governance

Experience related to position:

o Experienceofhavingsuccessfullyservicedcharityboardsandcommitteesincludingwriting agendas and concise and accurate minute taking

o ExperienceofworkingwithBoardandcommitteemembers

o Experienceofmaintainingsystemsandrecordsinagovernanceorcommitteeenvironment o Anunderstandingandacceptanceofthelegalduties,responsibilitiesandliabilitiesof

trusteeship

o Preparednesstomakerecommendationstotheboardandawillingnesstospeaktheirmind

with diplomacy

Skills:

o Excellentorganisationalskillsandabilitytoeffectivelyprioritiseworkandbalancecompeting demands

o Excellentverbalandwrittenskills,includingabilitytodraftaccurateandsuccinctemailsand papers, strong attention to detail and accuracy

o Goodinterpersonalandnegotiationskills,tactanddiplomacy

Behaviours:

o Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and externally

o Ability to work without direct supervision and to prioritise own workload, to multi-task and to work to deadlines.

o Empathy with the vision and mission of the charity