Age UK Cheshire is a local social enterprise that is dedicated to improving the quality of later life. As people are living longer, ensuring a high living standard and a sense of safety and establishing supportive community engagement is essential to preserving mental and physical wellbeing. Age UK Cheshire's mission is to provide community support for not just older people, but their families and carers in an effort to encourage everyone to be able to love their later life.

Age UK Cheshire coordinates a wide variety of programme offerings, with over 150 volunteers working across 6 shops and a community centre. The charity co-produces excellent services with older people, creating opportunities to connect individuals meaningfully and influence positive change. In Cheshire alone, there are approximately 154,000+ people over the age of 65. Within that population, 65,000+ live with a long-term health condition, 11,500+ people experience loneliness, and over 8,500+ are living with dementia. Therefore, Age UK Cheshire services have the power to have an immediate impact on people's everyday lives in a highly tangible way. Some of its services include the Bright Memories Dementia Service, day activity groups and telephone befriending for people who experience loneliness. 

In everything they do, Age UK Cheshire seeks to connect people; whether that is through local resources, by promoting new friendships, encouraging new hobbies and interests and fundamentally through the information, advice and support that it provides. It is an independent, locally-registered charity but works with others, including national Age UK to promote positive change.

The role of Trustee is a vital part of the effective governance of the charity. The Board of Trustees supervises the management team in delivering the Charity’s mission and vision. Trustees also support and, where appropriate, challenge the Chief Executive Officer and management team to achieve agreed objectives.

Trustees will be expected to:

• Ensure that the organisation complies with its governing documents, charity and company law, and other relevant legislation or regulations
• Ensure that the organisation pursues its objects as defined in its governing document
• Identify and assess risks and opportunities for the organisation and decide how best to deal with them, including assessing whether they are manageable or worth taking
• Ensure that the organisation applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects
• Give firm strategic direction to the organisation, setting overall policy, defining goals, setting targets and evaluating performance against agreed targets
• Safeguard the good name and ethos of the organisation
• Ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation
• Appoint the Chief Executive Officer and monitor their performance
• Where appropriate, serve on sub-committees of the Board e.g. Ambitions & Enablers

Age UK Cheshire seeks up to two new Trustees who will be aligned to its mission and will be active, engaged and genuinely have an intrinsic desire to understand the needs of older people in Cheshire. They will have enthusiasm and commitment to the aims and values of the charity and the ability to provide the level of commitment required for this role.

In terms of specific skill sets, one of the new Trustees will bring financial and accounting experience and insight, along with good people and communication skills in order to provide the appropriate level of support and challenge to the senior team. The other Trustee will bring general governance experience and strategic vision. They could be from the commercial or not-for-profit space but have a willingness to devote the necessary time and effort for the role and for the success of the charity.

The charity has been through a difficult time financially since the pandemic, especially because most of its services required face-to-face interaction, and Covid impacted the older population the most. As it continues to work on the recovery of its services and its financial position, the new Trustees will also assist in establishing a secure funding base and helping with fundraising work as and when required.

John Webb, Chair
Sheila Wentworth, Vice Chair
Susan Harrison, current Treasurer
Professor Margaret Andrews
Nicola Brooks
Val Pasley
Jenny Rayner
Darren Earnshaw
Simon Bunyan
Richard Hibbert
Amarjit Grewal

This role is unremunerated. The appointment is for a three-year term and ideally candidates would serve two terms however, this is at the discretion of the candidates. Time commitment will include quarterly Board meetings and quarterly Committee meetings. 

This organisation is based in Cheshire and the ideal candidate would preferably be from Cheshire. However, they can be from surrounding areas in the Northwest of the UK as well. This is because Age UK Cheshire holds some face-to-face meetings and they would like for the Trustees to have an understanding of the needs of the people it supports in the specific geographic location. Reasonable travel expenses may be covered by the organisation.