Chair of Trustees

Lifelites is recruiting a Chair to lead our Board of Trustees and work with staff to deliver our new strategy.

Purpose of the role

The Chair leads the Board of Trustees to deliver Lifelites’ charitable purposes in accordance with the constitution.

The Chair ensures that the Board functions properly and that Trustees fulfil their duties and responsibilities for effective governance.

About you

You are an experienced, respected strategic and people leader in your field, with the skills, experience and personal qualities, to chair a highly effective board of voluntary trustees. You have a passion for children’s services and strong alignment with Lifelites’ Vision for a world where every child with a life-limiting condition will be able to engage and interact with the people they love and enjoy the world they live in. You are likely to have experience at a senior level and a strong understanding of good governance, financial, legal and operational responsibilities of a board of trustees

Key responsibilities

• To lead the Board of Trustees’ to fulfil Lifelites’ Vision, Mission and charitable purposes.
• To lead the process of supporting and appraising the performance of the Chief Executive.
• To work with the Chief Executive and other Trustees to ensure the Board has appropriate induction, training and ongoing support to fulfil its governance functions.
• To consult with Trustees, Chief Executive, and staff to set agendas for Board meetings and run them in accordance with the Constitution.
• To ensure governance matters are dealt with in an orderly and efficient manner.
• To bring impartiality and objectivity to meetings and decision-making.
• To ensure that Lifelites identifies, declares, manages and records conflicts of interest and loyalty.
• To give direction to Board policy-making.
• To monitor that decisions taken at meetings are implemented.
• To ensure Lifelites’ Trustees are fulfilling their duties in risk management.
• To ensure Lifelites fulfils its legal obligations in terms of statutory reporting.
• To oversee periodic governance and performance review.
• To represent Lifelites at functions and meetings, acting as a spokesperson as appropriate.

Person Specification

• Excellent leadership skills.
• Experience of committee work and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a Board of Trustees.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Impartiality, fairness and the ability to respect confidences.
• Ability to ensure decisions are taken and followed-up.
• Experience of organisational and people management.

About Lifelites

Lifelites is a charity that passionately believes all children should be able to enjoy a childhood that they and their families can cherish, filled with special moments of fun, happiness and meaningful connection.

By harnessing inclusive sensory and assistive technology, children and young people with life-limiting conditions are empowered to play, learn, connect with their families and access the support they need to thrive. To achieve this, Lifelites provides the latest equipment, training and ongoing support, free of charge, for the children’s palliative care sector throughout the UK, reaching 12,000 children.

However, there are an estimated 99,000 children and young people in the UK living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, who could benefit from Lifelites’ services. As part of our ambitious 2023-28 Strategy, Lifelites is aiming to improve impact and increase reach so that every child with a life-limiting condition is empowered to experience unforgettable moments of connection and joy with their families.

Our values

Dynamic

We constantly evolve to respond to the changing needs of our children, families and partners, adapting our approach and using our expertise to maximise our impact.

Inclusive

We look beyond the traditional, obvious and familiar to remove barriers that prevent children and families from connecting, playing and expressing themselves. We partner with and recruit people based on their merits and alignment to our goals.

Collaborative

We bring together and collaborate with diverse people and organisations that share a common passion for our vision, believing that combining resources improves outcomes for all.

Empowering

We believe everyone has an innate desire to play, create and communicate. Our services empower children, their families, our partners and our team to discover and reach their full potential.

Innovative

We constantly seek new ways to achieve our vision, serve children in need and their families, develop our team and build our relationships with our partners.

Our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion

Diversity. Equality. Inclusion. These words are engrained in our services and our culture. As an organisation that seeks to empower children and young people with life-limiting conditions and complex disabilities, we are similarly committed to these values in the way we recruit and develop our people, build our teams and cultivate success. We actively welcome candidates’ different abilities, sexual orientation, ethnicity, faith, and gender.

Application Process

To be considered for this role, please email the following to Rob Lightfoot, Chief Executive – rlightfoot@lifelites.org

• Your CV
• A statement of no more than one sides of A4 setting out why your motivation for the role and how you meet the criteria set out in the person specification

Should you require any further information to support your application or and access requirements to enable you to apply, please contact Rob Lightfoot – rlightfoot@lifelites.org

The closing date for applications is 12noon Monday 8 January.

We will contact shortlisted candidates shortly after the closing date with details for the interview process.