Ideal time commitment: approx. 10-15 hours per month, increasing closer to key events, especially September flagship event; flexible.
Responsible to: the Chair of the Trustee Board.
Bi Pride UK’s mission is to create spaces where people who experience attraction beyond gender can be freely visible and celebrate themselves and their identities. It’s not enough to be ‘welcome’ at a Pride. We make up a very large proportion of the GRSD (Gender, Romantic and Sexual Diversity) community – many stats actually say we’re over half the community – and we deserve to be visible and celebrated in our own right.
There are many ways to make this happen, and we work in many ways to bring this change about:
- Outreach work with other Prides, LGBT organisations and bi organisations – our consultation work with local Prides, the UK Pride Organisers Network and local and national LGBT organisations works in a tailored way to make sure that bi-inclusion is a top priority and is being done well.
- Organising a high-profile annual Bi Pride event – from September 2019, Bi Pride UK made history with the largest ever gathering of bi people recorded. A performance stage, a panel stage, stall village, street food, and over 1,300 attendees. After going virtual with the BiFi Festival for 2020 due to Covid-19 and running a virtual Pride event in 2021, we are looking forward to being back in person in 2022.
- Building a strong online and virtual community – just as important as the rest of our work is making sure that people hear about it! People need to know what resources and spaces exist for them, and how they can connect with other people like them.
The role:
Bi Pride UK’s Trustees form the Trustee Board (Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and further Trustees responsible for individual teams). All Trustees hold legal responsibility for the effective governance of Bi Pride UK as a registered charity; this includes sound financial management of the charity’s assets and the careful determination of actions and activities in accordance with Bi Pride UK’s charitable objectives. Trustees meet at least monthly by conference call, and work as a whole to hold and determine the strategic direction of the charity. The Trustees work as a unit to meet these responsibilities, and each Trustee also works with their assigned team to turn strategic plans into delivery of Bi Pride UK’s charitable activities. Trustees may also be called upon to carry out other responsibilities as required by the charity (within their own capacity to do so).
This volunteer will provide events-specific strategic and delivery expertise on the Board, and will oversee the Head of Events. We are at a critical juncture, having returned to in-person events in 2022 after running remote events in 2020 and 2021. Our 2022 flagship event was our first hybrid event, and we intend for all future flagship events to be hybrid so that people who are unable to travel to London for any reason are still able to participate in the event remotely. This Trustee will therefore be a critical part of the team, working with the Head of Events and their team to ensure that we can deliver the highest quality events throughout the calendar year, as well as providing vital perspectives in Board decision-making.
The Events Trustee’s responsibilities will include:
- Participation in and engagement with the Board, particularly in relation to event management topics;
- Taking on specific portfolios of work relevant to their experience and expertise;
- Working with the Head of Events to ensure effective strategic and budgetary oversight;
- Supporting the Head of Events with recruitment of volunteers for the events team;
- Triaging strategic events-related queries and referring queries to the Board where appropriate;
- Bringing events-specific perspectives to Board-level discussions and decisions about all Bi Pride UK event, physical and virtual;
- Holding overall responsibility for all health and safety related questions, concerns, procedures and incidents, and flagging these to the Trustee Board where appropriate.
As a member of the Trustee Board, the Events Trustee will also:
- Represent Bi Pride UK through networking opportunities with key external stakeholders;
- Support other Bi Pride UK Trustees and volunteers to ensure that the charity delivers on its objectives.
Trustees volunteer remotely from anywhere in the UK, with some travel required occasionally (primarily for our flagship Pride event in London in September). Our Trustee meetings and Trustees and Heads meetings take place via conference call on the third Monday evening of every month. All reasonable expenses incurred are reimbursed, including travel, lunch at away days and other all day events, and some childcare costs if required.
Volunteer specification:
We are looking for someone with the following experience and skills:
- Interest and passion for tackling discrimination against and improving the visibility of people in the UK who experience attraction to more than one gender;
- An understanding of the needs of bi people and communities in the UK;
- Commitment to the aims and objectives of Bi Pride UK;
- Strong time management, organisational and administrative skills;
- Some understanding of governance and charity management topics;
- Experience of working in the events management sector, ideally at both an operational and a strategic level;
- Strong industry contacts in the events management sector;
- Understanding of health and safety principles and legislation;
- Some understanding of charity finances and financial management;
- Experience of developing organisation-wide strategic thinking and planning;
- Ability to self-motivate when working remotely;
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
All Trustees will need to declare any current conflicts of interest.
Applying
The positions are open to anyone over the age of 18. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, especially minority groups such as applicants of colour, trans and non-binary applicants and disabled applicants. Bi Pride UK is aware of the barriers that can be faced in gaining traditional work experience, particularly for BAME, disabled and trans people. We will give weight to this and encourage people when applying to consider caring responsibilities, including parenthood, volunteering, and other non-paid experiences and responsibilities when making their application.