Lay Trustee

Posted on: Tuesday 6 June 2023

Closing: Monday 3 July 2023 17:00 (UK time)

This vacancy has expired.

Role Context

Are you a member of the public who is seeking to make a difference and help to influence decisions which impact on the health of society? If the answer is yes, we want to hear from you! The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM) is seeking two lay trustees, ideally with expertise in organisation development and/or charity governance.

So who are we? FPM is the professional membership organisation for pharmaceutical physicians (doctors) and is a registered charity. It works for the benefit of patients and the public by contributing to the provision of effective medicines by seeking to advance the science and practice of pharmaceutical medicine.

Charity trustees are the people who serve on the governing body of a charity. Trustees have and must accept ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of a charity and ensuring that it is solvent, well-run, and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public for which it has been set up. Trustees are also Directors of FPM under the Companies Act.

The FPM’s governing body is its Board of Trustees which has fourteen trustee members. Twelve of the trustees are medically qualified and are current members of FPM. The two lay trustees will provide invaluable lay perspective to help FPM to deliver its current strategy which is based on three pillars of Trust, Sustainability and Relevance. Further details of FPM’s strategy 2023-2025 are here.

This vacancy has expired.

Main responsibilities as a trustee

Undertake the legal duties and obligations of a trustee of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Contribute to setting the strategy for FPM
Attend meetings and to contribute to the work of FPM Board
Attend and to contribute to the work of other FPM committees and working groups as agreed
Represent FPM at external meetings and events as agreed
Participate in communications by email / telephone in between meetings as required
Act in compliance with FPM’s Governing Documents and Regulations including its Trustee Code of Conduct
Act in compliance with FPM’s Policies including its Equal Opportunities Policy
Act in compliance with FPM’s values (Professional, Innovative, Caring, Collaborative, Credible and Learned)

All Trustees must:

Ensure that the charity complies with charity law, and with the requirements of the Charity Commission as regulator; in particular ensure that the charity prepares reports on what it has achieved and Annual Returns and accounts as required by law
Ensure that the charity does not breach any of the requirements or rules set out in its governing document and that it remains true to the charitable purpose and objects set out there
Comply with the requirements of other legislation and other regulators (if any) which govern the activities of the charity
Act with integrity and avoid any personal conflicts of interest or misuse of charity funds or assets
Ensure that the charity is and will remain solvent
Use charitable funds and assets reasonably, and only in furtherance of the charity’s objects
Avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s endowment, funds, assets or reputation at undue risk
Take special care when investing the funds of the charity, or borrowing funds for the charity to use
Use reasonable care and skill in their work as trustees, using their personal skills and experience as needed to ensure that the charity is well-run and efficient
Consider obtaining external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk to the charity, or where the trustees may be in breach of their duties.

Appointment

Appointments to the role of lay trustee will be made by representatives of the Board of Trustees of FPM. A person specification is provided below. Interested applicants should submit their CV and a written statement before the deadline. The statement should clearly explain why the applicant is interested and also how they fulfil the appointment criteria. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend for an interview. FPM’s lay trustees act in a personal capacity and not as an official representative of any other organisation or profession which they may belong to.

Tenure

Appointed Trustees will normally serve for a period of 3 years. This can be extended to a maximum of 6 years if re-appointed.

Confidentiality

Information relating to FPM business must be kept confidential unless otherwise agreed by FPM. An oath will be sworn at the first Board Meeting.

Expenses

FPM will reimburse reasonable travel and subsistence costs arising from attendance at FPM events under the terms of FPM’s Expense Claim Policy.

Time commitment

It is anticipated that there will be at least four half-day meetings of the Board each year with at least 50% via videoconferencing. There will be additional time commitments involved in supporting the work of the Board, other Governance committees and FPM generally in between committee meetings but it is difficult to be prescriptive about the extent of this.

Eligibility to be a trustee of a charity in England & Wales

You must be at least 16 years old to be a trustee of a charitable company or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), unless the charity’s governing document says you must be older. You must be at least 18 to be a trustee of any other type of charity. Subject to waiver provisions, this includes anyone who:

has an unspent conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or deception
is currently declared bankrupt (or is subject to bankruptcy restrictions or an interim order) or has an individual voluntary agreement (IVA) with creditors
is disqualified from being a company director
has previously been removed as a trustee by either the commission or the High Court due to misconduct or mismanagement

For full details please see Charity Commission Website.

Person specification

As part of your application, please provide details and examples of how you meet these criteria

	Essential	Desirable
Professional	Eligible to be a Trustee and Company Director. In good standing with any professional registration body where applicable Does not have any significant professional or personal interests that might conflict with or be perceived to conflict with this role	Evidence of achievement and contributions at board level within a relevant professional or health setting.
Attitudes	Able to demonstrate an interest in the specialty of pharmaceutical medicine and the work of FPM Able to work effectively within a team and to contribute to decision making Able to provide proactive challenge during discussions and decision making when required Willingness to devote the necessary time and effort to fulfil the requirements of the role	Evidence of achievement and contributions at board level within a relevant professional or health setting.
Specific Expertise	Understanding and acceptance of the legal duties and responsibilities of trusteeship Ability to contribute to the governance and development of a charity Proficient computer skills - experience with MS Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and videoconferencing platforms such as MS Teams and Zoom	An understanding of the environment within which FPM operates

How to apply

Please send your CV and a covering written statement to explain your interest in the role and how you feel you meet the requirements. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to meet a selection panel during July 2023.

The closing date for applications is 17:00 (UK time) on Monday 3 July 2023.

Please email your application documents to recruitment@fpm.org.uk or send them by post to our postal address addressed to the Chief Executive.
Please send any queries to recruitment@fpm.org.uk.