Are you passionate about health justice? Medact is seeking new Trustees to help oversee our governance and support our work.
Medact is looking to recruit:
- A new Chair of the Board of Trustees
- A new Treasurer
- Several new Trustees
About Medact
Medact organises the health community to work towards a world in which everyone is able to live healthy, dignified lives, supported by political and economic systems that centre health justice. Our priority work areas are some of the most pressing threats to health and wellbeing, including ending state violence, housing & energy justice, and migrant access to healthcare. Medact seeks systemic solutions to major social problems, and is unafraid to hold decision-makers to account. We launched our new five-year strategy at the end of 2025, embedding our vision for how we win and how we grow.
We’re member-led, and our membership spans a range of people who work in health, including nurses, doctors, midwives and clinical researchers, as well as people from the wider health community. If you share our vision and passion, why not join our Board and help us fight for health justice?
About the roles
As a Trustee, you will provide guidance, governance and final sign-off on major decisions on behalf of our membership. As Board members, our Trustees are collectively responsible for the governance of the organisation in line with the requirements of the Charity Commission. Trustees also contribute to the development of Medact’s strategy and participate in a range of other activities to support the Director and staff with our work.
There are four planned board meetings per year, which are hybrid, and it is expected that each Trustee will attend most Board meetings. Trustees are also sometimes asked to give their views or sign off on issues between Board meetings if an issue cannot wait. It is hoped that each Trustee will have the capacity to use their unique skills to support the team more broadly with Medact’s work.
As Chair, you will support the Executive Director and staff to help build on our achievements and realise Medact’s vision. You will work with fellow Trustees to make up a strong and effective Board governing the Charity.
As Treasurer, you will monitor the financial administration of the charity and report to the Board of Trustees on its state of financial health to provide the board with the confidence and knowledge to better make strategic decisions. The Treasurer will ideally be available to work with the Executive Director and fellow Trustees between Board meetings to deal with issues which may arise. Key responsibilities include:
- Liaise with ED and Trustees to ensure the financial viability of the organisation’s strategy
- Advise on the financial implications of Medact’s strategic plan
- Present Medact’s financial position and broader context at Board meetings
- Support the Head of Finance with the production of an annual budget
- Ensure that the Board is aware of its financial duties and responsibilities and the need to comply with all legislation
- Take a lead in interpreting financial data to fellow Board members
- Provide oversight and guidance where necessary of accounts prepared for funders and relevant statutory bodies
- Oversee the appointment of auditors and review on a regular basis
- Act as countersignatory on charity cheques and some applications to funders, approve payments on banking systems, and spending approval in accordance with financial management processes
- Ensure that all financial policies, procedures and the appointment of external financial advisors are reviewed on a regular basis
Acting as a Trustee is a voluntary role but reasonable travel expenses can be paid.
Who we are looking for
We would like to widen the diversity on the board by encouraging applications from grassroots campaigners, members of communities affected by the issues Medact campaigns on, those working with the third sector on similar issues, and from racialised, religious and other minorities.
Our current Board brings a broad range of skills, but we recognise that we do not yet reflect the diversity of the health community. There are also specific types of experience and expertise we would like more of on the Board. In particular, we are looking for potential Trustees with one or more of the following attributes:
- Lived experience of an issue that Medact campaigns on, for instance the Hostile Environment, the health impacts of economic or housing injustice, the health impacts of armed conflict or UK security policies
- Experience as a frontline health worker of any sort, preferably current
- Legal and safeguarding expertise
- Fundraising expertise, particularly individual giving or major donor fundraising
- Human resources expertise
You need to be a Medact Member to sit on the board of trustees, but you don’t need to be a member to apply.
As Chair, you will be actively networked within the health community or broader social justice movement and highly experienced in governance or strategic leadership of a charity or NGO. You will have the skills to line-manage the Executive Director. And you will have the ability to advocate on behalf of Medact’s work, as well as helping to build the membership and public image of the organisation.
We hope all Trustees will:
- Share our vision for a fairer and safer world, and our analysis of the transformational change needed to get closer to it
- Approach Board discussions and conversations with the team with an open mind, able to listen to and genuinely engage with others’ views
- Display collaborative behaviours which promote harmony and good team working which supports Medact to be an effective, well-governed organisation
Previous experience on a charity board or in another governance role is useful but by no means essential. If you are interested in becoming a Trustee but aren’t sure you have the right skills and experience, or would like an informal conversation with an existing board member before applying, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].
How to apply
Apply to be Chair of the Board of Trustees
Medact Chair Job Description & Person Specification
Please read the Job Description and Person Specification and send a CV and cover letter of no more than 2 pages setting out your reasons for applying, and what you feel you could bring to Medact, to [email protected] with the subject “Chair of the Board”.
Apply to be Treasurer
Please send a CV and brief cover letter setting out your reasons for wanting to be considered as a Treasurer to [email protected].
Apply to be a Trustee
Please send a short one-page document about yourself, setting out your reasons for wanting to be considered as a Trustee and what you feel you could bring to Medact to [email protected].
For all applications
We also ask that you please complete a copy of our recruitment monitoring form. This is in no way connected to your application but helps us to assess our efforts to make recruitment more inclusive.
Timeline
Applications for the Chair and Treasurer positions are open until 9am on Monday 9th March. Applications for the Trustee position are open until 9am on Monday 4th May.
