Trustee

Our vision is to become a beacon and source of inspiration for the personal development of young people

The Pump is a charity and a purpose-built youth facility that was designed by young people for young people and cost £4.5m to build (on the site of an old petrol station).

We support disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable children and young people towards positive outcomes, including EET (education, employment and training) outcomes, through youth work, vocational training, volunteering opportunities and work experience at The Pump.

Young people improve their social skills, including communication skills, at our open-access Youth Club, and their employability skills, including digital skills, in The Pump Café and in our Creative Spaces.

Our Creative (and digital learning) Spaces, include a recording studio and a Makerspace.

The Pump has become the nucleus of the remaining support for disadvantaged children and young people in East Birmingham. Our open-access Youth Club is the gateway to this support. 

Our core values are:

Empowerment - place young people at the heart of decision making by increasing their capacity to make informed choices,

Quality - always look for new and better ways of working,

Inspiration – stimulate learning and encourage creative thinking,

Participation – encourage the active involvement of young people and work in partnership with our local community,

Equality and Diversity – value difference, treat everyone with respect and challenge oppression and prejudice,

Raising aspiration – realise the potential and talents that exist within all young people.

We are going through a transition period, with long standing board members and key senior staff looking to move on taking a wealth of knowledge, history and skills with them and we now need to plan, for what the future looks like and build a new leadership team that can take us in to the next phase.

Children and Young People’s Lead/Trustee

We are seeking a highly knowledgeable Children and Young People’s lead/Trustee of the Board. Someone who will bring strategic thinking and, excellent knowledge of Children and young people’s issues/needs, practice and policy, inclusive leadership, and to ensure CYP are embedded into board thinking/decision making.

As a Children and Young People’s organisation we take our social mission seriously and want to create the right culture for CYP to thrive and develop to be the best they can be. Therefore, it is vital to champion youth voice throughout the organisation for all staff, tenants, visitors and most importantly our young people.

As Children and young people’s lead you will:

Have experience of CYP engagement

Have a solid understanding of issues facing young people, particularly around social exclusion

Good understanding of school’s engagement and delivery of accredited programmes of work.

Support CYP informal social education/personal development programme design and delivery

Lead on CYP advocacy/voice

Have excellent communication skills and knowledge of CYP social media platforms

Have experience of legislation process and practices around CYP

Competent in Safeguarding of CYP

Champion the rights and voices of young people, ensuring they are heard where it matters most.

Other responsibilities, along with the board of trustees, include:

 to manage the charity’s resources responsibly, including ensuring the charity’s assets are used only to carry out its purpose, avoid undue risk, and not over-commit the charity.

to ensure appropriate financial plans are in place, budgets are monitored, and progress is evaluated.

to review and approve financial statements.

to ensure the charity has appropriate policies and procedures to comply with current legislation and good practice, including employment, health and safety, equity, diversity and inclusion, safeguarding and GDPR compliance/data protection.

 to prepare for and regularly attend and participate in board and subcommittee meetings and any trustee away days.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has a track record of uniting people around a shared vision and purpose.
• Brings political acumen and influence at senior levels.
• Leads with empathy, emotional intelligence, and integrity.
• Shares our values of respect, social justice, and commitment to empowering young people.

This is a voluntary position, requiring approximately one day per quarter, including four Board meetings per year and other key engagements. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

Join us at this critical time and help ensure that every young person feels safe, valued, and that every young person can be supported into adulthood.