Trustee

Today
Kensal Green Cemetery is at the start of an exciting new chapter in its
history. After several years of hard
work and collaboration with stakeholders such as Historic England, a private
Bill is currently passing through parliament that will enable the General
Cemetery Company to transfer the land, buildings and company into the ownership
of a newly formed charity. As a result,
the cemetery will be owned and operated by a modern organisation with
contemporary powers and freedoms, releasing it from the constrained governance
arrangements of the founding Act(s).

In
parallel with the Bill making its passage through parliament, the General
Cemetery Company directors are setting up a Steering Group that will form the
embryo of the board of trustees of the proposed charity that will ultimately
own and operate the site.

We
are therefore seeking three experienced external individuals to join the
Steering Group and contribute towards the establishment of the new charity and
form the starting point for a larger board of trustees. It is anticipated that the Steering Group
members will transition into trustees in the next 12 months or so as the
charity is established.

About Kensal Green
Cemetery

Kensal
Green Cemetery and the company that owns and operates it – the General Cemetery
Company – was established by an Act of Parliament in 1833. It is one of the ‘magnificent seven’ great
Victorian London cemeteries and the only one that remains owned and operated by
its original founding company.

Kensal
Green Cemetery is widely regarded architecturally as the most important of the
great Victorian cemeteries, containing the greatest concentration of buildings
and monuments of particularly high-quality design. As the chosen location for several Victorian
royal burials, Kensal Green Cemetery also became regarded as particularly
desirable amongst the great and the good of Victorian and Edwardian society.

Over
the last half a century the General Cemetery Company has struggled to keep up
with the huge task of maintaining the site to the standard it deserves. And as time has passed, the General Cemetery
Company’s 200-year-old governance framework has become increasingly
anachronistic in the modern world, preventing it, for example, from applying
for major capital grants or making structural changes to the way the site is
owned and operated. Whilst the company
is in reasonable financial shape and actively serving its community with
burials and cremations, parts of the cemetery are in poor condition and it
contains one of the largest concentrations of ‘Heritage At Risk’ structures in
England.

Our vision

The
GCC directors and inaugural members of the proposed charity have established an
outline vision for the future of Kensal Green Cemetery for the next 25 years to
2050 to give the proposed charity a clear purpose. We have also started to set a series of
objectives that the charity must deliver to give its role and function more
definition:

The vision is to care for Kensal
Green Cemetery as a place of burial, cremation and quiet contemplation for
current and future generations of our diverse community. To do this we will carefully and sensitively
conserve and repair our buildings and monuments, promote education about them
and improve the condition of infrastructure & landscape whilst operating an
active cemetery and crematorium for the public benefit.

The strategic objectives are:

1.
To maintain an open and active cemetery and provide
for existing and future generations of friends and families of the deceased

2.
To conserve and enhance the heritage of Kensal Green
Cemetery;( the densest concentration of highly listed heritage assets in
England)

3.
To continue to operate a high quality, financially
viable cemetery and crematorium whilst diversifying income streams from other
assets and activities

4.
To engage and educate people about the social,
economic, architectural, environmental and cultural history of the cemetery and
those buried in it

5.
To balance the conservation and enhancement of the
historic landscape features with nature conservation to provide a green space
for commemoration and the quiet enjoyment and contemplation of the community.

Person specifications

We
are seeking three high calibre individuals to the following three roles:

1. Treasurer

2. Heritage-lead

3. Management-lead

Further
details are provided in the specifications below however it is key that all
three trustee roles are filled by individuals who have board-level experience
and experience of charities, and ideally charitable start-ups in particular.

We
are looking for individuals who understand and will embrace our vision and who
can help to shape plans for the future of Kensal Green Cemetery.

In
the short-term the individuals will be members of the Steering Group. It is anticipated that these individuals will
be key members of the team which will create the proposed charity and that
their roles will transition to trustees during their tenure.

Treasurer

Main
responsibilities

Main
responsibilities are likely to include:

• Setting up and overseeing the charity’s financial
  affairs working closely with the charity’s executive team
• Ensure that annual reports and returns are prepared
  and filed in a timely fashion
• Monitor and report to the board of Trustees on the
  financial health of the charity by producing quarterly management accounts.
• Advise on the financial implications of the
  charity’s strategic plans by producing long term cashflow forecasts.
• Formulating suitable financial policies and
  investment plans

Required for this
role

Candidates must
be able to demonstrate:

• An understanding of the legal duties and
  responsibilities of Trusteeship
• Significant experience (15+ years) of working in a
  senior financial position such as CFO or equivalent
• Recognised accountancy qualification(s)

Desired for this
role

Candidates should
be able to demonstrate:

• Board level experience
• Experience of corporate or charitable treasurer
  roles
• Experience in the charity sector, ideally of charity
  start-ups

Heritage-lead

Main responsibilities

Main
responsibilities are likely to include:

• Take a lead role in overseeing our mission to
  conserve and enhance the heritage of Kensal Green Cemetery including
  buildings, monuments, landscape and archival material
• Act as an advocate and champion for the heritage of
  the cemetery helping to raise its profile and extend its network within the
  heritage sector
• Support statutory planning matters relating to
  heritage assets
• Engage in fundraising and project development
  efforts for conservation campaigns and projects
• Foster and maintain positive relationships with key
  statutory and non-statutory bodies such as Historic England, The National
  Lottery Heritage Fund, Victorian Society and SAVE, etc.

Required for this
role

Candidates must
be able to demonstrate:

• Significant experience (15+ years) of working in the
  UK heritage sector including working with Heritage At Risk
• Experience of working with Historic England, Local
  Authorities and The National Lottery Heritage Fund
• An understanding of the legal duties and
  responsibilities of Trusteeship

Desired for this
role

Candidates should
be able to demonstrate:

• Board level experience
• Experience in the charity sector, ideally of charity
  start-ups
• Experience of heritage project development and
  delivery
• Capital fundraising experience

Management lead

Main
responsibilities

Main
responsibilities are likely to include:

• Promote and oversee high standards in governance,
  compliance and performance
• Provide input and strategic insight to the board and
  management team on strategy development, organisational management,
  leadership and development
• Take a lead role in strategic risk identification
  and management
• Promote diversity and inclusion across the
  organisation

Required for this
role

Candidates must
be able to demonstrate:

• Significant experience (15+ years) of working in a
  senior management position such as COO or equivalent in the corporate,
  charity or public sector
• Experience of major transformation or organisational
  development projects

Desired for this
role

Candidates should
be able to demonstrate:

• Board level experience
• Experience of charity start-ups or commercial
  start-ups
• Fundraising network

What you will gain

• The opportunity to shape an organisation responsible
  for one of the most remarkable concentrations of heritage assets in England
• Satisfaction for being responsible for a cemetery and
  crematorium that is deeply rooted in the lives of the West London community
• The opportunity to develop your strategic and
  leadership skills
• Working with a friendly and committed team of trustees
  and staff.

Location

All members of the Steering Group and
successor trustee board will be expected to participate fully in the
development of proposals for the future of Kensal Green Cemetery including at
the attendance of events and relevant meetings on site in London. It is expected that there will be five formal
meetings each year which will be a mixture of virtual and in person that
members will be required to attend as a minimum. During the first formative year or so of the
start-up phase we expect the level of time commitment will exceed that of a
typical trustee position.

Terms of appointment

The three roles are voluntary and will
not be remunerated however reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

The appointment is for a three-year
term, which can be renewed for one further term.

How to apply

To apply please send a CV and a covering
letter to office@inghampinnock.com

About being a Trustee

It is fully expected that the
individuals we are seeking for the Steering Group will transition into trustees
in due course. More information is available online about general trustee
responsibilities from websites such as the Charity Commission however, in
summary, trustees have overall control of a charity and are responsible for
making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do. Trustees have six main overarching duties:

1.
To ensure their
charity is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit

2.
To comply with
their charity’s governing document and the law

3.
To act in their
charity’s best interests

4.
To manage your
charity’s resources responsibly

5.
To act with
reasonable care and skill

6.
To ensure their
charity is accountable.

​