East Midlands Regional Board

East Midlands Regional Board

Recruitment Information Pack

November 2014

East Midlands Regional Board

1. Introduction to the Role

Summary

CIH introduced new governance arrangements in January 2012.

The East Midlands Regional Board is a delegated board of the CIH Governing Board. Its purpose is to deliver member value and growth.

Delegated Boards for each of the 9 regions in England became effective on 1 January 2013, replacing the former Regional Committees.

Through its Chair, the East Midlands Regional Board will report annually to CIH members in the region at the AGM.

Background

The Governing Board of the Chartered Institute of Housing is charged with the management of the business of the Chartered Institute of Housing. This includes setting and driving the strategic direction of the organisation, setting priorities, ensuring performance and managing risk, accountability, viability and sustainability.

Following an organisation wide review, the system of governance at CIH was substantially overhauled, resulting in the establishment of the Governing Board from January 2012. The Governing Board was given enhanced powers for taking strategic decisions and ensuring viability.

Members of the Governing Board are the Trustees of CIH.

Trustees play a critical role in the success of the organisation. All Trustees operate in a non-Executive manner. The Executive function, including operational issues, falls to the Chief Executive and the senior management team.

The Governing Board oversees decisions on:

• the strategic direction to the organisation;
• CIH’s Corporate Plan, budgets and accounts;
• management and exercising of all the powers of the Institute, apart from those which can only be exercised by the wider membership in general meetings

The Governing Board has appointed a number of Delegated Boards to support the delivery of corporate objectives. These include a Regional Board covering membership and business matters in the East Midlands of England.

Regional Profile

Facts & figures:

• One of the smaller regions in terms of numbers of residents.
• Projected to experience significant population growth – around 6% - with the highest growth of any English region in in numbers of people aged 65 and older.
• Projected to need over 400,000 new homes a year because of population increases and additional migration.
• Has a significant manufacturing base that contributes 16.5% of the region’s productivity and wealth.
• Has a relatively low level of deprivation overall but with persistent sub regional areas of higher deprivation.
• Has a workforce with relatively low levels of skill.
• Average house price in EM was £132k compared with average figure in England of £177k (July 2014).
• Has a smaller population of residents employed in higher skills occupations when compared with the national average.
• Has maintained levels of employment comparable with the UK and English averages even during economic downturns.

Board Appointments

The East Midlands Regional Board comprises 11 CIH members. Four current members of the Board will stand down at the regional AGM on 10 March 2015 and invitations are now being sought from CIH members in the East Midlands Region who are interested in becoming a member of the Board from that date.

The term of office for Regional Board members is three years and the position is subject to the provisions of CIH’s Charter and Byelaws and the CIH Code of Governance.

Any current CIH member in the East Midlands Region can apply to be considered for a seat on the Board.

Applicants who best demonstrate the requirement’s set out in the job description will be invited for interview. Shortlisted applicants may be required to provide references.

The position is voluntary although reasonable expenses will be met. A time commitment of up to 2 days per calendar month is expected.

All appointments will become effective once they have been confirmed by the membership of the East Midlands Region at the AGM on 10 March 2015.

In support of your consideration of the post, you may find the following documents useful, all available on the CIH website

• Welcome to CIH
• Corporate Plan
• Annual Report
• Charter and Byelaws

2. Job Description

(i)Key functions for Board Members:

• contributing to the business of the Regional Board and establishing its overall strategic direction consistent with corporate objectives agreed with the Governing Board;
• overseeing the functions of the CIH in the East Midlands Region through high standards of probity, scrutiny and challenge;
• contributing to the development of the CIH’s functions in the East Midlands Region in line with its Charter and Byelaws, the Corporate Plan and charitable objectives;
• ensuring the development and effective implementation of the CIH Corporate Plan in the East Midlands Region;
• exercising exemplary judgement in the best interests of CIH to provide strategic direction to the organisation;
• to prepare in advance, regularly attend and participate fully in Regional Board meetings and other CIH business activities in the East Midlands Region as appropriate;
• to contribute as appropriate to working groups established by the Regional Board;
• to accept accountability for the decisions made by the Regional Board;
• to develop effective working relationships with other Board members, the Institute’s staff and CIH members;
• upholding standards and discipline within the Regional Board, and ensure compliance with the Code of Governance;
• willingness to contribute to the effectiveness of the Regional Board as a member of the team.

3. Person Specification

Skills and Experience:

To be effective, the East Midlands Regional Board needs members with a range of experience, skills and expertise.

In submitting an application, please indicate clearly what you will bring to the work of the Board and in particular with regard to the following skills and experience:

experience within the housing sector;

understanding of current housing and related issues;

experience of policy development and influencing outcomes;

experience of planning, developing and executing events and activities;

understanding of the role of volunteers within a structured framework

Please also identify any areas of particular expertise that you have and which you believe might contribute to the work of the Board. These may include, but are not restricted to, the following:

leadership

strategic planning

governance

risk management

finance

communications/ public relations/media/marketing

networking

organisational representation within the public arena

political awareness and influencing

policy development

research

educational development

Personal Style and Characteristics:

• vision and the ability to think and act strategically, and align resources to organisational strategy;
• a strong awareness of the issues facing the housing and related sectors, in terms of the policy environments, and the practice, education and workforce landscape;
• strong and demonstrable empathy with the core social purpose, charitable aims and values of CIH;
• a highly credible individual with a strong commitment to professionalism;
• enthusiasm to make a difference as a member of a vibrant team

4. Board Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference:

Regional Boards have the following terms of reference (as approved by Governing Board in September 2012)

In relation to matters of membership engagement within a defined geographical region:

Core Activities

1. To promote and represent CIH’s vision and values, and the housing profession in the local region;
2. To play a central role in building, sustaining and promoting CIH’s membership network;
3. To play a key role in preparing and delivering the CIH Corporate Plan;
4. To work collaboratively with other key stakeholders (including employers, educational institutions and students);
5. To support, equip and inform members by hosting a range of events at a regional and local level;
6. To support the development of policy and practice solutions by being a key influencer; lobbying and facilitating debate; building and sustaining important relationships at a regional level; gathering policy and practice information to inform thinking and knowledge generation within CIH; and seeking to influence policy outcomes;
7. To promote excellent standards by promoting and sharing practice solutions across the region;
8. To support professional development by contributing to the development of CIH products/services and promoting these in the local area;
9. To help the organisation to understand its members’ needs by taking a proactive approach to customer insight;
10. To encourage the raising of charitable funds, for example, for the Presidential Charity;
11. To promote principles of good governance in the operation of their Board in line with the CIH Code of Governance; and

Regional Activities

1. In addition, Regional Boards have flexibility to supplement their core activities with matters of regional interest, providing that such matters are consistent with the purpose, vision and values of CIH

5. Recruitment Timetable

6. How to Apply

All applicants should submit the following:

(i)a personal statement – template attached

(ii)an experience and skills form – template attached

(iii)a monitoring information form – template attached

Completed applications should be sent to Richard Docker, Head of Governance and Company Secretary either by email (preferred) to or by post to Head of Governance and Company Secretary, CIH, Octavia House, Westwood Business Park, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JP.

Please make clear your preferred contact details.

The deadline for the receipt of applications is 5pm on Wednesday17 December 2014.

If you have any questions about the application process, please telephone Richard Docker on 02476 851770 or 07785 112180.

Thank you for your interest.

Michael Bruce

Chair, East Midlands Regional Board

CIH East Midlands Regional Board

All members of the Board must be members of the CIH, not in arrears of subscription or in breach of the CIH Code of Conduct.

Personal Statement

CIH East Midlands Regional Board

We need to have a range of experience, skills and expertise on the Board.

Please use the two tables below to indicate what you will bring to the work of the Regional Board.

You do not need to have every experience, skill or expertise.

Introduction

As a progressive professional body CIH is committed to playing a leading role in creating a more diverse housing workforce. CIH aims to be an equal opportunities employer which celebrates diversity. We believe that monitoring the diversity of our workforce is important

We would be grateful if this form could be completed in full. The information received will remain totally confidential and will not be seen by the short listing panel.

We recognise that some people may regard some of this information as personal and we have, therefore, included an option in most questions for “prefer not to say”.

I confirm that the details in this monitoring form are correct and complete: