Director of the Land Trust

SCCLT plans to operate across Somerset. However, Taunton remains the centre of operations, so meetings usually take place there during normal working hours every four to six weeks. The exact times are agreed to best suit all the board members, so they would be reviewed according to the preferences of any new Directors.

It is also expected that Directors will take on some responsibilities between meetings. This includes reading and preparing papers and reports circulated before meetings; taking on specific roles and responsibilities, where those suit your skills and interests; and taking an interest in the operation of the club in locations convenient for you.

We offer a ‘home office’ allowance to support Directors expenses when working from home. We use the HMRC simplified tax-free expenses for 50-100 hours a month, which is £18. This is paid as an ‘attendance allowance’ – that is, it is paid on the basis of you attending a meeting at least once every two months. We also have a policy of paying for childcare and providing mobile phones and laptops as required to enable full engagement.

Social enterprises are often run by people who haven’t been a Director of a business before – who had maybe not thought that business was something they were interested in. This doesn’t stop them doing a very good job, by combining their judgement and enthusiasm with the expert knowledge of other Directors, employees and contractors.