ColaLife was founded by Simon Berry and Jane Berry in 2008 as a Company Ltd by Guarantee and became a registered charity in England and Wales in 2011. The original board – which is still in place – was formed by a small group of supporters who wanted to see the ColaLife idea get off the ground. The Board gathered last month (on 11-Nov-17) for a special strategy day facilitated by our Chairman Andy Chapman. As part of this day we looked at the turnover of the board and its diversity and there isn’t much of either! We also considered the size of the board.
It was concluded that the founding board had done its job and should slowly transition. The action points from this were:
- That ColaLife should increase the size of the board by one (from 5 to 6 members).
- That it would be healthy for the organisation if there were now some board renewal. This would be a slow process with one or two trustees stepping down each year to be replaced by others.
- And in this process we should actively encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds.
As a consequence, ColaLife is immediately seeking two new trustees and would like to receive applications from people who would like to join the ColaLife board. One applicant would replace our Hon Treasurer – Jo Knowles – who is stepping down after 8 years of sterling service in this role. The other applicant would join to increase the size of the board to six.
The board meets quarterly in London and travel expenses are payable but trustees are also able to take part in the meetings remotely by Skype or phone which opens the possibility of non-UK based people joining the board. Board members do not need to be UK citizens.
A description of the role of trustees can be downloaded here (PDF, 59 KB).
A description of the role of the Hon Treasurer can be downloaded here (PDF, 76 KB).
We would like to encourage applications from the African diaspora, who are currently not represented on the board.
Applications, consisting of a CV and short statement of why you would like to serve of the ColaLife Board, should be sent by email to: act@colalife.org
Applications should be received by 15-Jan-18.
Please circulate this opportunity to anybody you think may be interested.
