The Children's Bookshow
Chair/Co-Chair & Treasurer
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Seeking a Chair/Co-Chair and a Treasurer
Are you passionate about helping children develop a love of reading?
We are looking for a Chair/Co-Chair and a Treasurer with Board level experience to support our small but mighty charity to bring the joy of reading to primary school children across the country.
Location: Online
Salary: Voluntary with reasonable expenses reimbursed
Deadline for applications: 30th September 2026
About Us
The Children’s Bookshow is a national charity that inspires children with a love of books and reading through an annual programme of inspiring theatre and digital performances and engaging creative workshops. We showcase some of the best authors and illustrators of children’s books from around the world, and celebrate children’s literature in translation.
We are an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation that has been running successfully for 24 years. Each year, we deliver 15 events in venues ranging from iconic theatres such as The Old Vic in London to community spaces and smaller scale theatres such as the New Wolsey in Ipswich, plus a programme of 60 creative workshops in primary schools. We target areas of high socio-economic deprivation, support environmental sustainability, and partner with local authorities, libraries and education providers. Every child who attends our theatre performances receives a free copy of the author’s book to take home and keep. This is integral to our offer - putting excellent books directly into the hands of children.
“Having Frank Cottrell-Boyce in for a free workshop really did make such a difference to our school and to our children. Frank was able to inspire every single child to write, no matter their need or ability, and children who would normally be reluctant to share their ideas in front of the class were confident to do so. Every single one of them went home talking non-stop about the amazing author they had met - with many now inspired to become authors. I can't put into words how grateful we are or how much of an impact those couple of hours have had on both the children and staff.” Teacher, Winyates Primary, Peterborough
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The Opportunities
If you have the expertise and passion to support our work and help us to deliver the impact and change experienced by Winyates Primary, then we would love to hear from you!
Thanks to successful fundraising, The Children’s Bookshow is financially stable for the next two years. Iterative growth and continued financial sustainability are crucial for us to fulfill our aspirations for the future:
- Give more primary school children the invaluable experience of a live author event at a local theatre.
- Enable children to work creatively with a world class artist in their own classroom.
- Increase book ownership by putting a free book into the hands of every child who attends one of our performances.
We are recruiting a Chair/Co-Chair and a Treasurer to join our Board of highly-skilled, committed and friendly Trustees to guide and support us in achieving these aims.
Chair/Co-Chair
We are looking for a passionate and dedicated Chair/Co-Chair to lead our Board of Trustees. You will work with our Board to ensure good governance, and act as a supportive, critical friend to our Senior Leadership team.
What You Will Do
- Lead Board meetings and maintain focus on our core mission.
- Support and guide our CEO and Senior Leadership Team.
- Collaboratively with Trustees, ensure our charity complies with legal duties and Charity Commission regulations.
- Act as an external figurehead to help raise our profile.
We Are Looking For
- A commitment to the values and mission of our charity.
- Strong strategic leadership, communication, and listening skills.
- A supportive, engaged and positive approach helping to move our charity forward to achieve our shared aims.
- Time commitment: around 8-10 days per year.
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Treasurer
We are seeking a new Treasurer to ensure high standards of financial governance and decision-making, and to act as a key sounding board for the Co-Directors in the financial planning, management and reporting of our charity. This will include overseeing our annual budget and cashflow and quarterly management accounts, and advising on how best to invest our reserve fund.
We are looking for: a skilled and experienced finance professional, ideally with accountancy qualifications, with Board level experience with a UK charity and an interest in our work.
Time commitment: around 5-7 days per year.
Meetings
There are typically four Board meetings a year lasting around an hour. Three of these meetings take place online and we endeavour to meet in person once a year in central London for a meeting followed by lunch. We welcome Trustees to attend our theatre performances and online events wherever possible to directly experience our work.
We also have a Finance and Operations Committee that occasionally meets online and reports to the Board, which Trustees are invited to opt into to share their expertise in specific areas such as Finance, Staffing, Fundraising and Development.
How to apply
Please email your CV and a covering letter (each a maximum of 2 sides of A4) detailing your relevant expertise and experience for the role of Chair/Co/Chair or Treasurer, and why you would like to be part of The Children’s Bookshow. We look forward to hearing from you.
Email: Kate Arafa, CEO of The Children’s Bookshow: team@thechildrensbookshow.com
The Children’s Bookshow is committed to creating a collaborative Board of Trustees that is inclusive and representative of our society. We actively encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and from all sections of society to apply.
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