About Us
Age UK London is a charity that campaigns for an age-friendly London. We have been working to promote the interests of older Londoners for over 20 years and support the network of London Age UK’s and other older people’s organisations across all 33 boroughs.
Our CEO, Abigail Wood, joined us in 2020 and under her leadership Age UK London has gone through a significant period of consolidation and transformational change, streamlining activities and organisational structure, whilst maximising our impact.
Background to the role
A highly successful recent strategy day highlighted that the staff and trustees are closely aligned and have a strong sense of being part of one team, all pulling in one direction. We want to build on that by welcoming new Board members with key skills and expertise to enhance and further sharpen our work.
The Age UK London board currently comprises seven trustees, one of whose term will finish at our AGM in the autumn. Our chair, Tony Burch, took on the role in December 2024, having been a trustee since 2018. Our former chair, Imogen Clark, left having stayed on as a trustee until our CEO had returned from maternity leave in February of this year, and two other trustees resigned earlier this year for personal reasons.
We are a friendly, committed and effective board, and we foster a productive relationship with the Age UK London CEO and her team. We are passionate about campaigning to improve the lives of older Londoners.
We’re now keen to welcome someone who brings skills and experience in campaigning, public affairs and policy. Given that this is the key focus of our work, it’s important that our Board is replete with a deep understanding of the challenges as well as the possibilities for influence and change.
If you feel you are the right person to join our board, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Main Responsibilities
- To be aware of and accept the responsibilities of a charity trustee and director of a charitable company
- To ensure equality, diversity and inclusion is promoted and sustained through all aspects of Age UK London’s work and relationships
- To represent the board as necessary, on internal disciplinary and complaint panels or other panels, and on external bodies by agreement
- To act properly at all times, declaring any conflict of interests or perceived conflict of interests which may have a bearing on their role as a trustee
- To act in good faith with due care and diligence for the best interests of Age UK London and working within the charity’s vision, mission and values
- To attend and actively participate in board meetings, contributing own opinions and ensuring that papers are read in preparation for meetings
- To undertake training and attend induction
- To respect the confidentiality of matters discussed at board and any other meetings set up by the board
- To evaluate the performance of the board in relation to the agreed objectives
- To engage with the wider work of Age UK London and its network
- Willingness to commit to a minimum of two years in the role.
In addition to the above duties, each trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they may have to help the board of trustees reach sound decisions. This may involve scrutinising board papers, leading discussions, focusing on key issues, and providing advice and guidance on new initiatives or other issues in which the trustee has special expertise.
Person Specification
Among your key attributes, we are looking to secure experience at a senior level of public affairs, including how organisations can engage with Government and influence policy through a combination of lobbying and public campaigning, as well as:
- Ability to understand and accept the duties and liabilities of a Trustee and how they differ from operational management
- Empathy with the vision, mission and values of the charity
- Willingness and ability to devote the necessary time and effort
- Ability to think and apply knowledge strategically
- Ability to analyse and evaluate management information and any other evidence
- Ability to communicate clearly and sensitively and to participate in discussions
- Ability to work effectively in group situations
- Ability to constructively challenge and ask questions in an appropriate manner
- Ability to manage difficult/challenging situations
- Ability to maintain confidentiality on confidential and sensitive information
- Ability to manage boundaries and conflicts of interest appropriately.
Our commitment to diversity
We value equity, diversity and inclusion. We value and respect all the differences that make us who we are, including age, cultural background, ethnicity and race, disability and mental health, neurodiversity, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, social background and lived experience.
We believe that effective leadership and good decision-making is enabled through a diverse board membership, a culture of listening to, and acting on, diverse perspectives and, having board behaviours that embody respect, openness and constructive challenge. We are seeking to increase the diversity of our broad and warmly welcome qualified candidates who bring new perspectives.
We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If you have a disability or require reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact us so we can support you appropriately.
If you would like a call to discuss the role in more detail, please email Lucinda Shaw [email protected] to arrange a convenient time.
Having a call of this kind will not influence the success or otherwise of your application.
