Future Independent Trustees

Running any kind of business, including a charity like the West Midland Bird Club, doesn’t just involve thinking about the here and now.  Well managed charities have to look and plan ahead – sometimes well ahead.  At the moment we are working on a 5 year plan which we intend to present to the membership at or before our next AGM in 2027. But there is another event happening in 2028 for which we need to start planning now – the retirement of at least one of our independent trustees, John Macmillan, who will not be seeking re-election when his current 3 year term expires.

In legal terms, the trustees are the ultimate decision-making body of the Club and carry the legal responsibility if things go wrong.  But, as we explain on the Guidelines and Governance page of the website (via the drop-down menu under the ‘About’ tag), the management of the charity is very much a team effort with the Executive Committee, three of whose members also sit as trustees.   You can find out more about our current trustees, members of the Executive Committee and our other key volunteers on the ‘Meet the Team’ page of the same section of the website.

This is a significant volunteering opportunity for someone with an interest in charity management.  If this is a new area for you, you can find out more about what being a charity trustee involves by visiting the Charity Commission’s website.  Don’t be put off if it all looks a bit complicated.  As you will see from John’s biography on the website, he has been a charity trustee for much of his adult life and has found it immensely satisfying. And don’t be put off either if you like the idea but have no relevant experience. Although ideally we would like to find someone within our membership who already has either charity or business management experience, we are starting the recruitment process early so that we can give training to suitable candidates who lack it.

So, if you are interested, in the first instance please send a brief CV to Don Ainsworth at ceo@westmidlandbirdclub.co.uk. Every suitable candidate will have an informal interview – coffee and cake can be guaranteed – with a view to us preparing a short list from which future trustees can be drawn as vacancies arise, thus ensuring a smooth passing of the baton.