Chair-Elect December 2020 Chair-Elect
Contents Welcome letter
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Motor Neurone Disease Association
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Our Board of Trustees
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Role purpose
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Main responsibilities
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Personal characterisitics
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Diversity and inclusion
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Person specfication
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How to apply
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About Oxford HR
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Welcome letter Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair-Elect for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by motor neurone disease (MND) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In partnership with the NHS we provide care to people living with MND at 22 Care Centres across the three nations. We have a network of some 90 branches and groups, all run by volunteers, which provide local support as well as undertaking fundraising and campaigning on both local and national issues. We provide a wide range of support services, grants and specialist information to assist people living with MND, their families and the professionals involved in their care and support. The Association has a current research portfolio of some £14.5m invested in 84 research projects. We organize and run an annual research symposium which brings together researchers and clinicians from around the world. Because of the pandemic, this year’s event will be virtual, and we already have over 1,000 people registered to attend. We are also a strong campaigning organisation, lobbying Westminster, the Senedd Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and local authorities to ensure the needs of people affected by MND are being met. As an organisation we are committed to listening to those who are affected by MND, and partnering with them to develop services to support them in the best possible way. Our culture is inclusive, committed to continuous improvement, working in partnership, and ensuring we make the best use of the digital tools that enable us to support those who need us. Our ambitions are to do more for and with those we support, to promote more research to realise our vision of a world free from MND, and to campaign with a stronger voice to governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We are governed by a Board of up to 16 Trustees, each committed and motivated to help the Association realise its ambitions. We are seeking a Chair-Elect to join us and following a year, to take on the position of Chair. We are seeking an experienced individual, who can galvanise the Board, provide strong strategic direction and champion our work. I look forward to meeting those who wish to join us to support our ambitions. Richard Coleman, Chair
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Motor Neurone Disease Association Motor neurone disease (MND) describes a group of diseases that affect the nerves (motor neurones) in the brain and spinal cord that tell your muscles what to do. With MND, messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles. This leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste. MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. Some people also experience changes to their thinking and behaviour. However, MND affects everyone differently.
As we progress, we aspire to deliver even better outcomes for people living with MND, their families and carers. We want people affected by MND to be more involved in helping us co-design our services and have a greater input into decision-making. We believe that by involving people affected by MND even closer in shaping our Association, we can speak with a stronger voice to governments and decision-makers.
There is a 1 in 300 risk of getting MND across a lifetime. MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. It can affect adults of any age but is more likely to affect people over 50.
We are the largest body in the UK supporting people affected by MND, but there are now other organisations in the sector. This year has been challenging for all. Those living with MND have been extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 and this has had an impact on their quality of life. The Association has worked hard to meet their changing needs. At the same time, the pandemic has had a significant impact on our ability to raise essential funds to continue much needed services and fund research towards a treatment.
MND is life-shortening and there is no cure. MND kills a third of people within a year of diagnosis, and half within two years. The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We raise awareness of the disease and campaign to improve the support of people affected by MND locally and across the three nations. We are a membership organisation with over 10,000 members forming a powerful national and local network that provides information and support. We have over 12,000 active volunteers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and around 170 paid staff, all dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by MND, now and in the future. The MND Association is successful. Our success is driven by incredibly engaged and loyal supporters, volunteers and staff. We have influence and know we are able to reach decision makers and engage partners and stakeholders. At between ÂŁ17-ÂŁ18m annually, our income is beyond the scale of our cause considering five thousand people in the UK have MND at any one time.
If we are to grow our impact in these changing circumstances and avoid losing supporters, we know we need to be more co-creative, agile and urgent. We need to work collaboratively with these new organisations to maximise impact. But to do that we will need to utilise different sorts of leadership and management approaches. The Association has some key strengths that will help this transition to a future state. Along with a committed and highly performing Board of Trustees, we have a high-performing, strong Directors Team. We have established new ways of agile and flexible working supported by new technology. The leadership team have demonstrated a determination to work more collaboratively with people with MND and the new organisations emerging to support them. The new Chair will play a pivotal role in helping the Association on this journey.
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Our Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees is the ultimate decision-making body of the MND Association and has the legal responsibility for the Association’s governance and administration. Trustees are responsible for ensuring the mission and long-term aims of the Association are met and that its strategy is set and delivered. Trustees must ensure that the Association is complying with current legislation and governance best practice. Trustees are expected to take a strategic rather than an operational view, and to always act in the best interests of the Association to ensure both its short and long-term stability, putting aside personal or local considerations. All trustees must use reasonable care and skill, and take appropriate advice where necessary, and give sufficient time, thought and energy to the role. Our Board of Trustees comprises the Chair, and up to 9 elected and up to 6 co-opted trustees. They bring a wealth of skills and experience to the Board, and we review skills, board performance and individual trustee performance regularly. We also provide inductions to new trustees and encourage all trustees to take up learning opportunities relevant to the role. Full biographies of our current board can be viewed on our website.
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Role purpose To lead the Board of Trustees to ensure the Association fulfils its responsibilities in the delivery of its mission and strategic aims. To ensure compliance with our Articles of Association, charity law, company law and other relevant legislation, thus maintaining the highest standards of governance.
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Main responsibilities of the Chair of Trustees 1. To lead the Board of Trustees giving direction as necessary ensuring it carries out its responsibilities including the giving of firm strategic direction to the Association, establishing overall policy, defining goals and setting and monitoring targets. 2. To ensure that the Board monitors the implementation of decisions taken. 3. To prepare, in consultation with the Chief Executive, meetings of the Board of Trustees, and to chair those meetings in a balanced and orderly way in order to facilitate wise and timely and effective decision-making. 4. With the Chief Executive, to ensure close integration of the work of the Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers, ensuring the effective and efficient running of the Association. 5. To ensure, in conjunction with the Chief Executive, that the Association complies with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and that there is a robust governance framework. 6. To ensure the Association applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objectives. 7. In conjunction with the Board of Trustees, to appoint and appraise the performance of the Chief Executive. 8. To ensure that the values and the reputation of the Association are safeguarded. 9. To represent and promote the Association externally. 10. To ensure the Board of Trustees regularly reviews its work and practice in order to identify development needs in terms of its skills, knowledge, structure and composition, including overseeing the review of individual members’ performance on a regular basis. 11. In the year that there is a Chair-Elect, to work with the post-holder to facilitate development and hand-over. For the first year of the role, the Chair-Elect will work alongside the Chair.
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Personal characteristics As the Chair of Trustees, you will need a broad range of personal qualities and skills to succeed. These will include: •
Understanding the Association’s values and putting people with MND at the heart of everything you do.
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The emotional intelligence to be both supportive and constructively challenging of the Association, its employees, trustees and volunteers.
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The ability to personally engage with a range of stakeholders and in a variety of different settings including board meetings, formal presentations, receptions and public and fundraising events.
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The professional and personal credibility to represent the Association in any context.
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The ability to resolve conflict and reach consensus both in and out of meetings and in formal and informal settings.
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Resilience
Diversity and inclusion To increase the diversity of our Board, we particularly welcome applications from all ethnic groups and from younger people, as well as people living with disability or health conditions, including MND in particular.
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Person specification We seek a Chair Elect and future Chair of Trustees to carry out the role as set out in the role description, who can bring the following skills to the role. •
Experience of strategic leadership of a large national or international organisation or equivalent.
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Evidence of the ability to represent an organisation in the media or press at a national / international level.
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A track record of public speaking at large events.
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Strong chairing and convening skills and experience of leading executive boards or similar.
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An ability to work closely in strategic collaboration with a Chief Executive and Directors’ team.
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Proven leadership skills and credibility.
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Strong inclusive leadership and the ability to work collaboratively with our volunteers, supporters and members.
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Ability to promote diversity, empathy, equity and inclusion in the board and the work of the Association.
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How to apply All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button in the job advert page and complete our online application form. Please provide a CV and cover letter in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than two pages and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The document should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your LastName-Document Name-Date (mmyy) eg, Pat-Jones-CV-082020-MNDA or Pat-JonesCoverLetter-082020-MNDA. Timeline Closing date: Preliminary interviews: Final panel interviews:
Sunday 24 January w/c 1 February w/c 15 February
Equality statement Equality and diversity are at the core of MND Association’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected. Selection Process All candidates will be notified about the status of their applications. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder. Shortlisted candidates may be required to undertake an additional assessment prior to the final interview. Queries If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email mndassociation@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.
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About Oxford HR Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy. Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.
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