External Trustee / Deputy Chair

Overview

Join to apply for the External Trustee / Deputy Chair role at University of Portsmouth Students\’ Union.

The University Of Portsmouth Students\’ Union is seeking an External Trustee / Deputy Chair who has enthusiasm supporting and guiding a student led organisation.

What difference will you make?

As part of our Board, you will shape our strategic direction and help us achieve our goal of \’having a positive impact on every Portsmouth Student\’. As Deputy Chair, you will support and mentor the Chair, acting as a ‘sounding board’ and confidante.

What are we looking for?

The right candidate will thrive in a student led, highly responsive environment and have an enthusiasm for supporting and guiding a student organisation. They will command confidence, have sound judgement and strong communication and leadership skills.

Finance Experience to support our current strategic direction and bring new skills to the Board, the Board of Trustees is looking for the following financial experience:

• Preferably financial experience from a charity outside of the SU sector
• Understanding of financial oversight
• Ability to interpret financial information to support strategic decision-making
• Awareness of charity finance and regulatory requirements

Chairing Experience The successful candidate would also be the Deputy Chair, and we are looking for the following experience:

• Ability to deputise for the Chair, and chair meetings of the Board
• Ability to build a strong and effective working relationship with the Board of Trustees Chair
• Ability to foster, maintain and ensure that constructive relationships exist with and between the Trustees
• Assist and support the Chair in providing leadership to the Board, through the governance arrangements, and also acting as a ‘sounding board’ and confidante to the Chair in the execution of their role

Due to the current make-up of our Trustee Board, we are not actively searching for candidates with skills, knowledge and experience related to the Student Union and HE sector and we would welcome candidates from other sectors or regions to apply. That said, we would very much like to encourage anyone who feels that they could bring something to our Board to apply, regardless of experience – our purpose and values also lead us to welcome first time Trustees too!

We are strongly dedicated to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within our community and we are passionate about creating a welcoming and inclusive environment which supports everyone from recruitment through to appointment, regardless of your background. We welcome applications from all talented people and as part of this commitment, we are working to improve the diversity of our Trustee Board to ensure that it is as relevant and representative of our student community as possible and are actively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups.

What will you be doing?

The University of Portsmouth Students’ Union is an independent charity that exists to advance the education of all students at the University of Portsmouth. Our vision is to have a ‘Positive Impact with every Portsmouth student’ and we aim to have both immediate and legacy impacts through our range of inspiring services and activities.

As a charity led by its values and guided by its members, we offer a wide range of services and activities to support and enrich the lives of our students. UPSU employs approximately 30 career staff, a further 40 student staff and we work with over 1000 registered student volunteers and over 100 student groups.

We are looking for one Trustee & Deputy Chair to join our Charity Trustee Board to support the Union through its next steps. A strong and active Board is crucial for us as we develop and implement our strategy, face challenges, maximise opportunities and endeavour to create an even better Union; one that continues to be flexible and agile enough to react quickly to the changing needs and interests of our student members and achieve our vision.

UPSU implemented a new 3 year Strategy from August 2023 and as always, our Strategy sets the direction for UPSU and ensures we are all focussed on the right things for the benefit of all University of Portsmouth students. Our new Strategy focuses on three areas:

• Academic Success – All students’ academic outcomes are improved as a result of the work that we do – making this the best we can for UoP students through our charitable aims of Representation, Development and Welfare
• Social Capital – Students are supported to find themselves, be themselves, connect and belong
• Future Readiness – Students’ futures are made clearer and enhanced by the work that we do

Board meetings sit 4-5 times per year and in addition we ask our Trustees to share their expertise in supporting one of our sub-committees. The roles are voluntary and whilst we welcome all applicants, the requirement for regular meeting attendance may suit people within easy travel time to Portsmouth.