Chair of the Board of Trustees | ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England)

This is an opportunity to lead the board of a national charity supporting and speaking up for rural communities so that no one is disadvantaged because of where they live.

ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) is an independent charity formed in 1987 with the aim of improving opportunities for people and communities in rural England. Today, ACRE works to create thriving, inclusive and economically active rural communities which have the services they need. We are the national body of the ACRE Network – England’s largest rural grouping of community support charities, and our work includes the coordination of national funded projects, programmes, and research.

We work hard and want to maintain close relationships with our members and support them by providing insights into the issues facing rural communities and the changes that are required. With our members and data from across the country, collected through over 35,000 community groups each year, we work with government departments and other national bodies such as the Rural Coalition to ensure policies take into consideration rural community need. We provide nationwide advocacy, and collaborate with our members to support local initiatives and deliver projects and programmes that secure a better future for everyone in the countryside.

We do not want anyone in a rural area to be disadvantaged because of where they live and so, with our 38 autonomous charity members we speak up for rural communities and work together with government. In the wake of the pandemic, we collaborated with our members to build our manifesto which sets out areas where we want to bring about change.

We function as a membership body and manage the government’s strategic investment in the ACRE Network. DEFRA committed £1.7million last year to the core network activity of support for rural community projects and to help rural communities in recovery from the pandemic. We have also been funded by the National Lottery Community Fund to explore and develop digital solutions that benefit our members and our end beneficiaries.

We have recently adopted a new Corporate Plan and are looking for a new Chair to join us who is enthusiastic about rural communities. As our current Chair, David Emerson CBE, comes to the end of his term in November, we are looking for a successor to support in leading our organisation through the next stage of development. We are looking for a chair who is strategic, with strong diplomacy skills, and a passion for and understanding of rural community issues and membership organisations. We are keen that our new Chair is a champion and ambassador for our charity from the local and regional levels to national government. The Chair also plays a key role ensuring engagement and representation of our membership.

The new Chair will also be supported in taking on the role by our current President Margaret Clark CBE.

The board meets quarterly with an annual strategy away day and an AGM. There are opportunities to engage with our membership and government throughout the year, while also being a critical friend and support for our strong executive team. We expect the time commitment to be circa 3 or 4 days per month.

With the growth in online working, we are looking for a new Chair who is both comfortable with chairing meetings in this way but who also is committed to face to face ‘in-person’ meetings as part of the fulfilment of good governance and the development of effective and productive relationships.

Closing date: Monday 11th July 2022

Please click ‘Apply’ to be directed to the Peridot Partners website and to contact the advising consultants to discuss this role in more detail.