Trustee
Recruitment
Pack

Our locations

Who we are

YMCA is the largest and oldest charity working with young people in the world. We are
one of the 84 YMCAs in England and Wales, and are one of the 10 largest.

Each YMCA is a thriving and active community – a community that is transforming lives.
But each one is different. We all meet the needs and demands of the communities in
which we’re based.

YMCA Thames Gateway Group covers Essex, Kent and London and we provide support in
the full spectrum of areas offered by YMCA.

YMCA believes in fairness and opportunity. There are essential building blocks for a full
and rewarding life: a safe home; acceptance; guidance; friendship; physical and mental
health;academic support; employment skills; and access to real opportunities. Many
young people have never known these things; other people have lost one or more as
they grew up, but we all need them. All of us. At YMCA, we provide these critical
foundations for a fresh, strong start for young people and a better quality of life in the
community.

What we do

HOUSING - provide a home and personalised support services for a fresh start in life

SUPPORT & ADVICE - a safe place to talk and get help through guided groups,
mentoring, counselling, and mental health services

TRAINING & EDUCATION - opportunities to gain qualifications, skills &employment

FAMILY & YOUTH WORK - creating positive outcomes with children and young people
in their communities, and support for families with nursery, day care, holiday and
year-round programmes

HEALTH & WELLBEING - gyms, sport and recreation for fitness, and community hubs
for classes, social connection and collaborations

We also deliver multiple community outreach programmes.

Whilst our focus is on young people, we work with all members of the community, in
the belief that everyone should be able to reach their full potential, regardless of their
background. We call this a youth minded community approach.

We work through a “Branch, Hub and Spoke”model which shown below. Each branch
offers something different, working with the community in which it’s based.

We employ around 280 members of staff and have an annual turnover of around
£9.1million. During the 2022/23 financial year, we:

made £207,654 of value for money savings
generated £11million of social value through our Housing service

For further details, please see our Annual Report and Financial statement for 2022/23 -
https://bit.ly/YMCATGaccounts22-23

We also have a YouTube channel that will show more about what we do -
https://bit.ly/YMCATGYouTube.

Our vision

We offer people the space they need to feel secure, respected, heard and valued; and
we always protect, trust, hope and persevere.

Our values

We seek out

We actively look for opportunities to make a transformative
impact on young lives in the communities where we work,
and believe that every person is of equal value

We welcome

We speak out

We offer people the space they need to feel secure,
respected, heard and valued; and we always protect, trust,
hope and persevere

We stand up for young people, speak out on issues that
affect their lives, and help them to find confidence in their
lives, and help them to find confidence in their own voice

We serve others

We are committed to the wellbeing of the communities we
serve and believe in the positive benefit of participation,
locally and in the wider world

We inspire

We strive to inspire each person we meet to nurture their
body, mind and spirit, and to realise their full potential in all
they do

Our strategy

Our newly developed strategic objectives for 2022-2027 are summarised below:

Our strategy objectives

Following on from the strategic themes,  the objectives that sit under each theme are
detailed below:

About you

Are you interested in giving back to your local community?

If you are then we could have the volunteering opportunity for you.

Eight evening meetings per year
Make a life changing impact in your community
Discounted gym membership at the Romford Hub and expenses reimbursed

How you can help
YMCA TGG is keen to recruit trustees with experience, skills and expertise in the following
areas:

A commitment to the ethos, Christian mission and values of YMCA TGG
Strategic vision
Ability to think creatively and apply good, independent and impartial judgment
Commitment to the community which YMCA TGG seeks to support
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Willingness to devote the necessary time and effort required
Understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
IT literacy skills
Change Management, plus one of the following areas of expertise:-

Fundraising
Property Developments
ICT

Social Housing Management / Working with
Children and Young People / Health &
Wellbeing services

Though we actively encourage people of all faiths and world views to work, volunteer and
become members of our Association, it is a requirement that two thirds of those who sit on
our Board are Christian in order to maintain the Christian purposes of the Association. We
recognise that faith is a deeply personal part of our lives and that part of the great mystery is
the uniqueness by which our faith lives and breathes in our lives and actions. There is no test
or specific criteria for how an individual makes manifest their Christian commitment, rather
we ask Board colleagues to self-identify on their faith basis and agree to live out and
champion the Christian values that underpin the work of our YMCA in their service. The
values that underpin YMCA’s work are:

Trustee role description

The duties of a trustee include:

To develop and agree the long-term vision, mission and strategic plan for the
Association
To ensure the Association acts within the aims and purposes of the Association and
the wider Movement, and to ensure the board expresses the Christian mission of the
Association within its work
To ensure plans and annual budget reflect the agreed strategic direction and are
appropriate
To monitor progress against key outcomes from the plan and against budget and to
hold the Chief Executive and Executive team accountable for these
To contribute actively to the work of Board sub-committees and task groups
To pro-actively review the level of risk annually
To agree the Association’s key policies and ensure they contribute to the achievement
of the Association’s intended outcomes
To ensure the Association has effective and appropriate financial control systems and
procedures
To ensure the Association complies with the requirements of its multiple regulators
To ensure governance is of the highest possible standard
To work in partnership with members of the board, committees, chief executive and
staff
To reflect annually on the Board’s performance, collectively and individually
To appoint the Chief Executive and to set their terms and conditions
To play a part in representing YMCA Thames Gateway Group on a regional, national
and international level
To promote and develop the role of the Association in the community and with its
stakeholders

In addition, each trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have
to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions. This may involve scrutinising board &
committee papers, leading discussions, focusing on key issues, providing advice &
guidance on new initiatives & other issues in which the trustee has special expertise.

Governance structure

YMCA structure
Nationally and internationally, YMCA is a federated movement. YMCA TGG is affiliated to
the National Council of YMCAs in England and Wales. YMCA TGG is incorporated as both
a registered provider of social housing and a registered charity. It seeks to serve its
beneficiaries in the local community through the provision of services.

Board of Trustees and Sub-Committees
The Board of Trustees and Sub Committees are responsible for the organisation and
meet on a regular basis. They manage obligations through a committee structure as set
out below, supported by the Executive Team. The Board of Trustees meets four times
each year and each committee also meets four times annually. Committee meetings
are held online and the Board of Trustees meet in person at Dartford for two of their
four meetings. Trustees are expected to engage with Board of Trustee meetings and at
least one Sub-Committee.

Executive team & directorates

The day-to-day management of the organisation is led by the Executive Team using the
following structure

Trustee profiles

NAME: Mark Saunders

ROLE: Chair of the Board of Trustees and member of the Asset
Management & Development Committee

SERVICE: Mark has been a Trustee since 2019 and was elected Chair
of Trustees in December 2022

BACKGROUND
Mark is a practising solicitor specialising in commercial property matters. He has worked in
various central London law firms for over 30 years acting for financial institutions, property
developers, investors and occupiers. Having recently joined the Board of Trustees, Mark is
hoping that the legal and commercial skills from his work will help YMCA TG meet its strategic
and operational targets. Mark is a keen tennis player and an optimist; he still expects to acquire
the perfect backhand.

NAME: Mark Farrar

ROLE: Member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer and Chair of
the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

SERVICE: Mark has been a trustee since 2020

BACKGROUND
Mark is a Chartered Accountant and has worked in the City of London Insurance sector for over
25 years, punctuated by a spell in the charity sector as Head of Finance at the Royal
Horticultural Society. Mark's senior finance management roles have been focussed primarily on
business planning and management reporting, and recently more specifically on expense
management. Alongside his role on the Thames Gateway Board, Mark is  Trustee Treasurer of
Crosslight, which delivers debt advice and money management skills in London and West Kent.
Mark is an active member of his local church, and he and his wife enjoy spending time with their
3 grown up children and any opportunity to be in the great outdoors.

NAME: Peter Batt

ROLE: Member of Board of Trustees

SERVICE: Peter has been a Trustee since 2025

BACKGROUND
Peter has worked in the food industry for over 30 years across many functions primarily retail,
wholesale and commercial. For the last two and a half years, he was the managing director
of Nisa, a food wholesale business with over 4,000 locations and serving over 150 countries.
He was also a member of the Purpose Coalition, a committee chaired by Justine Greening to
enable barriers to be broken down and also sat on the boards of the Association of
Convenience Stores and the Federal Wholesale Distributors.

Prior to this he was operations director for the Co-op helping to lead the change in store and
communities and helped keep all stores open during the COVID pandemic. In the first two
decades of his career, he worked for Sainsbury’s in retail operations and then in commercial
being the buying manager for fresh produce and frozen foods.

Peter has also held some voluntary trustee positions in Saint Francis Hospice for eight years,
the Co-op Education Trust and the Co-op Foundation. He is married to Sam, lives in Shalford
and they have two children, Oliver (16) and Alexandra (13). Outside of work, Peter loves
attending sporting events and listening to 80s music.

NAME: Jason Fielden

ROLE: Member of Board of Trustees

SERVICE: Jason has been a Trustee since 2025

BACKGROUND
Jason brings extensive experience across the banking, finance and property sectors. As the
owner and operator of several successful companies within these industries, he has developed
a strong track record of leadership and strategic insight. Jason has been involved with our
YMCA for over 15 years, contributing his expertise to a range of areas including asset
management, finance, and stakeholder engagement. He has played a key role in supporting
both internal teams and the wider leadership group, helping to strengthen the organisation’s
operations and long-term sustainability. Most recently, Jason has deepened his commitment
by joining the Board of Trustees, where he continues to provide valuable guidance and
oversight.

NAME: Marie Mostaeddi

ROLE: Member of Board of Trustees and Chair of People
Committee

SERVICE: Marie has been a Trustee since 2024

BACKGROUND
Marie is a Chartered Fellow CIPD, and Chartered Member CMI who combines strategic
insight, people expertise and commercial acumen, to change the way organisations think
about their people.

She has generalist HR experience gained in a variety of sectors, including charity and non-
profit. Currently specialising in Organisational Design. She focuses on customer excellence
and organisational effectiveness, developing diverse high performing teams for optimal
performance.

In her spare time, you will likely find her in a theatre, cinema, music concert or reading a
book or two. When the weather permits she likes to be walking in the countryside or being
somewhere close to or on water. She loves travelling to new places and has a passion for
developing both herself and others.

NAME: Alice Strevens

ROLE: Member of Board of Trustees and Operations and
Programmes Committee

SERVICE: Alice has been a Trustee since 2020

BACKGROUND
A senior compliance and ethical trade professional with 13 years in business and human
rights; Alice spent 11 years at ASOS building the ethical trade programme and has
extensive experience in complex multi-stakeholder environments; overseeing
programmes to prevent modern slavery; provide workers with the fundamental right of
freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as regular risk auditing in
factories across the world.

Alice recently moved into the hospitality sector as Chief Purpose Officer at Shiva LLP with
responsibility for sustainability, human rights and charitable partnerships. Alice has two
young children and lives in South Woodford. Originally, she trained as an artist and is
looking forward to the day when there might be some time to start painting and drawing
again!

NAME: Robert Wong

ROLE: Member of Board of Trustees and Asset Management and
Development Committee

SERVICE: Robert has been a Trustee since 2024

BACKGROUND
Robert is the founder of IDEA Foundation and IDEA Design Hub CIC, co-founder of
PremedGo Healthcare Technologies, a Royal Institute of British Architects member and a
Hong Kong registered architect. He was the former Assistant Director of Hong Kong Sheng
Kung Hui Welfare Council, responsible for designing and running elderly homes and social
enterprises promoting user participation in design to improve the quality of life.

With his commitment to community development, school building projects and
volunteering works in developing countries (Cambodia, Nepal and India), Robert was
awarded Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons 2015, Hong Kong Redcross Humanity
Award 2017 and Young Architect of the Year in the 7th Asia Pacific ElderCare Innovation
Award in Singapore.

Robert studied Executive MBA at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Urban
Development Planning at the Bartlett, University College London and Architecture at the
Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Robert's design works have won awards in international and Hong Kong architectural
design competitions. The participatory design projects that he promoted were invited by
international organisations: including UN-Habitat, the World Health Organization, the Asian
Development Bank and the Union of International Architects, to present at the global
conference.

Executive team profiles

NAME: Matt Jones

ROLE: Chief Executive Officer

SERVICE: Matt joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in
February 2024

BACKGROUND
Matt Jones is an accomplished CEO with over 25 years of leadership experience spanning
the private, public, and third sectors. With a strong academic foundation in commerce and
psychology, complemented by postgraduate qualifications, Matt brings a blend of strategic
insight and human understanding to this role. His professional journey includes impactful
tenures across England, Scotland, and the USA, where he has consistently delivered
transformational change and long-term strategic growth.

Matt thrives on building high-performing, collaborative teams that are creative, resilient and
focused on delivering real-world outcomes. He has a proven track record in service design
and innovation, and is passionate about creating value through purposeful leadership and
culture-driven transformation.

Known for his clarity of vision and empathetic leadership style, Matt combines analytical
thinking with a genuine commitment to people and progress. His experience navigating
complex organisational environments positions him as a dynamic and trusted leader in
both established and evolving sectors.

Outside the professional sphere, Matt is deeply grounded in his faith and family. He finds
inspiration and balance through his love of motorcycling, martial arts, and music - all of
which reflect his disciplined, adventurous and creative spirit.

NAME: Richard Bellis

ROLE: Director of Housing

SERVICE: Richard joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2023

BACKGROUND
Richard has over 28 years’ experience of the housing sector across Supported Housing and
General Needs Housing. Richard joined us from Notting Hill Genesis where he was
responsible for housing management services to over 10,000 homes.

Prior to that he led Genesis’ community investment activities, delivering a number of
innovative activities, including designing the corporate social responsibility partnership with
Kier, leading a successful partnership bid to NESTA to deliver a peer mentoring service. He
was also corporate lead for welfare reform. Richard has lots of experience of working with
residents to design and deliver improved services. Richard is a Board member for a Social
Care Charity.

As well as a Post Graduate Management Diploma from Roffey Park, Richard has an MA in
Housing.

NAME: Steve Brightwell

ROLE: Executive Director of Operations

SERVICE: Steve joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2017

BACKGROUND
Steve initially joined YMCA as Head of Asset and Maintenance before being appointed
Director of Property & Housing in summer 2018. Prior to joining us Steve was Head of
Repairs and Maintenance at Clarion Housing, responsible for strategic delivery of regional
responsive repairs contracts valuing over £12m and covering over 20,000 homes. Steve has
held a number of leadership roles covering both housing and property functions including
Assistant Director at Circle Housing and Housing Services Manager at Yorkshire Housing.

Steve has project managed a wide range of change programmes including setting up
contact centres, stock transfers, mergers, partnerships and delivery models. Steve has a
Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies as well as qualifications in construction,
environmental health and housing.

NAME: Laura Coyle

ROLE: Director of Marketing, Communications and Fundraising

SERVICE: Laura joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2020

BACKGROUND
Laura has worked in marketing and communications within the charity sector since 2008,
always in the not-for-profit space. She joined YMCA Thames Gateway just seven weeks
before the first COVID-19 lockdown, bringing with her extensive experience from roles
including Head of Marketing and Communications at Saint Francis Hospice and a position
within the communications team at the local NHS Trust.

However, the role that most strongly connects her to our YMCA was her eight years at youth
charity The Prince’s Trust, where her passion for supporting young people was deeply
rooted.

Laura describes herself as a "jack of all trades, master of none"—a mindset she sees as
essential in the charity sector, where marcomms teams must be agile, hands-on, and ready
to take on whatever comes their way.

NAME: Ganiy Daro

ROLE: Director of Finance & IT

SERVICE: Ganiyat joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2025

BACKGROUND
Ganiy joined our YMCA in March this year.

She leads our financial and digital strategies to drive efficiency, sustainability, and social
impact.

Previously, she was Head of Finance at Habinteg Housing Association, overseeing financial
planning, compliance, and risk in asset management and development.

Her earlier roles include senior finance positions at Shepherds Bush Housing Group, Clarion
Housing Group, and Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd. She also spent ten years at The City &
Guilds Group in London, focusing on finance, skills development, and global mobility.

Ganiy currently chairs the Finance, Risk, and Audit Committee at Invictus Education Trust,
supporting governance and financial oversight.

NAME: Heather Stevenson

ROLE: Acting Director of Governance & Strategy

SERVICE: Heather joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2017

BACKGROUND
Heather was recently promoted to Acting Director of Governance, Quality & Compliance. In
this elevated role, she leads on governance frameworks, regulatory compliance, and quality
assurance, ensuring excellence, accountability, and alignment with best practices across
the organisation’s diverse services.

Prior to this, Heather spent eight years as Executive Assistant, providing high-level
administrative and organisational support to the Chief Executive and wider Executive team.
Her deep institutional knowledge, attention to detail, and commitment to organisational
effectiveness positioned her as a trusted and influential member of the leadership team,
laying the foundation for her transition into strategic governance and compliance
leadership.

NAME: Remi Tondu

ROLE: Director of People

SERVICE: Remi joined YMCA Thames Gateway Group in 2015

BACKGROUND
Remi has worked in the professional field of Human Resources for over 20 years. Her
knowledge and expertise cover a wide and diverse range of HR practices, organisational and
people related issues. She has worked at senior leadership levels in a number of large NHS
Organisations including Bart’s NHS Trust, NHS Direct as well as a medium sized non-for-
profit social enterprise.

Remi is a full member of the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and
holds the following qualifications; Master of Professional Studies (MA Organisational
Development) and Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources Management.

Appointment process

YMCA Thames Gateway Group invests time in the appointment process to maximise the
effectiveness of the charity’s governance.

To express an interest in becoming a trustee, please send an up-to-date CV, together with a
supporting statement, explaining how you believe your experience and skills are relevant and
what you are able to bring to the role.

Please send your application to PAMailbox@ymcatg.org

Interview process
Shortlisted applicants will have the option to meet the Chief Executive and to see some of our
services in action. A more formal interview may follow in order to establish whether there is a
good ‘fit’ with the organisation, followed by meeting current trustees and attending a Board of
Trustees meeting as an observer.

YMCA Thames Gateway is serious about safeguarding; this role is subject to a standard
Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Get involved. Join our
transformational community.

Find out more about us at ymcatg.org

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URN007 © YMCA Thames Gateway Group
YMCA Thames Gateway Group is a registered charity, number 1133269