Chalke Valley History Trust (CVHT) was established in May 2012 by the founders of the Chalke Valley History Festival to create a charitable entity that would promote the understanding and enjoyment of history. The founders believe passionately that it is vital for people of all ages to learn about the past in order to understand how it has shaped our modern world and to look to the future with a knowledge of the experience of past generations and the lessons of history.

The Trust’s subsidiary, Chalke Valley History Festivals Limited, operates the UK’s largest festival devoted to history: the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival. The festival takes place annually in the early summer in an area of outstanding natural beauty 10 miles west of Salisbury. The festival offers a unique combination of literary festival and living history displays including talks, debates, combat re-enactments, demonstrations and interactive experiences such as the Trench Experience, Sword School and Archery.

The Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools provides a wide range of activities for schools, designed to inspire, excite and inform young people, whatever stage they have reached in their school history journey. These include living history displays from across time, a field full of historic items and talks by leading historians on curriculum topics relevant to GCSE and A level.

The Trust interprets its objective as promoting the understanding and enjoyment of history to people of all ages across the UK. It currently fulfils this objective by supporting the Chalke Valley History Festival, the Festival for Schools and other history-related projects including school history trips, local history society activities and post-graduate research on history and history-related subjects.

As the owner of the Chalke Valley History Festival and the Festival for Schools, the trustees have ultimate responsibility for the festivals and have a supervisory role over their activities. However, as they are trading entities the day-to-day management of the festivals is undertaken by the boards and executive teams of the Festivals companies.

The duties of a Trustee Board member include:

• Ensuring that CVHT pursues its objects as defined in its governing document
• Ensuring CVHT applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects. For example, it must not spend money on activities which are not included in the objects, however worthwhile they may be
• Contributing actively to the Board of Trustees by giving strategic direction to CVHT and its subsidiaries, setting overall policy and goals for the trust and monitoring performance in implementing policy and achieving those goals
• Ensuring the financial stability of CVHT
• Safeguarding the good name and values of CVHT
• Ensuring that CVHT complies with its governing document (its Articles of Association), charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations

In addition to the above statutory duties, each trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have to help the board of trustees reach sound decisions. This may involve leading discussions, identifying key issues, providing advice and guidance on new initiatives, and evaluating or offering advice on other areas in which the trustee has particular expertise.

Chalke Valley History Trust is looking to appoint a new Trustee with an academic background in history studies to complement the skills and experience of the existing Board. This person will join the Board and help further the work and aims of the Trust of advancing and promoting the knowledge of history across the UK population.

The successful candidate will have professional experience within the academic field of history, having achieved a higher education qualification in history from any nationally or internationally-accredited university. They will be knowledgeable about current trends in history teaching at different educational levels, including latest curricula trends and other trends in history research. They will be able to contribute to the grant-giving activities of the Trust to support postgraduate students in their history research studies and other non-academic grants.

CVHT is open to receiving applications from those who are seeking their first non-executive role, as long as they are able to form constructive relationships at a senior level.

Trustees are expected to attend all board meetings. Board meetings are held three times a year during normal office hours. The principal meetings in April and November tend to last between two to three hours and are held in Salisbury and London by rotation. The trustees hold an ad hoc meeting during the festival and are also invited to the annual strategy day near Salisbury in early September each year with the board of Chalke Valley History Festival which lasts for the majority of that day. Trustees may claim out-of-pocket expenses incurred in travelling to meetings. Candidates should be UK-based.

CVHT welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.