For a charity like mySociety the appointment of a new Chair and Trustees is an important opportunity to bring new leadership and energy to our boards and to the organisation as a whole.
Over the next three months we are looking to appoint a clutch of new board members for UK Citizens Online Democracy (our charity board) and for mySociety Ltd (our commercial board) as well as the uniquely important appointment of a new charity board Chair.
After 15 years of service, our Chairperson, James Cronin will be stepping down at the end of the year.
James was one of the original founding group of volunteers who established mySociety. He has been a Trustee and Chair of UK Citizens Online Democracy and a Non-Executive Director of mySociety Ltd for most of their existence. James has been critical to the success of mySociety over the years and continues to be a mentor for me and the team.
Before then another of our very long-standing Trustees, Owen Blacker, will be stepping down at our AGM in July. Owen was also one of the original cohort of mySociety volunteers and has similarly served for over 15 years. We’ll miss Owen’s technical expertise, passionate defence of privacy rights and support of LGBT rights, and our board will be diminished as a result.
Strengthening our boards
So with this changing of the guard we have the opportunity to appoint new leadership and advisors to our boards and we hope you might consider applying.
A strong and diverse board is essential to ensure that our organisation is well-run, solvent, operating within the law, and making the right strategic decisions.
Three years ago we went through a similar exercise, appointing new Trustees Rachel Rank, Tony Burton and Nanjira Sambuli. We also established our commercial board with Jonathan Flowers, Tim Hunt and Anno Mitchell all being appointed. We also very recently appointed Mandy Merron as a new Trustee following a number of months in which she acted as an independent advisor to our Finance Committee.
So over the past few years we’ve already brought in new voices and opinions, improved our gender balance, and moved to fixed term appointments with a maximum of two consecutive three year terms and we’re keen to continue this progress through the next phase of our development.
Applications and appointments
For our charity board we are looking for new Trustees who can bring additional legal and policy experience. Specifically we need help in understanding the impact of any legal challenges we might face, especially in relation to data protection and Freedom of Information. We also need advice on how best to shape and influence public policy and consultations, especially where they relate to Democratic Participation, Place and Communities or International Development.
Trustees should have experience of working with the charitable or not for profit sector and must have a passion for our goals and experience of pursuing them.
You can see the full advert and application process here.
For our commercial board we would like to appoint new Non-Executive Directors with SaaS development experience and service provision to government and the public sector. We would especially welcome experience in developing and scaling software as a service products, and working on, or commissioning, service provision within Local and Central Government; especially in relation to Democratic Participation, or Place and Communities.
It would be beneficial for Directors to have experience of working with the charitable or not for profit sector, but this is not essential. They of course must have a passion for our goals and experience of pursuing them.
You can see the full advert and application process here.
We’re keen to continue to diversify the make-up of our boards and are particularly keen to see applications from women and underrepresented groups.
A unique new Chair
Appointing a new Chair is an exceptional opportunity to join a pretty amazing and committed, impactful charity. You’ll work with your fellow Trustees and the senior management of mySociety to help shape and direct our growth and development over the next few years.
We want to recruit a Chair who represents the best of what mySociety has to offer, who can help extend our ambition, hold us to account and champion our cause. They will need to be comfortable representing UKCOD and mySociety publicly and be prepared to speak on our behalf from time to time.
They will help us continue to diversify our board and team across a range of occupational and personal backgrounds, ensuring we deliver on our support of equal opportunities in ways that reflect the range of our users and work programmes.
They will be able to use their experience and connections to contribute towards helping more people to be active citizens and improving access to and participation in democratic processes around the world.
The closing date for all applications is 10.00am, Monday 13th May.
If our mission motivates you in the way it motivates our staff and volunteers, we would love to hear from you and you can find full details for how to apply here.
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Image: Xiang Hu