Chair of the Board – Volunteer Vacancy

Lewes House of Friendship is a charity affiliated to Age UK, with a 50-year history of providing support to the older residents of Lewes and its surrounding villages. Its historic building is situated in central Lewes.

Provision for its members include a daily lunch service (both in-house and home-delivered), various social activities including a choir, a craft group, computer assistance, and gentle exercise classes.  Members participate in these activities as they wish but can also come to the House simply to meet friends and enjoy its cheerful social ambience. Rooms in the house are hired out to a range of organisations including U3A, the Childbirth Trust and to organisations offering socially relevant support.

Operationally, the House is run on a daily basis by the part-time salaried Manager who reports to the Chair; paid staff run the catering service while volunteers staff the Reception service and run many of the activities on offer.

The strategic direction of the House is developed through the Executive Committee which currently numbers seven people including three trustees of whom the Chair is one.  The committee meets six times a year and the Chair is expected to liaise with the Manager regularly and to engage with the life of the House as their availability permits. Lewes House of Friendship is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation recognised by the Charity Commission of Great Britain and thus its trustees do not hold personal financial responsibility for its solvency.

We are looking for an individual who has sympathy with the aims of the House of Friendship and who has the ability to lead the Executive Committee and the future direction of the House. Currently, we are working on a serious strategic re-think about future activity recognising that the needs of older people change over time.  To this end, we have engaged external consultants to help research need and create a plan for the coming decade. The new Chair is expected to be involved fully with this work to breathe new life into the House without disturbing the very important role it already fulfils for its membership.

If you are interested in this role, please email Heather at heatherhicks49@gmail.com.