Volunteering

Board of Trustees: Hon. Treasurer

The Garden Museum

The Garden Museum is the only Museum in Britain dedicated to gardens, and to celebrate their place in history, art, design, and modern lives.

We re-opened three years ago with an award-winning £8.2 million re-design. Visitor numbers have doubled, and so has our turnover from events, and café. We have 70 school visitors a year, over a hundred talks and lectures, and an adult learning programme in partnership with our neighbours in Lambeth.

As we begin our next Forward Plan, we wish to expand our Board to reflect our increased scale, and our ambitions for new audience reach. We are inviting applications for Honorary Treasurer on the Board, which is chaired by Mark Fane. The position is voluntary and requires attendance at four Board meetings each year.

The Garden Museum is exceptional in being a museum of national significance and with a major learning and exhibition programme but generating 100% of its income through its own activity, and donations. It receives no public funding towards operations and has no founder’s Endowment. In the Financial Year ending 31st March 2020 the Museum received £1,935,799 in income, and spent £1,892,301, excluding depreciation.

Role Description

The role of the Hon. Treasurer is to maintain an oversight of the Garden Museum’s budgeting, management accounts and cashflow, and work closely with an established Head of Finance.

This is a strategic role with the charity and to work closely with an established Head of Finance who has the responsibility for day-to-day financial operations. The Treasurer will be a member of the Board of Trustees, and will provide advice to Trustees at Board meetings (quarterly), and will also sit on the Executive Committee (which meets six times per annum).

Key responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities are as follows:

• Overseeing, approving and presenting budgets, accounts and financial statements, prepared by the Finance Manager, to the Board of Trustees
• Present periodic management and annual financial accounts to the Trustees.
• Advise on the financial implications of the Garden Museum’s strategic plans.
• Advise the Trustees on a range of strategic issues as necessary e.g. the reserves policy.
• Ensure investments are not held that are significantly involved in policies contrary to the Garden Museum’s aims and ethos.
• Ensuring that the charity is in compliance with legislation relating to its financial affairs and that the annual accounts are prepared and submitted in the form required by the Charity Commission.
• Ensure that the annual accounts are scrutinised by the auditor in the manner required and oversee the process for appointing auditors
• Keep the Trustees informed about their financial duties and responsibilities.

Person Specification

The following are desirable:

• Qualified accountant (ideally CCAB)
• A confidence with and understanding of financial information
• Some experience of charity finance
• Skills to analyse proposals and examine their financial consequences
• A willingness to be available to the Head of Finance and other staff on occasion for advice and enquiries
• Strong communication skills

Commitment

The anticipated time commitment is two days a month, inclusive of Board and Executive Committee meetings (which take 2.5 hours each, with a further 2 hours for preparation required), and occasional meetings with the Head of Finance, Director and Chairman. Meetings are usually held at the Garden Museum, London.

A usual term for a Trustee is five years, and Trustees may serve for two terms.

Our Trustees are our greatest advocates, and we hope that our Trustees may be happy to represent the Board at exhibition openings and supporter lunches once or twice per year. However, we realise that this is not always possible, and is not a requirement.

Remuneration

This role, as defined by the Charity Commission, is an unpaid voluntary position. However, Trustees are entitled to claim expenses from the Museum related to taking part in Board business, e.g. travel to meetings.

Application Process

Please see the job description attachment for details of how to submit your CV and cover letter, and who to contact if you have any questions. The deadline for applications is 10am on Monday 18th January 2021.

We anticipate interviews to be held on the 3rd February 2021, with an appointment made before March. The successful applicant will be welcomed to the Board in the summer meeting (Wednesday 23rd June 2021).