Passionate about achieving wellbeing through life enhancing opportunities? Then why not be one of our Trustees?
The Avon Riding Centre for the Disabled exists to provide benefits for adults and children with additional or specific needs through horse riding and other equine therapeutic activities. With a number of key trustees reaching the end of their terms of office over the next 12 months, we are looking for new Trustees to join our Board to help us to strengthen our organisation, deliver our plan and enable us to make a greater positive impact to more people’s lives.
This is an exciting time to join the organisation as we look to grow our income streams across a range of disciplines to keep the charity alive. We are looking for Trustees to help the Board to identify and mobilise new ways of using our land for horticulture, small scale agriculture and other related rural business opportunities. Our aim is to increase wider benefits of access through volunteering and participation to the local residential and business community, while ensuring we keep our RDA riders at the centre of anything we do and also continue to offer riding lessons for able bodied individuals, which is currently our main source of funding.
Who we are
The Avon Riding Centre for the Disabled is a c£300,000 turnover not-for-profit organisation committed to enhance lives through equine assisted techniques. We deliver our mission through our dedicated team of 13 staff, supported by over 200 volunteers who help us to create opportunities for people throughout Bristol and the surrounding areas. We have 25 horses and occupy 100 acres of land in North Bristol where we deliver a range of equine activities including horse riding, unmounted sensory sessions, and Hippotherapy. We are a member group of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) and are recognised as a Centre of Excellence both regionally and nationally.
What impact could you make as a Trustee?
The Trustee role is critical to the success of the charity, responsible for developing our strategy and ensuring that the organisation delivers on it. As a Trustee you’ll be responsible for the strategy and governance of the charity: things like setting our direction, ensuring our team have the resources they need to achieve our aims and, crucially, ensuring we remain compliant with charity law and best practice. As a Board member you will provide expertise, guidance and governance to the team to support delivery of our vision to achieve wellbeing through life enhancing opportunities.
What skills do you need to have?
You will need to share our charity’s aims and feel you can contribute to our future by bringing fresh ideas and fundraising opportunities. We are looking for Trustees with a wealth of experience in senior positions, and experience with income generation would be great. Previous trustee experience would be an advantage, although we’re equally happy for individuals to develop in the role. Other core skills we are looking for include: • Knowledge and understanding of the role and responsibilities of a charity trustee • Ability to think strategically and creatively and challenge established views in an emotionally intelligent manner
• Not afraid to step-out of your comfort zone to take an informed view of issues which may not naturally be your area of expertise
• Able to demonstrate some form of previous Board experience, or have examples of operating at a strategic level
• Bring fresh ideas around fundraising and income generating opportunities, ideally with experience of implementing revenue enhancing initiatives
• Bring professional experience from any of the following roles:
o Running an Equine Business
o Estate management and development
o Agriculture/Horticulture
o Environmental Stewardship
o Charity Fundraising
o Finance
o Human Resources
What is the time commitment?
The role is unpaid and will typical require between 7 to 15 hours per month. While some availability during working hours is desirable, trustees meetings usually take place in evenings and a highly flexible approach can be taken regarding other duties and tasks.
Interested?
We welcome applications from individuals that have experience of mental or physical health conditions. The Avon Riding Centre for the Disabled welcomes applicants who can bring a diversity of thinking to our work and organisation, based on their personal characteristics and experience, be it of disability, ethnicity, faith or sexuality. Our facilities are accessible, and if you require any special adjustments please let us know.
We are happy to arrange informal conversations for anyone who wants to find out more about the role and you can also visit our website for more information about the Centre at www.avonridingcentre.org.uk
If you would like to be considered for the role, please drop us an email to Trustees@avonridingcentre.org.uk with a copy of your CV and a covering letter to explain why you are a good fit for the organisation.
The closing date is November 30th and we’re looking for new Trustees to start their induction process during December / January.