Role Profile of Chair of Nebosh Council and Board of Trustees

ROLE PROFILE OF CHAIR OF NEBOSH COUNCIL AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The role of the Chairman of NEBOSH Council and Board of Directors and Trustees should not require more than 20 days per year committed to NEBOSH duties. The Chairman is also bound by the Code of Conduct for Directors and Trustees.

Purpose

·  To provide leadership to the Board and to ensure that Trustees fulfil their duties and responsibilities for the governance of the charity;

·  To support and challenge the Chief Executive (CE) and to ensure that the Board as a whole works in partnership with executive staff.

Main accountabilities

1.  Set and maintain NEBOSH’s vision, mission and values

To lead members of the Board of Directors and Trustees and senior management within NEBOSH to safeguard the ethos and values of the NEBOSH in pursuit of its Objects.

2.  Develop strategy

To lead members of the Board of Directors and Trustees and senior management within NEBOSH to develop and review NEBOSH’s strategy and targets and monitor the delivery of business plans to implement the strategy.

3.  To ensure the highest possible standards of governance by ensuring that;

·  NEBOSH has a governance structure that is appropriate to its size and its charitable objects and that these structures and the governing instruments are reviewed regularly;

·  the Board delegates sufficient authority to its committees, the Chair, the CE and others to enable the business of the charity to be carried on effectively between meetings of the Board;

·  the Board’s delegated authority is recorded in writing by means of terms of reference for Board committees, job descriptions for honorary officers and for key staff and the Board monitors use of these delegated powers;

·  the Board has on it the skills it requires to govern the charity well and these skills are utilised, and that the Board has access to relevant external professional advice and expertise;

·  NEBOSH creates, approve or review policies to govern specific organisational activity. In particular reporting and monitoring of business performance and legal and regulatory compliance; to maintain proper fiscal oversight and to identify the key organisational risks facing NEBOSH and the management of those risks.

4.  Providing leadership to the CE and ensuring that the Board respects the role of staff

·  Coordinating Board management of the Chief Executive: overseeing role definition, selection, recruitment, training, assessment and discipline;

·  ensuring that the Board focuses on its strategic governance role and does not slip into a management role;

·  arranging regular, but not over frequent, meetings with the CE and by developing a very professional relationship with the CE within which each can speak openly about concerns, worries and challenges;

·  providing leadership to the CE to ensure that the charity is run in accordance with the decisions of the board and the charity’s governing documents and that there is clarity about the charity’s objectives at all levels;

·  ensuring that the CE and staff provide the Board with relevant, timely and accurate information in order to allow the Board to discharge its responsibilities. This should include alerting the Board to major risks, informing the Board of current and future key issues including significant trends, informing the Board about external changes which may impact on NEBOSH.

5.  Maintain effective Board performance

·  To ensure that Trustees act reasonably, always act in the interests of the charity and comply with the charity’s Code of Conduct for Trustees;

·  Building the Board: to lead trustee recruitment induction and development, strengthening the group by finding capable new Trustees and providing for Chair succession;

·  Engaging the whole Board: The Chair uses the skills and interests of all Board members and does not allow cliques or inner circles to form;

·  Developing governance effectiveness: The Chair improves overall Board effectiveness by taking steps to increase governance ability in the group and in individual Trustees;

·  Seeking self-development: The Chair seeks to improve governance practice by continually seeking to improve his or her own performance;

·  Overseeing the work of Board committees ensuring that they are accountable and report properly to the Board;

·  Dealing with conflict on the Board monitoring and addressing conflict among Board members and between Trustees and other parts of the organisation;

·  ensuring that Board decisions are made in the best, long-term interests of the charity and that the board takes collective ownership of these decisions;

·  ensuring that decisions taken at meetings of the Board are implemented.

6.  Promote the organisation

·  To initiate relationships with key people nationally at a senior level who will impact on NEBOSH’s role and activities, particularly those in government, law enforcement, regulation, industry, voluntary organisations representing other stakeholders and key contacts internationally.

·  To promote and explain the organisation’s objectives, remit, actions and achievements to key stakeholders and the wider public in situations where it is appropriate for the Chair of the Board to act as the public face of the organisation.

·  Representing the organisation in contact with key stakeholders and at public events such as the Graduation and Awards Ceremony and the Annual Course providers Meeting.

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