Governance
The board of trustees is responsible for the governance of Headliners. This involves:
- Acting as guardians of the organisation’s mission and values
- Ensuring that the organisation has strategic direction and long-term vision
- Protecting the probity of the organisation
- Ensuring the vitality and long-term being of the organisation.
Headliners is registered as a charity and is a company limited by guarantee. Each trustee is a director of the company. The board, as the governing body of the organisation, holds the ultimate power and responsibility.
Responsibilities
By law the trustees are required to ensure:
- That Headliners operates within its permitted objects as laid down in its governing instruments
- The protection of property or funds (not immediately required) are invested properly
- That Headliners does not engage in improper political activities
- That Headliners complies with the requirements of the Charities Act as to filing of returns and accounts, sale of property, disclosure of charitable status, etc
- As a registered company, compliance with the requirements of the Companies Act
- Compliance with other relevant legislation such as, health and safety and employment etc.
At a more practical level trustees are responsible for:
- Setting the overall strategic direction of the Headliners and the framework within which the organisation has to work
- Ensuring that the senior management team prepares a strategic plan with clearly defined goals
- Monitoring ways the staff plan to achieve these goals
- Monitoring whether Headliners is making sufficient progress towards its long-term strategic goals
- Monitoring the overall financial viability of Headliners and ensuring that there are adequate internal financial controls.
Membership and meetings
Members of the board come from a broad range of professional backgrounds and bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Trustees are encouraged to be active and establish good relations with the staff team. There are opportunities for formal induction to achieve a better understanding of the programme.
Meetings take place every quarter and are linked to the annual planning cycle to ensure that the board can have an input into the strategic planning processes.
The more detailed work is carried out in three sub committees, which meet once a quarter in between board meetings. This is where trustees can contribute their experience and work alongside staff in a supportitive way.
The sub committees are:
- Legal and Finance
- Programme policy and practice
- Fundraising and communications
Attendance at quarterly board meetings is required. These usually take place in the early evenings.
Length of service
The board should have a maximum of 14 members. Each trustee is asked to commit to a minimum of three year membership of the board, renewable for a further three years.
