Board Recruitment - Fife Cultural Trust

Fife Cultural Trust (FCT) are recruiting a new Trustee with HR Experience who can help them shape the future of cultural services in Fife.

FCT is a vibrant and ambitious cultural organisation delivering cultural services and experiences right across Fife, with its head office based in Kirkcaldy. FCT is a relatively young organisation, having been established on 1 October 2012, and most of its current directors have been on the Board since its establishment. It is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status (SC043442). The Board comprises 13 Trustees, with 9 directors independently appointed and 4 appointments by Fife Council, reflecting that the Trust delivers a range of public services for the Council in return for an agreed management fee, and that the local authority is the sole member of the company.

FCT delivers a year-round programme of cultural activities, and last year there were 2.2m visits to our venues which comprise libraries, museums and heritage sites, mobile libraries, and a mobile museum. The Trust is also responsible for the stewardship and care of the objects and archives in Fife Council’s museum collections, for Fife’s historical archives, and for the development and delivery of Fife’s Cultural Strategy.

We employ over 450 staff, most of whom live within the Kingdom of Fife, and last year had a turnover of £10m. A key focus of the organisation currently is on increasing the unrestricted income that it generates to secure long term sustainability, and also progressing a programme of transformational change in relation to both services and corporate culture, in order to fully grasp the opportunity that the Trust represents and ensure it can continue to deliver high quality services to our customers in the long term.

We currently have an exciting opportunity to recruit an independent Director / Trustee to join the Board of Fife Cultural Trust (FCT). We are specifically seeking an individual who has a strong background, knowledge, and expertise in Human Resources, and preferably also in leading transformational change through people.

An interest in culture and the arts would be advantageous but not essential. The successful candidate is also likely to be asked to chair the HR Committee, a sub-committee of the main Board of Trustees. The Board meets quarterly, usually early evening on a Wednesday, and the Committees tend to meet every 8 weeks. The other standing Committees are the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Nominations Committee (which meets as required and is also chaired by the Chair of the HR Committee).

This vacancy on the Board is key in helping to deliver strategic priorities of the Board and the organisation, and offers in return a genuinely rewarding opportunity to help shape this ambitious organisation and cultural services in the area in the long term.

The Board is responsible for delivering FCT’s services in accordance with the strategic direction and priorities that it sets for the organisation. The current Trustees represent a wide range of relevant skills to support the development of the organisation and expertise relevant to the services we deliver.

In addition to its governing and leadership role the Board has responsibility for the sound management of the organisation, for compliance with the legal and regulatory framework within which FCT operates, and for publicly accounting for FCT’s performance, as well as for providing challenge and support for the senior team.

The organisation has a small Executive Team led by Heather Stuart, Chief Executive. The current Chair of the Board is Professor Stuart Cross, Head of Dundee University Law School, and Christine May, a self-employed business consultant and former Council Leader, is the Vice Chair. The members of the Board share collective responsibility for effective delivery of the services, strategy and obligations of FCT. A full induction is provided for new Trustees.

Please note that this is a voluntary position; however, reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

If you have the skills, experience and enthusiasm to contribute to governing and developing this charity, please contact Heather Stuart, Chief Executive, for a confidential discussion, E-mail: [email protected]; Telephone: 03451 55 55 55 x 442033.

Applications should take the form of an up to date CV, and a covering statement setting out relevant skills and experience, and why you are keen to be considered as a Trustee of FCT. Applications can be emailed to Heather Stuart as above or submitted in writing to – Chief Executive, Fife Cultural Trust, Iona House, Grantsmuir Road, John Smith Business Park, Kirkcaldy, Fife, KY2 6NA.

Further Information can be found on our website www.onfife.com including a copy of the Trust’s most recent annual report for 2014/15.

Closing date for receipt of applications: Friday 5 August at 5pm