What's involved in being on the board?
Sound Sense is run for its members by its members - people like you who form the board of Sound Sense.
You can find out about our current board members here.
Members of the board are both charity trustees and company directors. They control the overall policy of the organisation, make sure it's financially sound, and steer the activities of its staff. Board members commit to attending at least three meetings a year and actively contributing to a working group (we have groups covering finance, HR, strategy and fundraising). They are also involved in planning and participating in our programme of online and in-person events, plus representing Sound Sense at national events and forums of relevance to the UK community music sector.
Currently all board meetings are taking place online, using Zoom, and we expect to continue with this for most meetings in the future. Regular full board meetings take place for 3 hours, 4 times a year (usually January, April, July and October). Working groups meet according to need and at times that best suit the members involved. Individual time commitments vary considerably, but as a guide we would recommended allowing around 40 hours per year (spread through the year) for taking up a position on the Sound Sense Board.
This is a voluntary role, in accordance with our
governing documents. Your travel expenses will be covered where in-person attendance at meetings is agreed as part of your Director role.
Who, me?
We want Sound Sense's board to represent the diversity of the UK community music field as fully as possible, and we therefore encourage people of all ages, abilities and genders; educational, social and ethnic backgrounds; lived experiences, music genres/practices and geographic locations (within the UK) to consider this role.
If you want to find out more about being a board member, please do get in touch with our Chair, Rebecca Denniff (
chair@soundsense.org), or our General Manager, Clare Adams (
clare.adams@soundsense.org).
How do I join the board?
To nominate yourself for Board membership, simply email clare.adams@soundsense.org by 9am Monday 23 September 2024 with these details:
- your name, organisation (if any) and postal address
- your email address and phone number
- the statement "I wish to stand for election to Sound Sense's board of management. If elected, I undertake to carry out the duties of a charity trustee and company director, including attending board meetings and contributing to the work of a working group"
- a short note (100 to 200 words) about who you are and what you would bring to the board.
Note that, if you are not yet a member of Sound Sense, you will need to join before submitting your nomination. You can do that at:
soundsense.org/member-services/join-sound-sense.
If more than four people nominate themselves, we will hold an online ballot opening in September. In order for the election to take place, we will share your name (but not your contact details) and your short note (about who you are/what you would bring) with your fellow members by email to help them cast their votes. The result of the election will be announced at our AGM on Wednesday 23 October 2024.
We look forward to hearing from you!