Founded in 1989, Advance Credit Union (ACU) is one of the fastest-growing credit unions in the Midlands providing ethical savings and responsible loans. As a financial not-for-profit co-operative, ACU is ‘owned’ by the 5,500 members who save and borrow with the credit union. ACU offers a convenient and safe way to put some money away for the future and a cost-effective way to borrow ethically and responsibly. Membership of Advance Credit Union is open to everyone who lives or works within a ‘B’ postcode including Birmingham and the whole of Solihull Borough.

Advance Credit Union encourages everyone to save regularly, even a small amount, and those savings are lent back exclusively to credit union members in its community. As part of its ethos, ACU does what it can to help people manage their money. It won’t lend if repayments are not affordable for the borrower. Every year, it loans more than £2.5m to its members to help spread the cost of Christmas, home improvements, car purchase, holidays, weddings, funerals and many other purposes. In addition to savings and loans, Advance Credit Union offers a variety of other services including internet banking, prepaid debit card account, bill payment / debt management, tenant saver accounts and free life and loan insurance.

Credit unions are for everyone in our community, regardless of income. For this reason, ACU especially provides essential financial services to many people who would otherwise be financially excluded and susceptible to loan sharks and sub-prime lenders. It aims to treat its customers fairly and this means it will do what it can to help them manage their money in the best way. It also works with partner organisations who provide essential support and promote credit union membership. Find out more about its ethics, governance and transparency here.

Members of the Board of Directors carry individual and collective responsibility for the good governance of the credit union, including its safety and soundness as a financial institution. A Director must maintain the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to perform the role, together with the commitment of necessary time. They must always be focused on the interests of the members, and have a commitment to co-operative values and principles. Directors have no individual authority except where formally and explicitly delegated by the Board of Directors in a properly convened meeting.

Key responsibilities of Directors include:

• Setting the mission, strategic aims and values for the credit union, and ensuring that a plan is in place to deliver these
• Showing strategic leadership in pursuit of the values and strategic aims and supervising the performance of the credit union
• Appointing the CEO to manage the organisation and implement the plan
• Identifying risk to the credit union and its objectives, and ensuring that a risk management framework is in place
• Approving Board policies for the credit union in accordance with its mission, values and objectives, and within legal and regulatory constraints
• Ensuring that mechanisms are in place to keep the credit union compliant with legal and regulatory obligations and that processes are in place to sustain the Board of Directors and improve performance where possible
• Participating in electing a Chair of the Board to coordinate the activities of the Board and ensure its effective performance in the interests of the members

Directors will also be expected to serve on at least one Sub-committee or project group when / if required and as appropriate. They will also accept collective responsibility for Board decisions and collective accountability to the members, the regulator and other stakeholders. Finally, they will represent the credit union to external parties as required.

As part of a recent Board rebuild, Advance Credit Union is looking for new Directors who have a senior-level background and recent functional expertise in one, or more, of the following areas:

Digital marketing and communications: This individual will bring senior-level expertise (such as Head of Marketing, CMO or equivalent) with experience in devising and implementing comprehensive digital marketing content. With 90% of its business online, and a fairly young member demographic, ACU is looking for someone who will also be able to assist in the community engagement and communications strategy across social media platforms (such as Instagram and Facebook) to increase its reach and brand awareness, especially by tapping into wider audiences and by retaining its core customer base. ACU currently works with an outsourced marketing firm but it would be helpful to have someone who can provide oversight.

Digital customer experience: This individual will bring expertise of driving the design and implementation of best-in-class customer experiences, from leveraging data to optimise digital customer journeys through to back-end fulfilment and customer support. This experience could have also been gained by leading the digital product development and expanding a product portfolio in a competitive industry. ACU needs to continue to innovate and determine how to improve its current product offering as well as determine what new products they could provide to the community banking area.

IT strategy: Candidates will be able to lead the Board in complex topics about technology. This experience may have been gained as a current or former CIO or CTO - this individual will bring a strong understanding of digital infrastructure (systems, cybersecurity, etc.) and be up to date on latest market trends and advancements.

Customer service: Candidates will bring best-in-class customer service experience and will provide the customer 'voice' on the Board. They will be able to act as a consumer champion and demonstrate passion for driving excellent customer service.

Some regulated sector (ideally financial services) experience, and an understanding of the regulatory and legal environment within which ACU operates, would be helpful. Candidates will bring experience in the mutual sector or will be able to demonstrate clear passion for wanting to work in the mutual sector.

The successful candidates will have knowledge of the common bond area and the needs of its communities and should therefore ideally live and work in a ‘B’ postcode.

ACU is open to those seeking their first non-executive role, but they must be able to demonstrate that they have the ability to work at a strategic level, think creatively, and criticise constructively. They will also have good, independent judgement and a willingness to probe, challenge, and speak their mind.

Helen Torresi, Chair
Philip Cole, CEO

This role is unremunerated but reasonable, pre-agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed. Directors are elected by the general membership of the credit union and serve a three-year term. They may not serve more than three consecutive terms. Directors who have served the maximum number of terms may apply for re-election to the Board after at least a 12-month interval (as decided by the Board). In cases of necessity, and in individual cases, the Board can waive the maximum term period requirement but must report the reasons to the membership in the AGM.

The Board normally meets quarterly with an additional AGM and one / two strategic meetings. Meetings are scheduled on weekday afternoon/evenings and are a mix of online and in-person meetings in Erdington, Birmingham. Trustees may also occasionally be asked to represent the Board at public events, meetings of member associations or with the charity’s partners. Travelling for in-person events is encouraged and would be greatly appreciated but is not mandatory.