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Chair of the Board, Creative Colchester CIC

Creative Colchester CIC is looking for Chair to succeed current Chair, Hana Loftus, whose term is coming to an end. If you are passionate about supporting creative businesses and individuals and want to contribute to the development of Colchester as a centre for culture, creativity and digital innovation, we would love to hear from you.
Working closely with board members the successful candidate will oversee Creative Colchester’s exciting programme of work, providing leadership and guidance to the team.
This is a voluntary role with an approximate commitment of approx 4 hours per week. Creative Colchester requires a commitment of 3 years with an option to extend.
Once appointed, the new Chair will work alongside the outgoing Chair in a supportive handover period. 

Key aspects of the role:
The successful candidate would be expected to:

– Provide strategic and visible leadership for Creative Colchester as an organisation, and the creative, cultural and digital sector in the Colchester area

– Work collaboratively with the board to develop and implement the strategic direction of the organisation, taking key decisions when required.

-Chair quarterly board meetings (weekday mornings), including developing the agenda with the programme manager, providing a written chair’s report of recent activity, and checking board minutes.

-Work closely with partners, funders and organisations to seek out and create opportunities for the Creative Colchester network

-Oversee and act as final point of sign-off on project budgets

– Be named as a Director of Creative Colchester CIC Ltd at Companies House.

-Oversee the work of the Programme Manager (freelance contract) through regular catch up meetings and email communication

Knowledge, skills and experience required
-Strategy and advocacy: The chair will represent Creative Colchester at events and foster positive and collaborative relationships across the city. This role requires a proactive attitude and a determination to advocate for the creative and cultural sector with key stakeholders. The chair should be confident in building and maintaining strong relationships with senior leadership across the public and private sector locally, including the political and executive leadership of Colchester City Council, and with cultural stakeholders including Arts Council England.

– The Chair should have good, current knowledge of the cultural, creative and digital industries including the for-profit and non-profit sectors. It is not necessary for the Chair to have a professional background in the creative sector but they will need to speak credibly on behalf of the sector, so a good understanding will be key.

– The Chair should have sound knowledge of funding sources and experience in managing funding applications.

-Governance: The chair will be expected to ensure effective board governance and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Experience as a board member/trustee of a non-profit organisation (registered charity or Community Interest Company) is essential.

-Financial oversight: The Chair will oversee the organisation’s finances, ensuring sound financial health and management.

To apply
If you are interested in applying for this role, please provide a statement of interest that includes the following:

– A short biography setting out your experience with relevance to the knowledge, skills and experience required for the Chair role (500 words)

– Why you are interested in being Chair of Creative Colchester (300 words)

– Outline three challenges that you see for the cultural, creative and digital sector locally over the next three years (300 words)

– Outline three opportunities for Creative Colchester over the next three years – these could be initiatives, projects, or areas of work that you would like to develop if you were Chair (500 words)

Please email your statement to dan@creativecolchester.org.uk
Closing dates for applications is Tuesday 6th May at 12pm.
You will be contacted by a board member if you are selected to move to the next stage, which will be an interview in mid may. We would like to appoint the new Chair by mid June but this is negotiable depending on circumstances.

New board members wanted!

We are on the lookout for new board members! To support our continuous evolution and rising ambitions, Creative Colchester is looking to add new faces and ideas to the board. This is something that we are committed to doing each year, to ensure we can maintain momentum and keep a fresh outlook on the sector. This is your chance to help shape our programme, act as a sounding board, increase our visibility and advocacy, and support the growth and dynamism of Colchester’s creative sector. 

We are an inclusive organisation looking for a diversity of experiences, skills, and backgrounds to broaden the board’s insights and perspectives. We are looking for board members from the business and independent side of the creative, cultural, and digital sectors, not representatives from a specific organisation.

The commitment is for quarterly board meetings (weekday mornings), ad-hoc input/feedback via email between board meetings, and to attend at least one further in-person Creative Colchester event or meeting per quarter (e.g. networking event, partnership meeting). In addition board members are encouraged to become involved with our programmes and projects as either board lead or a steering group member, and to suggest and develop new projects, and the funding and partnerships required to deliver them.  

If you are interested in joining the board, please email dan@creativecolchester with the following information:
– A bit about yourself and your background
– Why you would like to join the board and what you feel you would offer
You can submit your application in writing or via a video clip.
Closing dates for applications is Tuesday 6th May at 12pm.

It is an exciting time to be supporting our creative and digital sector and highlighting the importance of what we bring to our community.

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