Trustee Treasurer

Asylum Welcome is an extraordinary local charity supporting asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants who seek refuge in and around Oxford. With a strong reputation both locally and nationally, our team of approximately 30 staff and 200 volunteers offer a range of services from food and clothes to advice, visits, legal support, education and assistance. Asylum Welcome aims to transform the lives of those it serves. We are looking for a new Treasurer to join our Trustee Board and support our ambition. This is a challenging and rewarding role, helping to ensure the organisation continues to fulfil its mission, and remains sustainable.

The ideal candidate will have significant experience in strategic financial management and of working for or within a Board. Equally important is a belief in our mission, commitment to our values and a collaborative style, able to draw out the skill and potential within our team. As an organisation we are committed to reflecting our diverse and vibrant Oxford community, and we particularly welcome people with lived experience of being a refugee or migrant to join our Board to help strengthen our governance and our approach. Lived experience in this context means that you have come to this country as a refugee or asylum seeker or have lived with or grown up alongside people who did.

As a Trustee you will:

• Be an important part of the body that governs the charity and ensures it delivers its mission effectively.
• Actively participate in meetings, offering guidance and support to ensure that Asylum Welcome delivers the vital work it was set up to do, in the best possible way for clients.
• Scrutinise Asylum Welcome’s budgets, plans and financial reports, ensuring they meet the organisation’s needs and the relevant regulatory requirements.
• Ensure Asylum Welcome is complying with its governing documents and relevant laws, as well as updating and reviewing its own policies and procedures.
• Bring a particular skill, experience or insight that helps develop Asylum Welcome as an organisation.
• Act with care and skill in Asylum Welcome’s best interests.

As a Trustee you share, with all the Trustees, equal responsibility for the charity.

Prospective Trustees will:

• Be committed to the rights and welfare of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants and to Asylum Welcome’s vision, mission and values and determined to use your skills and experience to make a difference for others.
• Have experience of developing good relationships with people and organisations, stakeholders and supporters.
• Be able to work in a team, recognising and respecting the difference between the Trustees’ role and that of staff or volunteers.
• Be able to contribute to and ensure Asylum Welcome’s future plans and strategic development and/or financial stability.

The prospective Treasurer will have:

• A recognised accounting qualification.
• Significant experience of financial management, budgeting and reporting.
• An understanding of the financial, strategic and operational risks and their mitigation in a charity context.
• Be familiar with charity accounting and statutory reporting requirements.

As Chair of the Finance Committee, the Treasurer leads on all financial matters. The Finance Committee is responsible for making budget recommendations and financial reports for the Board and for agreeing and overseeing financial and related policies. They liaise closely with the Finance Manager to provide quarterly financial reports, the annual budget and annual statutory accounts to the Board. Input is also required during the annual audit process.

Asylum Welcome is governed by a Board of between 5 and 13 (currently 11) Trustees, who are elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September. Trustees normally serve for at least 3 years. Additional Trustees may be co-opted between AGMs. Trustees are not paid but travel expenses may be claimed for attending meetings. The Board meets (via Zoom and in person) 5 - 6 times a year, usually early evening on a Thursday. Regular dates are agreed a year in advance. Individual Trustees also join or lead the Board’s Committees. There is currently a Finance Committee (which meets 5 times a year, a week or so ahead of Board meetings) and a People and Governance Committee. We also have occasional task groups for short-term items.

Email your CV and a short (no more than 1 page) covering letter setting out why you want to join us and how you meet the person specification to Val Johnson, Co-Chair of Trustees at. The closing date for applications is Friday 30th May 2025. For an informal discussion to see if the role might be right for you, please contact Val Johnson at.