Essential

• Good communication, interpersonal, collaborative and relationship-building skills.
• Clear commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, valuing differences to make better decisions and deliver better outcomes.
• Ability to review information critically and provide constructive challenge.
• Strategic thinking and good independent judgement.
• Ability to understand and maintain clear boundaries between governance responsibilities and operational safeguarding responsibilities.
• Ability to work cooperatively as part of a team.
• Secure personal access to digital resources and ability to competently use those.
• Commitment to the organisation; willingness to devote the necessary time and effort.
• Willingness to undertake safeguarding and trustee training appropriate to the role.

Desirable

• Experience of safeguarding within education, health, social care, charity, community or related sectors.
• Knowledge of safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and best practice.
• Experience of governance, committee work or trusteeship.
• Experience of safeguarding governance, quality assurance, audit or inspection frameworks.
• Understanding of the needs of autistic people is desirable; empathy with autistic people, families and carers is essential.
• Experience of risk management, policy development or organisational assurance processes.

Hybrid

What will you be doing?

The Autism Group, based in Maidenhead and covering East Berkshire, is a charity creating safe, inclusive spaces where autistic people can connect, build friendships, and grow in confidence, through a focus on reducing isolation and improving wellbeing, with tailored social opportunities and informed, compassionate support.

Set up in 2016, now with an income of £89k p.a., our trustees strategically support our team of volunteers and employees.

Our Lead Trustee for Safeguarding is not the Designated Safeguarding Lead and is not responsible for managing individual safeguarding cases. Operational responsibility for safeguarding concerns, referrals and case management rests with the Charity Manager and the organisation's Designated Safeguarding Leads.

If you can think strategically and plan long-term, you have the primary skills needed by our Board.

We expect new trustees to have an empathy with autistic people, families and carers.

You will have a clear commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, with an ability to understand and maintain clear boundaries between your governance responsibilities and operational safeguarding responsibilities.

You may have experience of safeguarding within education, health, social care, charity, community or related sectors, knowledge of safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and best practice or experience of safeguarding governance, quality assurance, audit or inspection frameworks.

You don’t need prior experience of charity trusteeship, as support from local charity-support organisations is always available. Full induction to our organisation is provided, plus specialist support as a new trustee including access to external training.

We are a charity not a business, but we apply business principles to governing our organisation. We are looking for people from a variety of backgrounds to join our charity and want to expand the diversity of our Board, strongly welcoming applications from people from less-represented groups.

We ask for about ten hours per month, flexibly, which includes all meetings, discussions. You will need access to digital communications, as much of our charity’s business is run that way.