Are you the visionary leader we’re looking for? Will you join us as Chair of the Board to help shape better futures for women across Greater Manchester?
MASH says: ‘We warmly encourage and welcome women of all backgrounds and life experiences to apply. We are looking for individuals to culturally add to our organisation, rather than fit any existing mould, and are actively working towards being a trans*inclusive and anti-racist space. We want to continue to develop the board to be more reflective of the intersecting identities and diverse experiences of the women we work with.’
Location: Manchester, meetings are held both in-person and online
About MASH
MASH exists to provide gender and trauma informed support to women in Greater Manchester who are, have been or may start sex working and who are experiencing multiple disadvantage. Their vision is a world where all women have choice, freedom and power.
This is a pivotal and transformational time for the charity. MASH continues to see a sustained increase in demand for services, as the economic impacts from the cost-of-living crisis and disinvestment in key support services are deeply felt by the women they support. There is huge potential, and commitment, to reach women who need support across all boroughs and communities in Greater Manchester.
It’s the ideal moment to take on this leadership role in an organisation that is so much more than vital, holistic and trauma informed support for those who need it most- it’s a community of people who are determined to make change – for and with – women in GM who are sex working and facing multiple disadvantages.
Becoming MASH’s Chair
MASH’s current board members bring insights and learning from their day jobs in a wide range of organisations, as well as lived and personal experiences. This is a vital recruit for the charity, having developed an ambitious strategy that will see them through to 2028. We need the right individual with the agency and emotional intelligence to galvanize a talented leadership team, acting as a key activator to make it happen. https://mash.org.uk/mashambitions/
A key strategic ambition of MASH is focused on developing people and systems. You’ll need the vision to drive forward a newly created strategy, a commitment to social justice and an understanding of the challenges that women experiencing multiple disadvantages may face.
About you
As Chair, you’ll take leading responsibility for the charity’s overall governance and strategic direction, developing the organisation’s aims, objectives and goals.
You’ll need a proven track record of positive and inclusive leadership, with the ability to influence, constructively challenge and advocate. Empathy and sensitivity to the experiences of MASH’s beneficiaries, as well as willingness and openness to understand the complexity of their circumstances is absolutely essential.
We’re relatively open when it comes to candidate background, understanding there are many skillsets and experiences that could enable someone to do the job well. We feel that women operating in the following sectors and spaces would add significant value and bring very relevant experience:
- Women’s rights;
- Any of the issues affecting the women MASH supports: homelessness, poverty, mental health, domestic abuse, substance misuse, criminal justice, asylum system, stigmatisation and discrimination;
- Policy, campaigning or delivery of services focused on multiple disadvantage across Greater Manchester;
- ED&I, especially in relation to intersectionality.
We would be really interested to hear from people with the above skills and experiences who are from currently underrepresented communities/ identities and backgrounds on our board: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, Trans*, lived experience of sex work and/or multiple disadvantage.
Time Commitment:
- 3 year term up to a maximum of 3 terms (9 years)
- 4 quarterly board meetings a year
- Membership of one trustee board sub-committee and attendance at 1 other
- On average 4 hours per week across the year
- Undertake full trustee induction
- Attendance at the annual Trustee Development day
- Attendance at annual MASH organisational development away day
To apply: If we’ve managed to grab your attention, please get in touch with a copy of your profile or CV to Amelia Lee at Charity People. If you would prefer an informal conversation first, we encourage you to reach out.
Charity People actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. We match charity needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for the charities we work with.
