Our friends at CREST, the Cornwall Rural Education and Skills Trust, are looking for a volunteer secretary with experience working for a charity or company to join their Trustee board.
The Cornwall Rural Education and Skills Trust, known as CREST, is a new organisation founded to address the need for training in the craft of Cornish hedging and raise awareness of the rich value of hedges in the landscape, following the formal recognition of Cornish Hedging as an endangered craft by the Heritage Crafts Association.
CREST has secured funding from Farming in Protected Landscapes in partnership with The Cornwall Heritage Trust to deliver the CREST Project which encompasses the development of accredited training in Cornish hedging with Duchy College, recruitment and engagement events, and the delivery of a comprehensive education and training programme which embraces Guild of Cornish Hedgers craftspeople, Cornish hedgers, trainees, volunteers, schools and colleges.
The CREST Project is supported by The Guild of Cornish Hedgers, The Duchy of Cornwall, The Heritage Crafts Association, Cornwall Council, Cornwall AONB, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, The National Trust, Duchy College, The Devon Rural Skills Trust, Golden Tree – Kerdroya, local farms and industry linked businesses.
CREST Secretary Role Description
The responsibilities of the CREST Secretary are to ensure that relevant rules and regulations of the Charity Commission are complied with.
Duties Include
· Maintaining the statutory registers including the register of members
· Ensuring that statutory forms are filled promptly
· Providing members and auditors with notice of meetings
· Sending Charity Commission information about appointment of new Trustees
· Sending a copy of the accounts to every member of the Trustee board and general meetings
· Ensuring that people entitled to do so can inspect CREST charity records
· Custody and use of the CREST logo
· Taking minutes of monthly Trustee board/management committee meetings
Other Duties
· To ensure that meetings such as the Annual General Meeting comply with the organisation’s governing document and its procedures (e.g. voting)
· To maintain records including past and present office bearers
· To ensure that publications such as annual reports and accounts, and their dissemination, comply with the organisation’s governing document and statutory requirements
· To keep under review all legislative, regulatory and governance developments that might affect decision making or the organisation’s operations
Qualities and Skills Required
· Knowledge of charity law
· Understanding the role and responsibilities of the Management Committee
· Well organised and an eye for detail
· IT skills including Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, etc
Preferred Experience
· Previous experience as a Company Secretary or an Honorary Secretary of a club or charity
· Organising AGM’s
Time Commitment
The role of the CREST Secretary requires an estimated commitment of 4 hours a week, though the 3-month startup phase may require 4 to 6 hours per week.
If you are interested, please send a CV and a brief introduction to Helen Bowkett at maythorn@yahoo.com
