A guide to joining our Management Committee
What is a Committee and what does it do?
• The Committee is a group of volunteers that lead the organisation.
• At Committee meetings, they discuss and agree on the key decisions.
• This can include monitoring performance, setting strategy, and deciding budgets.
Why join the Committee?
Kingsridge Cleddans Housing Association provides an essential service for the people of Drumchapel.
We supply affordable social housing and carry out emergency and day-to-day repairs so that tenants can live safely and affordably within our community.
We cannot do that without our voluntary committee.
If you believe, as we do, that social housing is an essential need, and that everyone deserves access to high-quality housing, then we want to hear from you!
By being a Committee member you will have the opportunity to shape this community, you will have a voice on all key strategic decisions, and you will help to set the direction of the Association.
As well as being able to help others, through being on the Committee you will gain experience of being a decision-maker and being part of a vibrant Board room. You will get to know the workings of social housing, understand key aspects of repairs and developments, work with accounts and budgets, and input into rent setting. These will give you transferable skills that may help your own career develop.
Who can join the Committee?
If you are interested in Kingsridge Cleddans Housing Association and you want us to do well and deliver for tenants, that is a great starting point.
We will always have opportunities for tenants to be involved with the Association and will provide support and training to assist you with this.
The first step in participating is to become a member of the Association.
There are some limits in law on who can join a Committee, but we shall discuss this with you as part of the application process.
How can I become a member of the Association?
Members are the shareholders of the Association.
A lifetime membership costs just £1. This lets you attend the Annual General Meeting and lets you vote at the AGM.
How many members can be on a Committee?
The Committee can have up to 15 members. When people can join is defined in the Association's Rules, but we are happy to explain these.
If we are not able to take new memberscommittee at the time you apply, there will still be other opportunities for participation.
Office Bearers
The majority of Committee members are ordinary members, but we have three key roles called office bearers.
The Chairperson
The Chairperson leads the Committee. This includes leading the meetings, ensuring everyone has a chance to speak and that key discussions occur. They oversee the Committee through appraisals and support the director.
The Vice Chair
The role of Vice Chair is to support and deputise for the Chair when required.
The Secretary
The secretary is responsible for the key housekeeping duties of the Committee, this includes working with the staffing team to ensure compliance in the submission of all key documents to external bodies and regulators.
What happens at meetings?
The majority of Committee decisions are made at meetings.
Prior to the meeting, the staff will send out the agenda for the meeting and briefing papers on the key points.
These papers will detail what is to be discussed and if the Committee Members are required to note the information, or if they need to discuss and agree on something.
The Committee papers will always be clear and easy to read, and the staffing team will be available to discuss any area in more detail prior to the meeting.
At the meeting, the Chair will walk the Committee through the items on the agenda and will help facilitate discussion.
Some complex areas may require that external experts be brought in, and they will help clarify points through presentations.
What commitment do I need to make?
Committee meetings are held monthly on Tuesdays at 5.45 pm. The meetings can vary in length, but shall always be under two hours.
We do not have meetings on September, when we have the AGM, or in December.
We appreciate that Committee members are volunteers and also have other commitments and so we appreciate they may not make every meeting. It is however important to attend where possible as it allows you to keep up to date with key events and decisions.
We also offer training events which help Committee members understand new or challenging topics, and we encourage members to attend these where possible.