York Allotments Charitable Incorporated Organisation (YACIO) is a young dynamic registered charity (No. 1174306) that has recently taken over the role of managing and developing many of the allotments in York, for the benefit of the wider community.  

Trustee opportunity

We are currently seeking someone to join our board of trustees, as a trustee you will join our small board, providing oversight and perspective on our current activities and help guide the future development of the charity.  Please note that we have a dedicated administrator who deals with many of the day to day issues that arise in the charity so that this role is not primarily about the day to day work of running the Charity, though all trustees do take on some responsibility for more demanding issues and questions and tasks that arise from our work.  

The Benefits

The role is voluntary but offers an opportunity to develop a broad range of skills and experience related to the management and the operation of a charity, as well as opportunities for personal development and training.

About the commitment

You will need to be available for around twelve Trustee board meetings a year (usually evenings) as well as occasional ad hoc meetings.  You will also need to commit to 2-3 hours as needed between meetings, for instance to read minutes or complete any actions that you agreed to take on.   If you are selected we will make sure that you are properly inducted to the Management Committee, have a support while you are learning about your role.

About your knowledge and experience

We are looking for someone with a commitment to the work of YACIO and who has other skills knowledge and experiences that will help the organisation thrive. For example having at least one of the following would be helpful:

• • • significant experience of running an allotment,
    • experience of being a site secretary,
    • knowledge of the charity sector in general and/or  of managing Charities
    • experience of land management,
    • knowledge of civil law,
    • experience of finance, budgets, financial planning.

About you:

We expect trustees to have:

• A commitment to the aims and objectives of YACIO
• A willingness to devote the necessary time and effort to manage the organisation
• The ability to have a strategic vision
• Good, independent judgement
• An ability to think creatively
• A willingness to speak their mind
• Good listening skills and ability to engage in constructive discussion
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
• An ability to work effectively as a member of a team
• The skills to analyse proposals and examine their financial consequences
• A preparedness to make unpopular recommendations to the board
• A willingness to be available to staff and site secretaries for advice and enquiries on a rolling basis

Please note: For practical reasons we require trustees to have access to the internet and an ability to deal with emails, open attachments, create and send documents and to be able to use simple internet based packages and programmes

Finding out more

Take a look at this website (www.yorkallotments.org) for more information about who we are and what we do.  For an informal discussion about the role of trustees, contact Tony, chair of the committee by email:  tony.chalcraft@yorkallotments.org 

Interested in applying?

So if you are up for a challenge, have relevant skills and have a few hours a month to spare, we’d love to hear from you!

Please send a very brief CV and covering letter expressing why you would like to be on the board and what you would bring to the role and send this to: contact@yorkallotments.org