OCAY is a York-based charity that provides advocacy to older citizens. OCAY is looking for a Vice Chair of Trustees to join our active, committed existing core of board members. Following a suitable and successful period as vice chair, we would hope for the recruit to transition to becoming chair of trustees, to take over from our long-standing chair, Rachel Totton.

The appointee would be supported by the Board of Trustees and the Charity Manager during their initial induction and planned transition to the role of chair. Due to the importance of these roles, we are looking for someone with significant experience as a trustee / board member, with the background and skills to lead trustees in fulfilling their responsibilities for the governance and strategic direction of OCAY.

In addition to good knowledge of the voluntary sector, experience of the health and social care sector would be valuable, but not essential. The Board of Trustees meets as a Management Committee six times a year, for about two hours. In between meetings, the Vice Chair and Chair together are expected to be involved in a range of activities e.g. networking and supporting partnerships; working groups; planning; staff recruitment and support, fundraising and outreach.  The time commitment is variable – reading papers and preparing for meetings might take 2-4 hours, talking to staff and other trustees might take another 2-4 hours every month, particularly in the initial period, and other activities will vary according to need, and the candidate’s own availability. From time to time, a bigger input of time may be needed.

The successful candidate will have a solid understanding of the strategic role of trustees, excellent meeting and presentation skills, a supportive and confident leadership style and strong understanding of monitoring and evaluation. A passion for supporting older people is essential.

This is a particularly exciting time to be joining OCAY. Recently a winner in the national Governance Awards, we have a strong team of trustees. We have had a successful fundraising year, due to the skills of the Charity Manager and team. Our small team of staff is highly effective, and we continue to invest in their skills.  We have our largest ever team of volunteers, building on our achievement of the Investing in Volunteer quality standard. We have successfully maintained our service during the pandemic, developing new and effective ways of working.

If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please contact the Charity Manager, Ruth Potter on 01904676200 for an informal chat. Click here to download an application form. Click here to download Vice Chair of Trustees Role Description. Click here to download Chair of Trustees Role Description.

There will be an interview with a panel of trustees.