Vice Chair

Do you want to make a positive impact on the residents of South West Surrey?

Citizens Advice South West Surrey is a local independent charity, committed to meeting the needs of our community.  

Our Trustee Board takes overall responsibility for our organisational direction and focus. 

What will you do?

• maintain an awareness of how CASWS is operating
  
• read papers for board meetings and attend 4-6 meetings per year
• work on specific projects with other trustees or staff within CASWS to further the strategic objectives of CASWS
• provide support and assistance to the chair in carrying out your responsibilities, acting as a 'critical friend' and sounding board
• take on specific responsibilities delegated by the Chair, e.g. supporting new trustees with their induction
• carrying out the Chair's duties in their absence with the acknowledgement of the board as being capable and suitable to do so 
• being open to approaches, where appropriate from other trustees about the work or judgement of the Chair. The Vice-chair will then discuss any issues arising with the Chair.

In addition, you will take an active discussion during board meetings and work with other trustees to:

• set policy and strategy direction, set targets and evaluate the performance of CASWS
• monitor the financial position of CASWS that it operates within its means and objectives 
• ensure that all the finances and supporting financial control systems of CASWS are in order including that full  financial records are kept for all transactions, that money is only spent for the purpose given, and that proper  financial controls are in place to safeguard the organisation’s resources
• monitor the financial position of CASWS ensuring that it operates within its means and objectives, ensuring that there are clear lines of accountability for day to day financial management
• seek the views of all sections of the community and monitor how well the service meets the needs of the local  community
• ensure that the service plans for the recruitment and turnover of staff and volunteers

What's in it for you?

• Make a positive impact for people in your local area by ensuring that CASWS is sustainable and meeting the needs of the community
• Meet people and build relationships with Trustees, staff and other volunteers
  
• Build on your governance, leadership, and strategy skills
• Increase your employability

Our Trustee roles are voluntary, although we’ll reimburse reasonable expenses

Skills

You don’t need specific qualifications or skills but you’ll need to:

• understand the type of work undertaken by CASWS
• understand and accept the responsibilities and liabilities as trustees
• be non-judgmental and respect views, values and cultures that are different to your own
• a good basis of leadership skills
• ability to facilitate and lead meetings
• good interpersonal skills
• have good listening, verbal and written communication skills
• have good numeracy skills to understand the accounts with the support of the treasurer
• be able to exercise good independent judgment
  
• preferably have governance experience at board level
• be willing to learn about and follow the Citizens Advice aims, principles and policies, including confidentiality and data protection
  
• be willing to undertake training in your role

How much time do you need to give?

Trustee boards usually meet in the afternoons or evenings and you’ll likely need to give approximately 15-20 hours per month and you may need to attend other meetings if you’re involved in specific projects, or meet with volunteers and staff occasionally within CASWS. We can be flexible about the time spent and how often you volunteer so come and talk to us.

Valuing Inclusion

Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and we particularly welcome applications from disabled people, people with physical or mental health conditions, LGBT+ and non-binary people, and people from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

If you are interested in becoming a trustee and would like to discuss flexibility around location, time, ‘what you will do’ and how we can support you please contact us.