Governor - Kingston Adult Education

**Employer**
Kingston Council

**Location(s)**
Kingston

**Contract Type**
Fixed Term, Volunteer

**Length of Employment / Contract End Date**
4 years

**Working Hours**
Volunteer

**Grade**
Other

**Grade (Other)**
Volunteer

**Hours Per Week**
Volunteer

**Salary Range**
Volunteer

**Salary Basis**
Other

**Salary**
Volunteer

**Application Deadline**

15/09/2024, 23:55

**Anticipated Interview Date(s)**
TBC

**About the Borough**

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London - with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

**About the Role**

We are looking for applicants for 4 current vacancies on the Governing and Advisory Board of Kingston Adult Education (KAE), covering the following areas:

- Voluntary and Community sector
- Business sector
- Health and Social Care sector
- Adult Learning sector

The post of a Governor is voluntary and is for a four year term of office. Applications are welcome from people who have had some experience of working within the community in any of these areas.

The responsibilities as a Governor of the KAE Governing and Advisory Board:

- Advise on and support the strategic direction of KAE.
- Ensure there is a collective vision that is shared with all.
- Ask challenging questions of the Head of Service and leadership team on the performance and actions taken towards the key strategic priorities.
- Keep informed of the budget, financial and resources management of KAE and provide challenge and advice on these matters, if you are part of the Finance Committee.
- Ensure that performance standards set meet the requirements of Ofsted, funding bodies and other regulatory bodies.
- Be accountable to our local community and learners.
- Be open, transparent and act in ways to promote the success of KAE.
- Avoid conflicts of interest and exercise independent judgement.
- Make decisions in the interests of learners, staff, the community and RBK.
- Ensure that we are informed and trained on current issues relevant to the effective delivery of the Kingston Adult Education service.

**About Us**

**About You**

The key skills and experience required for a Governor are:
1.Experience of working in the community in a paid or voluntary role.

2.Skills and experience in any of the following fields:

- Voluntary and Community sector
- Business
- Education
- Health and Care Community
- Finance
- Local or central government

3. Working within an organisation or voluntary body in the community

**Our Offer To You**

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff support