Trustee RecruitmentPack

October 2019

October 2019

Contents:

1. Introduction2. About New Writing North3. Role descriptions and terms4. Induction process and Board Meeting Dates5. How to apply and recruitment timeline.

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Board of Trustees biographiesAppendix 2: Further informationAppendix 3: Equal opportunities monitoring form

Thank you for your interest in the role of Trustee at New Writing North.

We want to ensure that our Trustee profile reflects and represents the communities in which we work, and our aspiration for growth as we begin a journey to lead the creation of a new centre for literature on Tyneside.

Our aim is to achieve a vibrant new arts space in Newcastle upon Tyne with a strong public offer and the potential to contribute broadly to the profile of the city and its cultural landscape, with a programme that tackles some of the most urgent social, political and cultural issues we face as a community.

New Writing North already has the ability to attract the country’s best writers to the North East, and a significant track record of work developing talent and engaging under-represented communities in reading and writing.

Over the next five years we’ll further develop our relationships with national and international partners embedding our work around Talent Development, Festivals and Events and Young People locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

To support this, we are seeking to appoint Trustees with specific experience in:• Finance (as succession planning for our current Treasurer)• Commercial expertise• Property/Capital Development• Communications• Legal • Creative Writing.

The current make-up of the board represents a wide range of skills from publishing, HR, risk, digital, HE, education and research and has writer representatives. Board members come from across the North and further afield to ensure that we have the right mix of expertise and experience. Biographies of current Trustees can be found as appendix 1.

Trustees tell us that their reasons for working with the organisation include:• Giving back, a contribution to a sector, vision and mission they want to support• Supporting social mobility and participation through cultural engagement• Affiliation with a high performing organisation• To add value through bringing their skills and experience to NWN• To gain strategic experience in the cultural and charitable sectors• To build a wider professional network from diverse backgrounds• To indulge a secret (or not so secret) passion for literature and reading.

The following pages provide an overview of the organisation, Trustee role descriptions, and further details of the specialisms we’re seeking to attract to support our progressive organisation through an exciting phase of growth.

1. Introduction

New Writing North is a development agency for creative writing and reading. Established in 1996, the organisation was the first development agency to be created outside of London and has since been the model for six more regional agencies across the country. We have been funded by Arts Council England since inception and are currently a National Portfolio Organisation.

Vision: That people from across society are free and able to fulfil their creative ambitions and potential, and that work emanating from and reflecting the North is enjoyed regionally, nationally and internationally. We want to support writers in the North to develop their creative work and support them to engage with publishers, broadcasters and producers so that they can make a cultural contribution to UK writing.

Mission: To empower people from across society in the North to become writers and to support their work so that it finds local, regional, national and international audiences, and to support readers to become more adventurous by providing access to literature of the highest quality to enrich their lives.

Core Activities: The activities that we deliver to achieve our mission are: • Writing Development (awards, guidance, mentoring, professional development opportunities and commissions)• Work with Young People (writing groups, professional development, school partnerships, events and Arts Award)• Reading Development (events, book prizes, festivals, touring, promotions and digital engagement).

From a base in Newcastle upon Tyne we operate across the North of England, working in partnership with regional and national partners and supporters to produce a range of literary and performance activities including flagship projects such as: The Northern Writers’ Awards; the David Cohen Prize for Literature; an award winning programme of work with young writers including our schools programme Young Writers

City; Read Regional; The Gordon Burn Prize and Durham Book Festival.

We specialise in developing and investing in writers of all ages and act as a dynamic broker between writers, producers, publishers and broadcasters across the creative industries.

Since early 2017 we have been planning our work in line with a Theory of Change approach, which identifies the desired long-term goals of a programme or organisation and then works back from these to identify all the conditions (outcomes) that must be in place (and how these relate to one another causally) for the goals to occur. These are then mapped in an Outcomes Framework (appendix 2) and allow us to consider the true impact of our activities, and structure programmes and resources to best achieve our aims.

In 2019 we were the winner of the North East Business Award for Best Creative Company.

In September 2019 the organisation declared a Climate Emergency and following this we will be re-evaluating all of our impact assessment processes both for our own operations and for our work. We are in the process of appointing a Climate Writer in Residence in association with Newcastle University who will champion and explore the role of narrative and storytelling in a time of climate change and challenge us to explore an organisational response.

2. About New Writing North

Through this round of recruitment we are seeking to appoint Trustees with specific experience in:• Finance (as succession planning for our current Treasurer)• Commercial expertise• Property/Capital Development• Communications• Legal• Creative Writing.

Following are role descriptions for the Trustee and Treasurer roles. In addition, we highlight specific responsibilities for Trustees we seek to recruit with commercial, property/capital development, legal and communications expertise.

Trustee Role Description and Person Specification

Reports to Chair of Trustees

Role Description

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity and its financial health, developing the organisations aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the governing document, legal and regulatory guidelines.

Responsibilities

• To ensure that the organisation complies with its governing document, charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations • To ensure that the organisation pursues its objects as defined in its governing document • To ensure the organisation uses its resources exclusively in pursuit of its charitable objects• To be accountable to the Charity Commission, Companies House and other regulators• To determine the overall direction and ensure the effective and efficient administration of New Writing North through strong governance and clear strategic planning• To ensure that the policy and practices of New Writing North are in keeping with its governing document and are carried out by management• To attend a minimum of three board meetings per year, and participate in committees, time limited reviews and to a Trustee annual self assessment processes• To gain insight into New Writing North’s work, and wider issues affecting the sector by attending events (e.g. Northern Writers’ Awards, Durham Book Festival, Young People’s performances, and public profile events), reviewing publications and observing non-public activities• To contribute to appraisal, recruitment, disciplinary and grievance panels as required• To represent New Writing North at events and meetings as required• To assist in promoting New Writing North and its work• To adhere to New Writing North’s Code of Conduct and all other policies which are relevant to your role as a Trustee• To maintain confidentiality and declare any conflicts of interest while carrying out the duties of a Trustee• In addition to the above, each trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions and advance the aims of the organisation (e.g. scrutinising board papers, leading discussions, focusing on key issues, and providing advice and guidance requested by the Board on new initiatives, or other issues relevant to the Charity’s work in which the trustee has special expertise).

3. Role Descriptions

Person Specification• A knowledge of, and commitment to the work of New Writing North• A high level of experience and skill within your own field of work• A supportive and confident approach to leadership• A strategic perspective• The ability to understand financial information• An ability to process detail and get to the heart of an issue• Good, independent judgement• An ability and willingness to work effectively as a collegiate member of a board while confidently contributing an independent perspective• Links to a network of relevant contacts and the ability to provide a link between your organisation, sector or institution and New Writing North• An ability to communicate effectively and with confidence to a range of audiences and a willingness to act as an ambassador for New Writing North• A willingness and ability to devote the necessary time and effort to being a trustee• An awareness and understanding of equal opportunities issues.

Terms

• Remuneration: the role of Trustee is unpaid• Expenses: Trustees are recompensed for travel and if necessary accommodation costs associated with attending meetings and for any other costs incurred whilst undertaking activities for the organisation• Time commitment: up to four board meetings per year, plus one strategy away day, at least one Committee membership with an additional three to four meeting per year and occasional task and finish groups. Trustees are expected to attend a minimum of three board meetings per year but flexibility will be applied and virtual attendance will be considered• Trustees will serve an initial three-year term to be eligible for re-appointment for two additional terms of three years each• Code of Conduct: Trustees are required to agree to abide by the Trustees’ Code of Conduct and to declare as appropriate their business interests• Location of meetings: New Writing North, 3 Ellison Terrace, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST• Board meetings take place during weekday working hours and dates are programmed two years in advance• Our Trustees are based in the North and London and we welcome applications from anywhere in the UK.

Key relationships

• Chair• Vice Chair• Other Trustees• Stakeholders and Partners• Chief Executive• Executive Team.

Reports to Board of Trustees

Role Description (in addition to that of a Trustee)

To oversee the financial matters of the charity in line with good practice and in accordance with the governing document and legal requirements, reporting to the Board of Trustees about the financial health of New Writing North.

Responsibilities (in addition to that of a Trustee)

• To ensure New Writing North has sound financial management and expenditure is in line with the Charity’s objects• To advise on the financial aspects of New Writing North’s strategic plans considering long-term sustainability• To ensure that effective reserves and investment policies are in place and regularly reviewed• To ensure that effective financial measures, controls and procedures are in place• To lead the appointment of, and liaison with NWN’s auditors• To liaise with the Chief Executive and/or Company Secretary to ensure that New Writing North’s accounts are compliant with the Charities SORP• Overseeing, approving and presenting budgets, accounts and financial statements and reports to the Board of Trustees.

Person Specification (in addition to that of a Trustee)• Knowledge of financial accounting and reporting procedures• Strategic financial planning skills• The ability to communicate financial information to those who may have little or no financial background.

Key relationships:

• Chair• Vice Chair• Board of Trustees• Chief Executive• Director of Finance and Administration• Senior Finance and Administration Manager.

Treasurer Role Description and Person Specification

Responsibilities (in addition to that of a Trustee)

• To provide strategic advice on the establishment, growth and diversification of commercial opportunities• To support Trustees and Executive Team to develop networks within the retail sector.

Person Specification (in addition to that of a Trustee)• Significant strategic experience of establishing, growing and diversifying commercial opportunities• Proven ability to generate income through, and measure success of commercial opportunities ideally in the retail and/or bar & catering sectors.

Trustee (Commercial specialism)

Responsibilities (in addition to that of a Trustee)

• To provide strategic advice on all aspects of capital development to support Trustees and Executive Team on the development of a centre for literature• To work with Trustees and staff to consider organisational change factors for consideration before, during and following a property/capital development.

Person Specification (in addition to that of a Trustee)• Significant management experience in the regeneration and development of buildings gained through the charitable, public or private sectors• Highly developed design, technical and contractor networks• Proven ability of building strategic partnerships to enable capital development projects to flourish.

Trustee (Property/capital development specialism)

Responsibilities (in addition to that of a Trustee)

• To provide strategic advice on all aspects of communications to enhance relationships with the media and key influencers• To work with Trustees and staff to recognise internal and external communications opportunities and appropriate strategies to support them• To facilitate the development of a strategic communications plan that maps New Writing North’s growth and journey to a new centre for literature on Tyneside.

Person Specification (in addition to that of a Trustee)• Leadership experience in a Marketing/PR/Communications role• Demonstrable experience in identifying opportunities for, and achieving regional and national media coverage• Proven ability to grow the public profile of an organisation.

Trustee (Communications specialism)

Responsibility (in addition to that of a Trustee)

To support Trustees and Executive Team on legal matters concerned with capital development.

Person Specification (in addition to that of a Trustee)• Legal experience from either the private, public or charitable sectors• Experience in a leadership role• Commercial and/or governance experience would be desirable.

Trustee (Legal specialism)

4. Induction process

Trustees receive a phased induction process on appointment including:• One to one meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive• Observation of a board meeting• An induction pack• Two, two-hour induction meetings to meet the staff team, review policies relevant to the role, and an introduction to core areas of programme.

Board appraisal is undertaken annually by the Chair at the start of the calendar year and reported to the full board at the February meeting. Trustee training requirements will be considered alongside this process and trustees are offered training opportunities throughout the year.

Board Meeting Dates• Wednesday 4 December 2019, 2 – 5pm, and AGM• Wednesday 19 February 2020, 2 – 5pm• Wednesday 10 June 2020, 2 – 5pm• Wednesday 16 September 2020, 2 - 5pm• Wednesday 9 December 2020, 2 – 5pm, and AGM• Wednesday 17 February 2021.

To express interest in the role please submit:• A current CV including two referees• A supporting statement (on no more than two sides of A4) that addresses the criteria in the role description and outlines your motivation in applying• Details of your availability on the dates provided in the recruitment timeline below.

Please also ensure you have completed and submitted the equal opportunities monitoring form provided with this pack as appendix 3. The information on the form will be treated as confidential, and used for statistical purposes only. The form will not be treated as part of your application.

Completed expressions of interest should be submitted to David Roche, Chair of Trustees via

david@newwritingnorth.com.

If you have any queries about any aspect of the appointment process or wish to have an informal and confidential discussion please also contact Claire Malcolm via claire@newwritingnorth.com.

Recruitment timeline:

Monday 6 January 2020 (noon) Closing date for applicationsW/c Monday 20 January 2020 As required, opportunity for shortlisted candidates to meet Chair,

Vice Chair and Chief Executive in London/Manchester or Newcastle (meetings via Skype also possible)

W/c Monday 3 February 2020 Final appointments agreedW/c Wednesday 19 February 2020, 2–5pm

Board meeting observation

Equal opportunities

New Writing North is fully committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting equality and diversity in our workforce and employment practices, in the work we undertake, and in the provision of all our services. We therefore expect all Trustees, staff, freelance and sessional workers to be willing and able to make a positive contribution to the promotion and implementation of New Writing North’s Equality and Diversity policy.

5. How to apply

Chair David Roche has worked at the highest level in both retail and publishing as CEO of Borders and Books etc. and as Group Sales and Marketing Director of HarperCollins. Prior to these roles he was Product Director at both Waterstones and HMV. David chaired the Booksellers Association/Publishers Association Liaison Group from 2003-05 and was President of the Booksellers Association from 2005-07. He now runs his own company, David Roche Enterprises Ltd and acts as a consultant, literary agent and non-executive director. He is currently non-executive Chairman of the London Book Fair (since 2012) and was a trustee of BookTrust from 2008-2015. David sits on a number of advisory boards and is a regular speaker at events, and has recently given masterclasses at Kingston University, University of Central Lancashire and the National Film and Theatre School. He joined the New Writing North board in December 2015.

Vice Chair Dr Caroline Murphy is Associate Director for Research & Partnerships at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Over the past 25 years Caroline has held a variety of leadership roles in the cultural sector, focussing on strategic planning, cross sector partnerships, participation and engagement programmes and impact assessment strategies. Caroline previously led cultural partnership collaborations with the higher education sector in her role at Northumbria University. Her doctoral research focused on the pedagogy of creative writing and the positioning of writing and writers in educational policy. She has been a member of the New Writing North board since 2014.

Treasurer Anthony Devine is an academic at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle. He is involved in teaching, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is the Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Accounting degree. His research areas are family business, corporate governance, financial accounting and ethics. Anthony is an examiner at the Association of International Accountants and holds a faculty teaching post at the Family Firm Institute in Boston, MA. In the past Anthony has carried out consultancy roles for local authorities, global IT companies and family businesses. He has been a member of the New Writing North board since 2013.

Clare Alexander became a literary agent in 1998 after more than 20 years as a publisher, latterly as Publishing Director of Viking and Hamish Hamilton, and Editor-in-chief of Macmillan and Picador. In 1995/96, she was the editor of the winners of the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Fiction, the first editor ever to achieve this hat trick, and in 2019, she represented half of the Women’s Prize shortlist. She is currently chair of Aitken Alexander Associates, and was a board member of the Orange Prize (re-branded as the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2014) between 1998 and 2017, remaining a Founding Patron. She was named Orion Publishing Group Literary Agent of the Year at the 2007 British Book Industry Awards, was awarded the 2008 Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, which honours outstanding achievements by women in publishing, and is a previous President of the Association of Authors’ Agents. Clare became a Trustee in February 2019.

Michael Chaplin has written extensively for television, radio and theatre. Born and brought up in the North-East and living again in Newcastle after many years away, he worked as a newspaper journalist, television documentary producer and executive in both ITV and the BBC before becoming a full time writer. Over the last 25 years he has created numerous series, serials and single films and plays for television and BBC Radio 4, and has collaborated over many years with Newcastle’s Live Theatre on a dozen stage projects. One of Michael’s other principal collaborators is New Writing North on the following books: Come And See, an intimate history of the Tyneside Cinema; Tyne View: A Walk Around The Port of Tyne; There Is A Green Hill, a series of essays about the North-East; and most recently Hame: My Durham, a collection and investigation of the early life and work of his father, the novelist Sid Chaplin. Michael is a Visiting Professor at the University of Newcastle and has been a member of the New Writing North board since 2015.

Appendix 1: Trustee Biographies

Jerome de Groot teaches English Literature at the University of Manchester. He did his Ph.D at the University of Newcastle. He has written several books about the historical novel, popular history, and contemporary television and film. He is the chair of the Board of Trustees for Manchester Literature Festival. He has been a member of the New Writing North board since 2015.

Joanna Ellis is the UK and Australia collection development specialist for Bibliotheca cloudLibrary and has worked in and around publishing for 18 years. Between 2012 – 2016 she was a partner at The Literary Platform, a consultancy and arts organisation specialising in the digital transformation of writing and publishing. Prior to that she worked as the marketing director at Faber & Faber. She speaks and teaches on the subject of writing and publishing and is currently and advisor for the AHRC-funded Ambient Literature project. She has been a member of the New Writing North Board since 2015.

Dominica O’Neil is Head of People and Talent at Newcastle United Football Club. Dominica has 12 years experience in HR across various disciplines and specialist knowledge of case management, dispute resolution and employment investigations. She is also an accredited workplace mediator and investigator. Dominica has been a member of the board since 2017.

Mike Parker is Director of Schools North East, the UK’s first and only regional schools network for all 1,150 schools in the North East of England. In addition to leading the Schools North East charity, Mike also sits on the Strategy Board for the Department for Education’s (DfE) £24m Opportunity North East programme; the DfE’s ISSP Forum; the All-Party Parliamentary Group for School Governance and Leadership; the National Careers Service Partnership Advisory Group; the Education Endowment Foundation NE Primary Literacy Advisory Board; the Careers & Enterprise Company’s Ambassador Group; the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Skills Board. In addition, he is a school governor. A former national journalist and Business Editor, Mike is an external affairs specialist who has devoted much of his working career to campaigning for positive change across education, business, housing and social care sectors. Mike has extensive experience of working in and for networks, supporting organisations to engage, share best practice and providing a representative voice. Mike has been a member of the board since 2019.

Degna Stone is a poet and editor based in North East England. She is a co-founder and former Managing Editor of Butcher’s Dog poetry magazine, a contributing Editor at The Rialto and is currently a pamphlet selector for The Poetry Book Society. She spent 12 years working in the Literary Department at Live Theatre, Newcastle before going Freelance in 2017. She now works with Eclipse Theatre on their ambitious programme Slate: Black · Arts · World; supporting thousands of independent, Black artists across the north of England by increasing access to local, national and international networks. Degna received a Northern Writers Award in 2015, holds an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University and is a fellow of The Complete Works III. She has been a member of the New Writing North Board since 2018.

Appendix 2: Further information

1. Report and Unaudited Financial Statements 31 March 2018

2. New Writing North’s website

3. New Writing North’s Theory of Change

4. New Writing North Staff Structure

Appendix 3: Equal opportunities monitoring form

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

We are committed to equal opportunities in our recruitment process and in order to find out how diverse our workforce and if we are an inclusive employer we need to collect monitoring data. This monitoring form is voluntary but the information we collect is very useful to our funders and us. The information you supply will be kept confidentially, reported to Arts Council England anonymously, not sent to the recruitment panel and will have no part in the shortlisting process.

Media Y/N Please specify if you wish

Word of mouth Social media New Writing North website Online publication / job board Other

Gender identity

Male ☐Female ☐Non-Binary ☐Prefer not to say ☐

Sexual orientation

Bisexual ☐Gay man ☐Gay woman/Lesbian ☐ Heterosexual/Straight ☐Prefer not to say ☐

Age

19 or under ☐20 – 34 ☐35 – 49 ☐50 – 64 ☐65+ ☐Prefer not to say ☐

Disability

The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term affect on their ability to carry our normal day-to-day activities. Do you identify as:Deaf or disabled, or have a long term health condition? ☐Non-disabled ☐Prefer not to say ☐

Ethnicity monitoring

The categories overleaf are based on the Census 2011 categories and recommended by the Commission for Racial Equality.

Prefer not to say

White

British ☐Irish ☐Gypsy or Irish Traveller ☐Any other White background ☐

Mixed

White and Black Caribbean ☐White & Black African ☐White & Asian ☐Any other Mixed background ☐

Asian / Asian British

Indian ☐Pakistani ☐Bangladeshi ☐Chinese ☐Any other Asian background ☐

Black / Black British

African ☐Caribbean ☐Any other Black background ☐

Other

Arab ☐Any other ethnic group ☐

Thank you!Please return this form with your application to david@newwritingnorth.com.