Trustee - FRIENDS OF WESTONBIRT ARBORETUM

Trustee

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, in Tetbury, Wiltshire

Full-time

Contents

A Welcome from Christian Walker, Interim Chair

A Welcome from Christian Walker, Interim Chair.......3

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum Background.........4

Good Governance......................................................................6

Trustee Role Description.......................................................8

Trustee Person Speciﬁcation............................................12

Details and How to Apply......................................................14

I very much welcome your interest in exploring the possibility of joining the Friends of Westonbirt
Arboretum (FoWA) as a member of the Board of Trustees.

FoWA works closely with Forestry England to preserve, enhance and develop the unique landscape
of Westonbirt, The National Arboretum. First established in 1985, the charity now employs 23
members of staﬀ and serves more than 36,000 members.

In December 2019, we launched our new joint 10-year vision with Forestry England, to be a ‘world
leader in trees, inspiring people through Conservation, Education and Participation.’ A key part of the
vision is the delivery of long-term plans to develop the site further. The Friends play a signiﬁcant role
in fundraising and income generation to support this vision and provide grants to Forestry England
and other third parties. The Board and the CEO have embarked on a period of strategic change and
transformation. This is an exciting time for both the charity and the Arboretum.

To realise our vision the charity relies on the support and guidance of a dedicated and skilled Board
of Trustees, who are actively involved in the strategic direction, governance and decision-making of
the organisation and are fundamental to ensuring the charity is well governed.

I hope this pack will give you the information you need to help decide whether to take your
application further. Please get in touch if you have any other questions.

Best wishes,

Christian Walker
Interim Chair
Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Connecting people with trees...

...to improve the quality of life

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Friends of Westonbirt
Arboretum Background

FoWA is a registered charity based at Westonbirt, the
National Arboretum, in Tetbury, Wiltshire. We were set up
in 1985 when a small group of enthusiasts decided they
wanted to help preserve and develop this unique landscape.

Our vision
Our vision is to support Westonbirt Arboretum to be a
world leader in trees, inspiring people through education,
participation and conservation.

Our mission
Our mission is to support Westonbirt Arboretum to connect
people with trees to improve the quality of life.

Our work helps to support Westonbirt Arboretum, with over
15,000 trees and 600 acres of woodland.

Our charitable aims are to further public enjoyment and
knowledge of this world-renowned tree collection and
to secure its sustainable future. We do this by engaging,
informing and increasing membership and by giving ﬁnancial
and practical support to the management and development
of Westonbirt, The National Arboretum.

Westonbirt Arboretum is not only an important environmental and educational resource for those
who live locally but performs work that has national and international beneﬁts. At Westonbirt
Arboretum, Forestry England train expert arborists who will help care for woodlands and forests
across the UK and take part in climate change research that beneﬁts worldwide environmental
understanding. The Friends charity supports these eﬀorts through grant making and income
generation, broadening understanding through our communications.

The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum is registered with the Charity Commission (no. 4965522) and
Companies House (no. 293190) as a non-proﬁt making company limited by guarantee. The charity
also has a separate enterprise trading arm and is responsible for the onsite shop. The proﬁts from
which are given out in grants each year to support development at the arboretum.

Under charity law, we are overseen by a voluntary Board of Trustees. The trustees hold responsibility
for the charity’s direction, policy, key strategies, budget, staﬃng levels and how our performance is
measured.

Day-to-day management responsibilities are the responsibility of the charity’s Chief Executive
Oﬃcer.

The charity operates in a formalised partnership agreement with Forestry England who own and run
the site and day to operations of the tree care and visitor attraction.

We’re a charity with over 35,000 members
and supporters

We help support Westonbirt Arboretum, with over
15,000 trees and 600 acres of woodland

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Good Governance
Good governance is fundamental to a charity’s success. It enables and supports a charity’s
compliance with the law and relevant regulations. It also promotes a culture in which everything
works towards fulﬁ lling the charity’s vision. It is the aim of the Charity Governance Code to help
charities and their trustees develop these high standards of governance. As a sector, we owe
it to our beneﬁ ciaries, stakeholders and supporters to demonstrate exemplary leadership and
governance.

This Good Governance Code is a practical tool to help trustees achieve this.

For more information visit the Charity Governance Code website.

Protecting trees

Enriching lives

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Trustee Role Description

As a member of the Board, each Trustee will ensure that the
organisation is:

•

achieving its objects deﬁned in its Articles of
Association
operating within relevant legal, ﬁnancial and regulatory
requirements
eﬀective in pursuing its strategic priorities and realising
best practice.

Responsibilities
Trustees have and must accept ultimate responsibility for
directing the aﬀairs of the 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 provide the organisation with strategic leadership
and maintain a governance perspective.

Compliance
Trustees must ensure that the charity complies with charity
law, and with the requirements of the Charity Commission
as regulator; in particular they must ensure that the charity
is accountable by preparing reports on what it has achieved,
Annual Returns and accounts as required by law.

Trustees must ensure that they do not breach any of the
requirements or rules set out in the charity’s governing
document, and that it remains true to its charitable purpose
and objects.

Trustees must comply with the requirements of other
legislation and other regulators which govern the activities

of the charity such as the fundraising regulator.

Trustees must act with integrity in the charity’s best interest and avoid any personal conﬂicts of
interest or misuse of charity funds or assets.

Duty of Prudence
Trustees must ensure that the charity is and will remain solvent.

Trustees must manage charitable funds and assets responsibly, and only in furtherance of the
objects.

Trustees must avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s endowment, funds, assets
or reputation at undue risk.

Trustees must take special care when investing the funds of the charity, or borrowing funds for the
charity to use.

Duty of Care
Trustees must use reasonable care and skill in their work as trustees, using their personal skill,
knowledge and experience as needed to ensure that the charity is well-run and eﬃcient.

Westonbirt Arboretum is home to 2,500
species from the far corners of the globe...

... and 5 national tree collections

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Trustees must consider taking 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.

In addition to the statutory requirements set out by
the Charity Commission (above), Trustees of FoWA are
expected:

•

to work together to provide clear strategic direction
to the charity, setting overall strategy and policy,
agreeing goals and targets with the Chief Executive, and
evaluating performance against agreed targets

to be collectively responsible for the actions of the
charity

to represent the charity at functions and meetings as
appropriate

to declare any conﬂict of interest while carrying out the
duties of a trustee

to attend meetings, and to read and be familiar with
papers in advance of meetings

to serve on panels and attend panel meetings as
appropriate

to keep up to date about the activities of the charity and
wider issues which aﬀect its work.

The arboretum plays a vital part in
research and conservation...

... as well as being a stunningly beautiful
place to visit and explore

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Trustee Person Speciﬁcation

All trustees of The Friends must have:

• integrity

• a commitment to the organisation and its objectives

• an understanding and acceptance of the legal duties,

responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship

• a willingness to devote the necessary time and eﬀort to

their duties as a trustee

• strategic vision

• good, independent judgment

• an ability to think creatively

• willingness to speak their mind

• an ability to work eﬀectively as a member of a team

Beyond these personal attributes we try to maintain a
Board membership that has wide ranging expertise and
diversity, so that the Board as a whole has the necessary
skills and experience to draw upon in its governance and
decision making. We currently have strong skills in area
such as business strategy and development, PR and human
resources, so we are looking for people to bring skills and
experience that complement those, speciﬁcally in areas
such as fundraising, ﬁnance, legal and conveyancing.

Trustees will also need to complete an eligibility form (available here) prior to appointment.

CODE of CONDUCT

FoWA has a Code of Conduct in place which all Trustees are required to sign up to on joining the
Board. The full document can be made available on request.

Be a part of bringing Westonbirt’s
10-Year-Vision to life...

...and help connect even more people
with trees

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Details and How to Apply

Trustee time commitment: 5 Board meetings per year (each
lasting approximately 3 hours) with time to read papers in
advance and prepare. Possible attendance to other panel
meetings, ﬁnance and risk, Enterprise Board, adhoc large
grant application panels.

Please send a CV and cover letter stating why you are
interested in applying for the role, how your skills and
experience are relevant to the role, how you can add value to
the Board and any other relevant information.

Please send your application to our Board Secretary, Jo
Cummings at: recruitment@fowa.org.uk

All applications will be treated as conﬁdential.

Shortlisted candidates will meet with the Chair and the CEO
and other trustees.

Our expectation is that new Trustees will join our next Board
meeting as an observer and then be voted onto the Board if
approved.

Trustees are eligible to claim reasonable expenses for
attending to the charity’s business, including travel expenses
for attending meetings.

Candidate Information Pack - For the role of Trustee

Thank you for your interest in this role

fowa.org.uk