Trustee Vacancies

Help us deliver our mission by joining our Trustee Board

Family Rights Group’s vision is a society in which children can thrive in their families, and have loving relationships to turn to throughout life. We are looking for trustees who can help us to make that a reality, through the delivery of our ambitious 10-year strategy to transform the child welfare system.

Family Rights Group in 2025

There is a record number of children in the care system. Children and families are struggling to get help to prevent crises escalating. Whether they are offered the right services at the right time is largely down to luck or where they happen to live.

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in 2022 warned that without a ‘whole system reset” there will be approaching 100,000 children in care by 2032, and the flawed system will cost the public purse £5billion per year.

At Family Rights Group we are leading the process of change. This year we marked our 50^th anniversary – you can watch a short film summing up our achievements.  and have published an ambitious strategic plan which sets our goals for the next decade. We are recognised by government and across the sector as the leading charity advising and campaigning for, and with, families involved in the child welfare system. We continue to promote innovative and effective ways of reforming the child welfare system. As a charity we continue to grow sustainably, under the expert leadership of our Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team and board of trustees.

Our Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for the governance and strategic direction of Family Rights Group. Our diverse group of trustees, which includes over half with direct experience of the child welfare system, guide the charity in its aims, vision, strategy and growth. Trustees perform critical functions which include identifying and ensuring management of risks to the charity’s sustainability and future.

The board operates in the most effective manner consistent with our organisational values and approach, providing leadership, guidance and support, as well as constructive challenge, to the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team.

Our work is also guided and informed by family panels, for both parents and kinship carers, and our participation structures for young care leavers. Their voices and experiences are central to everything we do.

The Opportunity

This is an immensely exciting time to join Family Rights Group’s Board of Trustees.

We continue to flourish across the four pillars of our work: advice and advocacy, innovative family-led solutions; campaigns to achieve changes in law, policy and practice; and the promotion of families’ voices, expertise and insights. Our pioneering Lifelong Links approach has been cited in the government’s vision for children’s social care, and more local authorities are contracting us to deliver training and consultancy services. International interest in and demand for our services is also growing.

As trustee, you will play a key role in the strategic oversight of the organisation, as well as lending your skill set to a relevant area of our work. You will participate in quarterly meetings with fellow board members and the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer. Some trustees also take part in our finance, fundraising, and other steering groups or committees.

Most meetings are conducted online, and so you may be based anywhere in the UK. Trustees will also be invited to attend occasional events with staff and the charity’s partners. These are optional but encouraged. Expenses for travel to these events will be covered.

What we are looking for

We are seeking to recruit up to three trustees from different areas of expertise who are committed to helping us to deliver our vision and mission.

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with professional expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Fundraising and high level networking
• Experienced children public law solicitor, barrister or other legal professional
• Barrister or solicitor from other fields including: corporate pro bono, employment law, charity law/governance
• Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are also interested in candidates with expertise in the following:

• Public affairs
• Communications and campaigning
• Successful leadership of system change

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our Board and making sure we best reflect the families we serve.

For this reason we would particularly welcome:

• Adults, particularly young people, who were in the care system or were raised in kinship care
• Parents and kinship carers with lived experience of the child welfare system
• Applicants from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds
• Applicants who have a disability.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of being a trustee for Family Rights Group, please email Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive cashley@frg.org.uk to arrange an informal discussion.

To apply, please send an application form and equal opportunities monitoring form to office@frg.org.uk by 7th October.

The deadline for applications for this role is Tuesday, 7th October.
Interviews will take place on 23rd October.

• Trustee Recruitment Pack
• Our Equal Opportunities Statement
• Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
• Application Form
• The Charity Commission guidance on the responsibilities of Trustees

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