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Welcome to Devon Wildlife Trust! HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK Welcome to Devon Wildlife Trust! Hon Treasurer Candidate Information Pack Contents Page 1 About Devon Wildlife Trust 2 2 Why we need an Hon Treasurer 3 3 The Trust culture and working environment 4 4 Trust Governance 4 5 The Role of Trustee 5 6 The Recruitment and Selection Process 7 ANNEXE 1 Role Description 9 1 HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK 1. About Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) Established over fifty years ago by a small group of volunteers, DWT is the only charity that exists to protect all wildlife in Devon and to safeguard Devon’s unique natural environment. We work to ensure that anyone can contribute towards and benefit from a natural environment, rich in wildlife that is for everyone and valued by all. Our strategic plans include the creation and management of havens for wildlife; the use of ambitious, innovative and large-scale conservation approaches to protect and enhance wildlife in the wider landscape; species reintroductions; wide reaching education and engagement programmes; high quality research; and campaigning and advocacy work at regional and national level. DWT operates three wholly owned subsidiary companies: Devon Wildlife Enterprises (DWE) delivers commercial ecological consultancy work and gifts its profits to the Trust; Devon Wildlife Services (DWS) operates our visitor centre in East Devon - Seaton Jurassic; and Warren Crocus Company Limited holds the lease for land and property owned by DWT at Dawlish Warren. Along with 7 other Wildlife Trusts, we also jointly own and run South West Wildlife Fundraising Limited (SWWFL), a business which works to recruit new members. At DWT we believe that: - Devon is a truly outstanding place with exceptional wildlife; Wildlife has intrinsic value, bringing colour, beauty and wonder to our lives; Wildlife is relevant to every part of our lives; everything we do has an impact on it, and the natural environment affects our health, our wealth and our state of mind; The natural environment and wildlife are under immense and growing threat, here in Devon, across the UK and globally; Everyone can make a positive contribution to Devon’s wildlife, and can benefit from it. You don’t have to be an expert to make a difference. We are focussed locally, but have national reach; we know Devon and care passionately about its wildlife, but we are also part of a national network of 47 Wildlife Trusts - known collectively as The Wildlife Trusts (TWTs) - so our work makes a difference for wildlife everywhere. Our website provides a good overview of the range and reach of our work and provides details about our many assets (properties and nature reserves). You can also find a link to our Trustees Annual Report and Annual Accounts on the website under About Us; How We Are Funded. http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/how-we-are-funded 2 HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK You can find out more about the work of the The Wildlife Trusts (TWTs) at www.wildlifetrusts.org/ 2. Why we need an Honorary Treasurer Our current Hon Treasurer, Richard Clack, is retiring from the Board of Trustees after six years in this role as he has come to the end of his term of office. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Honorary Treasurer of Devon Wildlife Trust. If you are passionate about wildlife and the environment, as I am, then becoming a Trustee of DWT provides an excellent opportunity to be part of a dynamic and forward looking charity that puts its mission first and is strategically placed to play a major contribution in Devon towards protecting our wildlife and enhancing the environment, both for its own intrinsic worth and for the enjoyment and wellbeing of all the people of Devon. My time at Devon Wildlife Trust has been a very rewarding one and I feel pleased and honoured to have been able to have played my part.” Richard Clack – Honorary Treasurer The Hon Treasurer is an unpaid role, but a vital one, which supports excellent governance within the Trust. As part of their role as a DWT trustee, the Hon Treasurer will have an oversight role for DWT group finances - providing scrutiny and challenge where appropriate and fulfilling a high level and general advisory and reporting function to the Board. The Hon Treasurer is not expected to carry out day to day financial management activity, to draft financial policies, to produce reports or anything else that is ‘operational,’ and good financial governance is a responsibility shared by all trustees and DWT’s senior leadership team: DWT has a finance team, led by an experienced finance manager, which is overseen by the Director of Resources and Marketing (DRM). The DRM is responsible for ensuring that DWT adheres to legal and compliance obligations; that effective financial controls are in place and adhered to; that good quality financial information is available to the Board; and that all aspects of DWT’s financial management are delivered to a high standard; Trust committees, involving the Hon Treasurer, support scrutiny and development in key areas such as annual budget setting, quarterly financial reviews, remuneration, pensions and investments so that financial oversight is collective responsibility; Advice on more complex financial matters is provided by the Trust’s accountants, 3 HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK legal and investment advisors. The main focus of the Hon Treasurer’s role is to provide trustee level quality assurance and to act as a critical friend to the Board and the senior leadership team on financial matters. A willingness to become a DWT trustee, a recognised financial qualification and experience of financial management are the key criteria for the role of Hon Treasurer. The successful candidate will be joining an organisation that is in a strong financial position, has excellent financial controls and invests appropriately in its finance function. S/he will be valued by the staff and trustee team and will work closely with the Chair, CEO and DRM. Anyone who undertakes this role will benefit from a friendly, collegiate environment and can feel that they are making a crucial contribution towards our highly regarded charity. Further details about the Trust and the role of trustee can be found below. A full Role Description can be found as Annexe 1 of this document. 3. The Trust culture and working environment We are a welcoming community of people – members and supporters, volunteers, partners and staff - who share a love of Devon’s wildlife and who work together to protect it. Our beliefs and our values reflect those things that make people proud to work for us and want to support us. Our values are summarised as follows: - We are committed to excellence in all our work and hold a number of accreditations: Investors in Volunteers, Investors in People (Silver award) and ISO14001 for 4 HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK environmental management. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adhere to the Fundraising Code of Practice. 4. Trust Governance DWT is governed by a Board of Trustees which meets at least quarterly. The Board is the ultimate leadership and decision-making body for the Trust, responsible for ensuring effective governance, setting the Trust’s strategic direction and policies, and ensuring compliance with all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, including the Charities Act and Companies Act. The rules and regulations to which the Board is accountable are set out in the Trust’s Articles of Association. An Executive Committee to the Board meets quarterly to provide another level of scrutiny and to act as an advisory group and sounding board for the CEO and senior leadership team around finance and significant operational matters. Various other sub committees and working groups scrutinise and support staff remuneration, trustee nominations, volunteer relationships and Board development. DWT trustee representatives sit on the DWE, DWS and Warren Crocus Company Boards. Designated roles – the Chair and Hon Treasurer - are currently trustees elected annually by the Board of Trustees. The Board has recently adopted the Charity Governance Code 2017, which sets standards of best practice for governance, and is reviewing current practice in the light of this. https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/en 5. The Role of Trustee 5.1 Trustees are critical to the charity; they provide overall leadership, monitor and scrutinise the charity’s performance and help to shape the long-term future of the work we do. The role of the Board of Trustees is to govern the charity in line with DWT’s mission, values, charitable objectives and statutory and regulatory requirements, and to provide overall strategic direction to the organisation. See Annexe 1 for the full Role Description. 5.2 We hope that serving as a trustee with Devon Wildlife Trust will be a rewarding experience and this section outlines what we expect from trustees and what trustees can expect from us. 5.2.1 Time and Commitment In a calendar year all trustees are expected to attend: o Board meetings (currently held five times a year including two away days) o The Trust’s Annual General Meeting (held in the autumn). o Any sub-Committees s/he is involved in (usually held every quarter); o Any ad-hoc working groups s/he is involved in. There are currently three evening Board meetings a year and two Saturday daytime meetings. Meetings are currently held in Exeter or at Woodah Farm near 5 HON TREASURER CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK Doddiscombsleigh in the Teign Valley. We can provide support with transport to and from meetings if required. All trustees are expected to provide an ongoing contribution of ideas and opinion through meetings and discussions held via email. For all meetings, trustees should allow several hours of preparation to ensure they are well-informed and have read the meeting papers in full.
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