Volunteering Opportunity: Chair of Trustees with Open Door St Albans

The Open Door Charity is looking for a new chair of Trustees to lead their board in sustaining and developing new opportunities to meet the needs of rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness in the St Albans area. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced leader with a passion to tackle homelessness issues, and with experience in strategic decision making and developing and delivering change.


What we do

The Open Door Charity is a community response to homelessness, working in partnership with key players in the St Albans area.

Our mission is to ensure that full and effective support is available to prevent rough sleeping and help former rough sleepers to be healthy, safe and rebuild their lives.
Currently we raise funds and bring together volunteers to:

• Provide key services at the Open Door Night Shelter,
which is managed by the Hightown Housing Association.
Our support includes the provision of food, volunteers as
kitchen staff, together with funding counselling & mental
health support:
• run the annual Winter Beds Project (Dec to end March),
giving additional overnight accommodation for the
coldest months of the year:
• fund the Safer Streets Outreach Worker for rough
sleepers, supplementing other services provided by the
local council; and
• make grants to individuals or organisations to help the
move to settled accommodation.

We want to extend the Charity’s role in helping rough
sleepers, people who find difficulty in retaining accommodation and other vulnerable people at risk of homelessness. Despite St Albans’ reputation as a wealthy city with high house prices and high earners, the reality is that there is a significant number of people in St Albans living on the margins, who need support and help to turn their lives round.

Opportunity Type: Long-term Commitment

District: St Albans

Location: Indoor

Time of day: Weekday Evenings

Practical Considerations: Time commitment

You will prepare for, chair, and follow up actions from Trustee meetings, which are held 8-9 times per year, in the evening.

There will also be:
• daytime and evening meetings with other partners,
• some attendance at events representing the Charity (typically 2-3 per month);

You will need to spend time networking and researching with other local and national organisations.

Estimated total time per week 5 hours, but can occasionally be busier, especially when delivering new projects or other change.

Requirements: Relevant qualification or training, Will require a criminal record check (DBS)

Suitable for: Aged 26 and over, Older People

Suitable for volunteers interested in: Homelessness & Housing Support, Trusteeship & Governance, Voluntary & Community Action

Does this opportunity provide wheelchair access?: No

Full Description:
What you will do

The Board of Trustees are looking for a committed and dynamic individual as Chair for the Charity, who will have a unique opportunity to shape new approaches to helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

As Chair, you will lead and drive forward the work of the Board, working closely with trustees and partners, and ensuring sound governance. Key objectives will be:

• To ensure that the Charity maintains and develops the
current set of projects with the night shelter
• To maintain and grow the Winter Beds Project
• To direct and enthuse the Charity to identify opportunities, develop a strategy and deliver existing and new initiatives.

All this will involve developing close working contacts with
• St Albans City and District Council – at cabinet holder,
councillor and senior officer level
• Senior management at Hightown who are responsible
for Open Door and other projects relevant to supporting
homeless people.
• Other homelessness projects in St Albans, notably
Centre 33 and Emmaus
• Senior managers at homeless projects in neighbouring
towns.
• National bodies supporting work with the homeless
including Homeless Link and Housing Justice.
You will also have a role in maintaining the Charity’s
profile, including liaison with local organisations and
fundraisers, and representing the Charity at local
homelessness and other forums.

Who we are looking for

The ideal candidate will have
• A keen interest in homelessness issues in the St Albans
area (close contact with such issues is not essential but
an empathy with the problems of homelessness is
strongly desirable)
• Experience in the public or private sector of developing
and delivering strategic change
• The ability to network and build relationships with other
partners, and to inspire and direct a team.