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Trustee Recruitment

Read the Job Description

Job Reference: TRUSTEE24

About Us

Chiswick House & Gardens Trust cares for a thriving 350 year old haven in West London, open for everyone every day. Teeming with nature, stories and activities, our spectacular Grade I listed gardens are completely free to roam thanks to our supporters. As a charity our mission is to keep Chiswick House & Gardens flourishing today and for the next 350 years, so that everyone and their dog can stroll, play, learn, relax and meet here. We’re 75% visitor and supporter funded; we don’t exist without the community around us. Internationally recognised and locally loved, our gardens are home to lots of wonderful wildlife and trees that clean and cool the air. At the centre of our 65 acres we run an open, working Kitchen Garden where everyone is invited to wander, taste what’s growing, or enjoy activities we run with and for our local community.

You can find details of our Board and current Trustees here.

What we are looking for:

Our Trustees are passionate about the value of culture, heritage and environment more widely; and the impact that places like Chiswick House and Gardens can have in the community. There are many perspectives on this: different skills and lived experiences can be relevant to the role.

It is not necessary to have experience of sitting on a board or of being a trustee of a charity, nor to have reached any particular stage in your career, nor to have a background in heritage. An enthusiastic interest in our work, and a commitment to the local community, perhaps as a resident or through involvement with a local business or community organisation, are more important. We are happy to provide training and support to those who are new to trusteeship and we are interested to hear from those who see the role as contributing to their own
development.

We are keen to find new trustees with skills and experience in:

  • community engagement – to help us build and expand our successful community programme;
  • landscape gardens, biodiversity and public realm – to support our work to make our estate even
    more sustainable and wildlife friendly;
  • capital projects – to help steer our major building project – The Cedar Yards;
  • fundraising strategy and networks – to support us to achieve our revenue and capital fundraising targets.

We are equally keen to hear from candidates who do not have these backgrounds but believe they could actively contribute to our thinking and our success.

We particularly welcome applications from those with a variety of lived experience, including younger candidates, people of colour and disabled people. We want our Board to be more representative of our Hounslow community. Candidates must be able to show that they share our commitment to diversity, equality and sustainability.

How to apply:

To express your interest in joining the board, please write to the Chair of the Board, Sian Alexander, enclosing a copy of your CV or a short biography.

In your letter (no more than 2 A4 pages) please tell us why you would like to join the Board, a little about yourself, and what you would bring to the Board. We are committed to ensuring that our Board is representative of our Hounslow community and so please complete our diversity survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5ZZSL3W

If we need to make any adjustments to enable you to participate in our recruitment process such as providing this information in a different format (eg hard copy, large print or text only version) please contact info@chgt.org.uk .You may send a video or audio (no more than 5 minutes) as an alternative to a letter if this enables you to make an application.

Expressions of interest should be submitted to info@chgt.org.uk by 12 noon on Monday 3 June 2024. Please put TRUSTEE24 in the email header and indicate your availability for the proposed interview dates of 13 and 14 June in your email. We will invite shortlisted applicants for a short interview with the Chair and 1 or 2 other trustees, and to visit the site and meet the Director. We will contact everyone to let them know the outcome of their application.

If you would like an initial informal and confidential conversation with the Chair, Sian Alexander, or the Director, Xanthe Arvanitakis, please contact info@chgt.org.uk.

Thank you for your interest in Chiswick House and Gardens. We look forward to hearing from you.