Could you be a Badger Trust Trustee?
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Feb 2, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: May 2, 2024
Annual recruitment to the Board opens for 2023
Established over 30 years ago, Badger Trust exists to promote and enhance the welfare, conservation, and protection of badgers, their setts, and their habitats. We are the leading voice for badgers in England and Wales, with a network of around 50 local voluntary badger groups and supported by thousands of supporters and followers.
We seek new trustees to join our Board to help support the current Trustees and Executive Director in continuing to deliver the charity's objectives and to ensure we have the right mix of skills, experience, and people to achieve even more for badgers in the coming years.
Badger Trust is at an exciting stage of development, with the implementation of our organisational review, subsequent investment in the staff team, and work on our five-year strategy to ensure the charity delivers maximum impact for badgers. We run various campaigns, including on the ongoing badger cull, persistent wildlife crime, and planning and development issues.
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote and enhance the welfare, conservation, and protection of badgers, their setts, and their habitats.
Our Vision
Our vision is a world where badgers are respected as part of our rich wildlife heritage, safe from persecution
Your skills
We are particularly keen to hear from you if you have one or more of the following skills:
people management
small charity or small business operations
volunteer group involvement
You must be passionate about badger welfare, and we especially encourage members of badger groups to apply to ensure the groups network is duly represented.
We are looking for applicants whose professional knowledge will help add value to our Board. You will be a good strategic thinker, can work collaboratively, and will engage with the broader role of being a trustee.
Badger Trust embraces diversity and we aim to diversify our Board in terms of skills, background, and life experience. We welcome all applications, particularly individuals from racially diverse backgrounds and people with a disability, as they are currently under-represented on our Board. We also welcome applications from individuals who reflect a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds in the UK.
Time Commitment
The Board usually has four quarterly meetings, which are held on Saturdays. Currently, the majority are virtual meetings, with in-person meetings twice a year. There may be a need to attend virtual meetings outside the quarterly dates.
We also hold an AGM, which Trustees are expected to attend and support. The head office is based in Brighton, but in-person meetings are usually held in central England for ease of access for all.
Vice Chair, Rosie Wood, joined the board in 2021:
“Being on the Board of Badger Trust brings with it plenty of opportunities to learn and collaborate with people of a like mind, that much I hope you would expect. But it also brings chances to open conversations with different decision-makers able to drive change. It gives me scope to remake our arguments in fresh and compelling ways informed – in my case –by sharing the background of those I need to engage with. While we need people committed to protecting and conserving badgers, we also need them to understand those who can best help – funders, policymakers, lawmakers, and communicators. Don’t expect it to be a passive role – badgers need active friends and advocates. But it will rapidly build up your skills, your professional networks, and your CV, and we will do our best to match your interests and availability to the Charity’s needs.”
Badger Trust Chair, Peter Jackson, who joined the Board in 2021, encourages you to get in touch:
“I joined Badger Trust as I wanted to help one of our best-loved but persecuted mammals and felt that as a Badger Trust Trustee, I could help to make a difference. It is a rewarding experience being part of a team that shapes the direction of the Charity and a good way of making new friends. We are a diverse group in terms of the skills we bring and also geographically, but this makes us stronger. Please join us to help end the persecution of this beautiful native British mammal.”
Further information
You can find out more about our work by visiting our website where you can also see details of our current Board. You can find us socially on Twitter, Facebook Instagram and LinkedIn.
We are a registered charity, a limited company, registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection compliance, and with the Fundraising Regulator for fundraising compliance. We are also members of the Small Charities Coalition and NCVO for best practice, guidance and support as part of our aim to be an effective and efficient charity.
We encourage applicants to ensure they are familiar with the legal responsibilities of a charity Trustee, and more information can be found on the Charity Commission’s website. See Badger Trust’s registration with the Charity Commission.
Trustee roles are voluntary and without remuneration. Expenses incurred for Board business will be reimbursed in accordance with our expenses policy. Final appointment to the Board is subject to the election of recommended Trustees at the AGM of Badger Trust by the member groups.
How to apply
If you would like to apply to be considered as a Badger Trust Trustee, please review the Trustee role description to ensure you meet our criteria and can offer the skills and experience we need. If so, we'd love to hear from you.
Please complete the Trustee application form (provided as a Word document) and send it back as a pdf, with a copy of your CV, to catherine@badgertrust.org.uk
If you have any questions in advance of your application or would like an informal chat, please contact the Chair at chair@badgertrust.org.uk in the first instance.
