Paul Morrish: How to find a new chair of trustees or ‘recruiting your boss…’

Comment: As LandAid’s chair of trustees, Liz Peace CBE, stands down after more than three extraordinary years, I’ve been working with the board’s nominations committee on recruiting her successor. In effect, my boss. And it’s really got me thinking. The chair of LandAid is without a doubt the best non-executive role in the property industry this year – and one of the most exciting charities there could possibly be. We’re a complex charitable business with the opportunity to mobilise an entire industry sector to achieve social change. With a turnover of around £3m last year, we’re on track to meet our 2020 target of providing 450 bed spaces for young people facing homelessness. [caption id="attachment_871144" align="alignright" width="229"] Liz Peace[/caption] LandAid’s new chair needs to be determined to help us achieve our potential; committed to the cause of ending youth homelessness and keen to meet young people who can share their experiences and ideas; be able to work to the highest standards of charity governance; have a commitment to diversity; and be determined to help us grow not just financially, but in terms of the social value we deliver. How do we help our 150 corporate partners and supporters make the most lasting impact possible on youth homelessness? The chair will be key to ensuring a bold and exciting strategy for LandAid that will bring positive change in every part of the UK. They will need to be a tireless and confident champion for a diverse industry that can achieve social change as well as profit. Recent scandals have highlighted the tough job facing charity trustees. LandAid’s reputation is our most precious asset. The chair’s first duty is to our charitable objects and to ensure that the board and executive uphold the highest standards of public service in all that we do. And then there’s the team. The board is the ultimate employer of one of the best charity teams I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. We want to be a great place to work, where colleagues can learn, can develop professionally and personally and do so within a strong and inclusive ethos. The chair, the board and the senior team need to be in absolute agreement in its vision for the people who make LandAid what it is. But at our heart, we are here to help end youth homelessness. We are doing some really good work but need to do more. The 105 charities we currently support are changing lives every day, but could we be doing more, and better? The chair needs to continually challenge the executive (and, yes, me!) to be creative, collaborative, innovative, and ingenious. We are one charity. We cannot succeed on our own. The chair will understand this and support our work with local and national government and with other national bodies and charities to achieve our goals. We are LandAid. We are your charity. We are here to help the industry end youth homelessness. Our new chair will be key to our future and to delivering that mission. Is this you? If it is, brilliant, get in touch. If it’s not, but you think you know who it might be, brilliant, get them to get in touch. Paul Morrish is chief executive at LandAid.