Become a Trustee

What skills and experience does RBL need on its Board?

To be effective in their role, Trustees need both knowledge (of the role, how the Board functions, charity – and other – law, finance basics, risk management, and of course of RBL’s activities, stakeholders and strategy) and the skills to work effectively together as Board and to hold the charity up to scrutiny. Most of the knowledge required can be learnt on the job, while certain skills are essential on appointment.

We look for Trustees with:

an aptitude for strategic critical thinking;
the ability to build positive working relationships with people with different perspectives;
strong listening, communicating and influencing skills;
the ability to analyse and understand a large amount and variety of information at speed;
good powers of judgement, insight and vision;
gravitas, integrity and professionalism; and
willingness to work within, and accept, collective responsibility;

…as well as a personal commitment to RBL’s mission and its beneficiaries.

Many of our Trustees bring a range of real-world experience and specialist knowledge in professional disciplines that strengthen our ability to advise and counsel the Executive.

The Board of Trustees has a particular ambition in ensuring that it is a diverse, inclusive, and cohesive board. The Board of Trustees recognises that if it is to deliver the best service to its beneficiaries, then it needs to be representative of that diverse community.

How does the process of election work?

Members of the Royal British Legion may come forward for election when there is a vacancy announced in the elected Trustees to the Board. This occurs as Trustee terms operate in rotation. The process is as follows: -

Members who are considering standing to become a Trustee can contact an independent third party (see below) to learn more about the role and the process of selection before making a decision to seek nomination;
Branches nominate Members who wish to be considered for election as a Trustee;
Nominated Members are assessed for election by an independent third party using the initial application and interviews to determine the member’s suitability for consideration by the Membership – only nominated members who satisfy the minimum requirements of our capability framework (as summarised in the skills required) will be put forward for election;
Election papers are issued with suitable nominated members seeking election;
Members vote on their preferred candidate(s) for Trustee, and for National Chairman and Vice-Chairman when these positions come up for election.

If you are a member of the RBL and want to explore the possibility of standing for election, you can contact Janice Scanlan, Head of Non-Executive Search for Hunter Healthcare Recruitment (JScanlan@Hunter-Healthcare.com) for a confidential, anonymous discussion and for more information.

Hunter can also help members who decide to proceed with securing nomination to prepare their application, if necessary.

RBL will support members who are not actively engaged with their local branch to secure nomination.

You can also find out more about the role by attending one of our ‘Life as a Trustee’ days .

These will be held at Haig House, 199 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1AA, with dates and times to be announced nearer the next event.

Booking one of the briefing days in London is simple; just email trusteeelections@britishegion.org.uk requesting the date you would like to attend. We will email back to confirm receipt of the request and confirm your place.

Appointed Trustees

Six Trustees are independently appointed to the Board in the same way that most charity Boards are constituted. We use referrals/recommendations and headhunting firms to find suitably qualified candidates when a vacancy exists. We use the same capability framework to assess appointed candidates as we use for selection-for-election of Trustees from our Membership.