Trustee Recruitment Pack
Introduction fom our co-chairs
Thanks for getting this far - we 're delighted that you 're interested in becoming a trustee with St Nicks!
St Nicks is a unique and dynamic organisation, at an exciting time in our journey. We are small but mighty, with a brilliant, friendly and dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and trustees - and we 're looking to grow the ranks of our Trustee Board with people who will bring the same enthusiasm, positivity, and creativity.
We work in service of people, planet, and nature, operating a range of services and programmes focused on environment and sustainability. We 've recently finalised our new 3-year Strategy, and we are ambitious about the impact we want to have in York and beyond. A big project in the coming years will be updating our Environment Centre, located on our 24-acre nature reserve in east York - we want to make it a cutting-edge, environmentally sustainable community space.
Our trustees include people from different backgrounds and with diverse skills and experience. We 're encouraging a wide range of applicants, so even if you 've never been a trustee before or you 're not sure if it's the right fit for you, we want to hear from you. There are certain areas of experience we 're interested in (which you can find further down in this pack), but don 't let those put you off if you 're keen to apply. If you share our values and passion for people, planet and nature, we want to hear from you.
This pack contains key information about us and the role of trustee at St Nicks, as well as areas of experience we are particularly interested in. Please don ’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have further questions or would like to have an informal chat - you can reach us on chair@stnicks.org.uk.
Marina and Jamie
St Nicks is the green heart of York: a centre for nature and green living, with an ambitious vision of York and its surrounds as a biodiverse region with thriving, connected and environmentally conscious communities. The charity started as ‘Friends of St Nicholas Fields’ in the 1990s by transforming a former landfill site into a thriving Local Nature Reserve. Over the years, our size and ambition has grown, and we have become an established and valued part of York’s community.
Our mission is to empower, educate and connect communities to take positive climate action and engage meaningfully with nature. We do this through greenspace regeneration, nature-based wellbeing and sustainable living. These activities are underpinned by our values of collaboration, integrity, innovation and professionalism, and focus on three areas of operation:
·Nature - Green Corridors York
·People - Nature based Wellbeing
·Planet - Waste and Sustainability.
We have a passionate team of staff, trustees and volunteers who run a range of projects, events and services with the help of our partners and supporter to help us achieve these aims.
Our funding comes from a range of sources, including contracts, grants, traded income and donations.
You can find out more about St Nicks by visiting our website on www.stnicks.org.uk.
We are fully committed to making sure that our services, special places and the support we offer are as welcoming, inclusive and accessible as possible.
We want St Nicks to reflect a diverse society where we learn from each other and build a healthy respect for each other, both so that we can thrive together today and so that we can live together as sustainably as possible in the future.
We strive to ensure that people of all backgrounds and characteristics are able to fully gain from and contribute to St Nicks, and we are committed to listening to everyone in our community to make sure that this is the case, identifying and addressing issues as they arise.
In seeking new trustees, we are keen to build a diverse team with different skills and talents to help the charity continue in its journey of growth and evolution.
About the Role of Trustee
What do trustees do?
The trustee role at St Nicks is a voluntary (unpaid) position. It provides an opportunity to give something back to the local community and use your skills and experience to make a meaningful difference to the environment and the lives of others.
The role of our trustees is to:
Hold collective overall legal and financial responsibility for St Nicks
Ensure that we deliver on our strategic and business plans, achieve financial sustainability and manage our organisation’s performance;
Ensure that St Nicks complies with its governing document (its Articles of Association), charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations;
Ensure that St Nicks pursues its objects as defined in its governing document;
Ensure that St Nicks applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects ;
Contribute actively to the Board of Trustees by giving firm strategic direction to St Nicks;
Set overall policy, defining goals, setting targets, and evaluating performance against agreed targets;
Ensure the financial stability of St Nicks.
What would that mean for you?
Trustees are expected to attend our board meetings every two months. These are friendly and informal sessions, at which trustees review what has happened since the last meeting, hear from the Chief Executive and take any decisions that need to be taken. They are usually held in the evenings between 6- 8pm, but sometimes at 8 – 10am depending on availability of all trustees.
You would also need to commit approximately 2-3 hours per month to read through papers prior to meetings, read and respond to emails, and attend occasional other sub-committees, working groups or events as required.
If you are selected, we will make sure that you are properly inducted to the Board of Trustees, have a mentor while you are learning about your role and have regular reviews with one of our Co-Chairs.
You will be responsible to the Co-Chairs of the Board of Trustees.
Next steps
Please read the trustee role description above then complete and submit a CV and short covering letter detailing why you would like to be a trustee to chair@stnicks.org.uk
Ideal candidates will be passionate about people, planet and nature, and have an interest in the role that a local organisation can play in positive climate action . We are particularly interested in hearing from trustees with a background/experience in:
finance
building development
education/youth engagement
fundraising
If you do not have direct experience in the above, we still want to hear from you!
You can find out more information about us on our website stnicks.org.uk, or email Vicky on chiefexec@stnicks.org.uk if you have questions, or would like more information.
Please contact us on info@stnicks.org.uk if you if you have accessibility needs or if you would like help with applying.
closing date for applications: Monday $1 7 ^ { \mathrm { t h } }$ August 2026