Treasurer Age Concern Twyford

Involve; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 100,000 - GBP 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused charity in the United Kingdom seeks volunteer trustees to support older residents through governance and financial management. You will help influence the charity's future by contributing your professional skills, particularly in finance. Ideal candidates should be committed to equity, diversity, and have empathy towards beneficiaries. No prior charity experience is necessary, though an understanding of financial practices is beneficial. The role provides a chance to make a significant community impact.

Benefits

Induction training and support

Reimbursement of reasonable expenses

Opportunity for career enhancement

Qualifications

• Clear commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in decision-making.
• Understanding needs of older people in the community is desirable.
• Experience managing finances or bookkeeping is essential.
• Knowledge of charity finance practices is useful.
• Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to others.

Responsibilities

• Develop and influence plans for the charity’s future.
• Partake in collective decision-making within the board.
• Enhance governance and operational growth of the charity.

Skills

Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

Understanding the needs of beneficiaries

Financial management experience

Ability to communicate financial information

Strategic vision and independent judgment

Analytical skills for proposals

Education

Recognised financial and/or accounting qualification

Job description

Overview

If you have a head for financial matters, you could add to and assist our trustees’ management of our finances. You could help our charity that supports older people in our community in Wokingham, Berkshire.

What difference will you make?

What do YOU get as a volunteer trustee with our organisation?

• An opportunity to influence and collectively-lead an organisation supporting our community
• A chance to expand and implement your understanding of our work
• A chance to augment your experience of charities
• A boost to your career and CV, if needed
• Satisfaction of helping an organisation that supports older people, thus giving something back to your community
• Induction training from us; training, support and assistance from local charity-support & advice agencies; reimbursement of reasonable expenses, if needed

What do we get?

• Your professional skills, knowledge, understanding or experience, to help a small charity that cannot afford those specialist services
• Your abilities to influence plans for our charity’s future, especially in these times of cost-of-living crises
• Enhancement to our overall governance and the Board of trustees; improvement in our charity governance and operational growth
• Your participation in our collective decision-making, contributing to all areas of our charity work
• Your enthusiasm

What do our beneficiaries get?

• The ability to continue our support for older people in our community
• A forward-looking and agile organisation, with a well-informed and well-managed Board of trustees

What are we looking for?

Here is some of what we would expect from our trustees; we appreciate you may want to develop more in some of these areas.

• Clear commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, valuing differences to make better decisions and deliver better outcomes
• Understanding of the needs of our beneficiaries is desirable; an empathy with them is essential
• Experience and knowledge of managing finances, bookkeeping or similar
• Experience and knowledge of current practice relevant to voluntary and community groups, charities or SME finance would be useful; an outline understanding of the Charities SORP would be welcome
• A recognised financial and/or accounting qualification would be highly beneficial but is not a prerequisite
• Ability to communicate financial information clearly, especially to other trustees whose in-depth financial knowledge may be less than yours
• Strategic vision; good, independent judgement; ability to think creatively, tempered by pragmatism and reality
• Skills to analyse proposals, examine their strategic financial consequences and make concise recommendations as part of the trustees’ team

What will you be doing?

Initially set up in 1988, we are an independent local charity that promotes and maintains independent living for older residents in and around our local community. We are not affiliated with any similar organisations, but work closely with other Wokingham Borough-based charities and support organisations.

We provide a Day Centre with activities, lunches and optional take-home meals, activities including arts, singing and dancing, plus a range of support services including assistance with form-filling, handypersons and a listening ear to support families.

In 2024/25, our income was £250k, a small rise on previous years, and our services and facilities remain well-used and very well-appreciated in our community.

We are a small and collaborative trustee team, working closely with the staff in the centre to provide a service to our local community. Our Board includes some people with experience and skills in the services we provide to older people or other professions, and we’d expect trustees to have empathy with our cause and our beneficiaries.

You don’t necessarily need prior experience of charity trusteeship, and although we’d welcome your financial qualification, that’s not a requirement, as our finances aren’t complex. An understanding of how charity finance works would be beneficial of course, with the ability to communicate financial information clearly, especially to other trustees, being important. Support from our employees is always available, as they will be dealing with the day-to-day finances.