Inclusive Boards are delighted to be working with St Christopher’s Fellowship in their search for three new Trustees.
About St Christopher’s Fellowship:
St Christopher’s in the United Kingdom is a charity founded in 1870 providing children’s and semi-independent homes, fostering and specialist support and housing services, all designed for young people in care, on the edge of care, or leaving care. They work alongside young people to support their development, grow their confidence and reach their full potential.
Last year 32,270 entered care bring the total in care to 81,770, all of whom should have a future of hope. In 2024/25 St Christopher’s Fellowship’s supported 366 young people with a clear mission: to create brighter futures for children and young people. To do that, they need exceptional people to join them.
St Christopher’s vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved & happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future.
St Christopher’s mission is to create brighter futures for children and young people. They do this by providing fostering, residential and support services where children and young people can feel safe and cared for, supporting them to make positive relationships which give them the confidence to succeed.
St Christopher’s values are their ways of working:
They care about children, young people and their staff
- They are respectful of every individual, and value the strengths in everyone.
- They are professional and committed to reflection and continuous learning.
- They are flexible and agile so that they can be fit for the future.
- They are honest about what they can do, and optimistic about the future.
- They are creative, and passionate about positive change.
About the opportunities:
As a Trustee, you will join a committed and supportive Board which contributes diverse experience, thoughtful challenge, and deep compassion. You will help guide the long-term vision, resilience, and sustainability of the charity, ensuring that they deliver the brightest futures they can for their children and young people in care today while preparing the organisation for the demands of tomorrow. The Board works closely with the senior leadership team, offering strategic insight, wise stewardship, and encouragement.
St Christopher’s Fellowship are particularly keen to welcome individuals who bring expertise that strengthens their collective capability. They are interested in hearing from candidates with experience in social care and safeguarding, property development in a social housing setting, as well as finance, risk or IT digital transformation. Equally important is a collaborative spirit, curiosity, and a desire to champion the values of integrity, respectful and caring, professional and agile, honest and innovative.
The Safeguarding role:
This role will serve as the Safeguarding Lead for the Board and will Chair the Safeguarding Committee. The Safeguarding Lead will provide additional assurance to the Board on their safeguarding responsibilities and will be responsible for reporting to the board, and its committees, on matters pertaining to safeguarding and the operation of the Safeguarding Committee. The Safeguarding Lead should demonstrate:
- In depth understanding of the safeguarding issue for young people
- Ideally, some experience/understanding of the safeguarding issues in a residential children’s homes or other relevant social care setting
- A preparedness to make unpopular recommendations to the Council
- A willingness to be available to management and staff for advice and enquiries on safeguarding matters relating to St Christopher’s on an ad hoc basis
- A willingness to undertake Designated Safeguarding Lead training
The Property Development role:
To support their strategy and bolster the existing expertise of the Board, St Christopher’s Fellowship are seeking a Trustee with expertise in property development, ideally in the social housing sector:
- Robust experience and understanding of the property sector
- Understanding of the market conditions relevant to St Christopher’s housing services
The Finance, Risk and Transformation role:
To support strategy and bolster the existing expertise of the Board, St Christopher’s Fellowship are seeking a Trustee with expertise in finance, risk and transformation. This role will also join the Audit & Risk Committee and should demonstrate:
- Robust financial knowledge and risk management experience
- The ability to interpret and communicate complex financial information
- Transformation skills and experience supporting organisations to be more agile, for example through digital transformation