Open City is recruiting new trustees

*Open City staff and volunteers at the opening of the 2021 Accelerate exhibition*

Open City is recruiting a number of new trustees to provide collective leadership and oversight of the charity, and to support its staff, volunteers and many ambitious programmes.

Open City makes London and other cities more open, accessible and equitable. We help citizens of all backgrounds to understand and engage with how the urban landscape has been made, and have a role in shaping its future.

We achieve this in multiple ways:

We run a rich public programme opening up dialogue about the city in creative ways including events, podcasts, publications, courses and tours throughout the year.
Our international network of festivals, Open House, unlocks physical buildings and important conversations in cities from London to Lagos with large celebrations of architecture and city-making. In London, the first Open House festival is now in its 30th year and is one of the largest cultural events in the country attracting around 250,000 visitors to explore the city and the stories behind it.
We run a number of pioneering education programmes equipping children and young people, particularly from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds, with skills and routes into careers in city-making and design.

Our Trustees

Open City trustees work closely with our staff offering strategic support and advice throughout the year, supporting fundraising and programming to ensure that Open City is sustainable in its operations and pioneering in its mission.

Trustees should have a strong knowledge of issues affecting the built environment sector and a passion for the work of Open City. They should bring an ability to support our fundraising activities in various ways such as publicising our work within their networks, and making productive introductions from their contacts. We welcome applications from a variety of backgrounds and are particularly interested in candidates with experience in:

local government planning and regeneration
charity governance and administration
community engagement and co-design
architecture and design of homes
fundraising and grant applications
architecture in London at a senior level

We believe organisations who seek to empower communities to effect change in the urban landscape should be representative of the society they serve. As such, we are particularly interested in applicants who have lived experience, or who are from communities, not currently represented among the Open City trustees. In particular we would welcome applications from prospective trustees who identify as:

being members of minority faith communities
being of Asian heritage including East Asian and South Asian heritage
having lived experience of a physical disability
being lgbtq+ including trans and non-binary

Regardless of backgrounds the successful candidates will be:

respected in their field
well connected across disciplines
persuasive and passionate
interested in the intersection of architecture and social issues
enthusiastic about engaging ordinary people in urban dialogue
a proud public ambassador for Open City
capable of bringing in new fundraising opportunities
committed to diversity and equality
able to deal with strategic issues affecting the organisation
an excellent communicator with the ability to represent Open City in the wider community.

*A still from a recent Open City film about the Neasden Temple*

Key Responsibilities

Attend quarterly trustees meetings including the charity’s Annual General Meeting. Open City runs two digital meetings and two in-person meetings a year. In-person meetings are held in London at the charity’s offices in Greenwich.
Support the chief executive and staff team with strategic issues facing the charity throughout the year.
Attend a number of Open City events throughout the year including the Open House Festival
Take an active role in ensuring the sustainability of the charity by supporting fundraising efforts.
Participate in one of the Open City trustee working groups e.g. Fundraising Working Group and the Education and Empowerment Working Group.
Champion the organisation and its programmes across your networks.

The appointment is unremunerated but reasonable expenses will be paid. After three years on the board, trustees may choose to renew their commitment to Open City or step down.

TRUSTEES CODE OF CONDUCT

TRUSTEES TERMS OF REFERENCE

Applications

To apply to be an Open City Trustee, please write to the Open City trustees search committee on trustees@open-city.org.uk Please include a CV and a covering letter of no more than one side of A4 explaining why you are interested in the role and what you could bring to Open City as a board member.