Board of Trustees Member for The Kent Autistic Trust

**Trustee, Gillingham, Kent**

The Kent Autistic Trust has been providing support to autistic people since 1989. We provide assistance to people who have significant behaviour, developmental and communication needs within various community settings including registered homes, specialist and intensive supported living, community day resource centers, Family Support service and support groups.

We are seeking to strengthen our Trustee Board by recruiting a Trustee to fill a vacancy caused by one of the existing trustees stepping down after many years service. Our trustees are professionals from a variety of backgrounds including, business, law and the Civil Service. Trustees perform the following functions:

- Contributing to the strategic direction of KAT, setting overall policy, defining goals, setting targets and evaluating performance.
- Providing governance to ensure compliance with charity law and good practice.
- Scrutinising board papers, contributing to discussions, providing advice and guidance on new initiatives.
- Supporting, challenging constructively, and motivating the Chief Executive Officer and other senior staff.
- Acting as a KAT ambassador, to promote the charity as an organisation that is used by and is of benefit to autistic people and their families.
- Safeguarding the charity's assets, including its financial sustainability.
- Working in a collegiate way with fellow Board members to support the Joint Chairs and to provide timely, robust decision-making and leadership.

**The person**

The incoming trustee will:

- Be committed to the KATs mission of improving the lives of Autistic people in Kent and Medway.
- Have the ability to think strategically.
- Have an interest in one or more of the following areas: health or social care commissioning; charity senior management or trusteeship; policy influencing; digital strategy; human resources; public affairs; housing; fundraising.

Time Commitment: Four Board meetings per year plus two committee meetings held at our Head Office in Gillingham, Kent.

Our trustees are unpaid, but we pay travel and other out of pocket expenses and provide a comprehensive induction.

For an informal discussion about the role with an existing trustee, please contact our recruitment team.