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Applications Invited for the Positions of Treasurer and Membership Officer

British Shakespeare Association

The Board of the British Shakespeare Association is looking to appoint a new leadership team from September 2016 onwards, when the current Chair, the Treasurer and the Membership Officer will all stand down. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Board of the BSA during the year of Shakespeare’s quartercentenary and help take the BSA forward. Details of the BSA and the Treasurer and Membership Officer roles are given below. The Chair position will be advertised separately.

We are committed to equality of opportunity for everyone and welcome applications from individuals regardless of their background.

About the BSA

The BSA was founded in 2002 with a mission to bring together academics, teachers, theatre practitioners and other people who work with Shakespeare’s texts into a professional association. In 2007, the BSA was incorporated as a charitable company limited by guarantee with a commitment to educate the general public about Shakespeare and his works. The BSA typically has around 300 paid up members and over 1000 members on its database. Members pay an annual subscription fee of £25 although there are also concessionary rates and since 2014 all Schools-based members have been given free membership. The BSA’s flagship event is its Biennial Conference, which brings together Shakespeareans from all of its communities to discuss latest research and the most recent insights into teaching and performance. Between conferences, the BSA runs a number of other events, most notably an annual Honorary Fellows event. We appoint two Honorary Fellows a year  – past Fellows include Stanley Wells, Chris Grace, Janet Suzman, Cicely Berry and John Russell Brown. The BSA is also associated with two publications: Teaching Shakespeare, a journal edited by Sarah Olive and published through the BSA; and Shakespeare: the Journal of the British Shakespeare Association, which is published by Routledge and is considered to be one of the best academic journals on Shakespeare in the world. The BSA also has a website, www.britishshakespeare.ws, through which news relating to Shakespeare and the BSA is disseminated.

About the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees (which is also a Board of Directors) is made up of: 4 Officers, 6 elected Trustees, and 3 ex officio Trustees representing the Shakespeare Institute, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Routledge Journal. Three committees also report directly to the Board: the Events Committee, the Fellowship Committee and the Education Committee. The Chairs of these Committees are appointed by the Board and are entitled to attend Board meetings, but can only vote if they are also Trustees. The Board meets three times a year, usually in Stratford-upon-Avon, and holds one Annual General Meeting. As well as overseeing the various activities of the BSA, the Board is responsible for ensuring good governance and for ensuring compliance with auditing requirements for Companies House and the Charity Commission. The Board’s work is governed by three documents: its Articles of Association, the Rules of the BSA, and the Financial Procedures of the BSA. Meetings typically last 2-hours and currently follow a standing agenda.

Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for making sure that the charity follows its financial procedures and complies with Companies House and Charity Commission regulations. The Treasurer will advise the Board on its financial position through regular updates at Board meetings and will present an annual report to the Annual General Meeting. The Treasurer is also responsible for keeping good financial records including receipts, invoices and other financial documents for audit purposes as well as managing payments in and out of the BSA bank and Paypal accounts throughout the year. When appropriate the Treasurer will also be involved in negotiating contracts and managing employment issues. The BSA works with an independent auditor for its annual accounting and the Treasurer is responsible for liaising with the auditor in preparing and presenting those financial records in a timely manner.

Essential Criteria:

  1.  Excellent organizational skills and is familiar with financial regulations.
  2. Good numeracy, IT literacy and record keeping skills.
  3. The ability to work with the other Officers as part of a leadership team.

 

Because the Board uses independent auditors, it is not necessary for the Treasurer to have accountancy skills or experience, but experience of working with budgets will be an advantage. The Treasurer will either be a member of the BSA who has demonstrated their commitment to its values or they will have substantial experience working the Board of a related charity.

For an informal discussion about the work of the Treasurer, you may contact Dr Smith directly.

Membership Officer

The main duties of the Membership Officer include managing new membership applications and renewals, maintaining the BSA membership database and advising the Board on issues relating to membership, including its composition and strategies to grow membership through a report delivered to each Board meeting. The Membership Officer is also responsible for engaging with members through periodic email bulletins.

The Board wishes to appoint an individual from the current membership who has excellent IT skills including the ability to manage an online database, excellent organisational skills and good interpersonal and communication skills.

This role is currently being held by Dr. Peter Kirwan, who will step down in October 2016. The new Membership Officer will take up the position in the summer of 2016 and will work with Dr Kirwan until October before assuming full duties. Much of the role is internet based. The BSA uses a membership management system called Groupspaces. Prior knowledge of this is not expected or required and informal training will be provided, but you should be used to dealing with internet-based systems. The busiest time for the Membership Officer is usually around September-October, when the new Membership year starts.

For an informal discussion about the work of the Membership Officer, you may contact Dr Kirwan directly.

Commitments

Both roles are volunteer positions and are not remunerated, but reasonable expenses will be met. All roles are required to report to three meetings of the BSA a year (usually held in Stratford-upon-Avon) and one Annual General Meeting of the Membership. In addition, all three roles require additional work between meetings, most of which is conducted online via email or through telephone conferencing. Both posts are potentially permanent subject to renewal by the Board on an annual basis. Currently, the Treasurer role is supported by a Deputy who will help manage the transition from the current Officer team to the new one.

The Membership Officer expected to take up his/her appointment in Summer 2016 to begin shadowing Dr Peter Kirwan. The Treasurer will assume his/her duties upon confirmation of appointment at the BSA’s Biennial Conference in Hull in September 2016 and will be expected to attend that conference.

Application

To apply for the role of Membership Officer or Treasurer, please send a letter of application, a curriculum vitae and the names of two referees to britishshakespeareassociation@gmail.com by the deadline of 10th June 2016.

Shortlisted applicants will be asked to participate in an interview in the first week of July.

For an informal discussion about these roles please contact Stuart Hampton-Reeves, the outgoing Chair of the Board: shampton-reeves@uclan.ac.uk

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