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The Rural Refugee Network (RRN), a small charity in East Hampshire, is seeking a Trustee to join our friendly board leading RRN’s work supporting refugees to thrive in our community. Board meetings are quarterly and can be attended remotely. We meet in person at least annually for a planning session, but trustees don’t need to be local, though local connections to East Hampshire, Havant or Portsmouth are helpful.
As a Trustee you’ll be part of a small passionate team helping refugees, primarily Afghan and Ukrainian at the moment, to settle, integrate and build their lives here. We have a team of volunteers and a part-time CEO, and our main activities are English classes, a programme helping families access education and employment, and practical support as people find their feet in the community. We also run a National Lottery-funded youth drop-in in Portsmouth and monthly outings in the South Downs that support and connect unaccompanied young asylum seekers who came here alone and so are in the care of the local authority.
We’re looking for trustees who share our commitment to supporting people to build safe, settled lives here. RRN is a small charity, embedded in the Hampshire community and local networks over ten years, and your contribution as a trustee will have a big impact. You’ll see the families and young people you’re helping, know the CEO, staff and volunteers doing the work, and feel the difference committed trustees make to a charity this size.
In addition to quarterly board meetings, many trustees at RRN play an active role in the work of the charity. Each trustee leads on an area that matches their skills and interests. Whether that’s safeguarding, communications, fundraising or something else entirely, there’s real scope to take initiative and make an area your own.
The charity has 3 employees; a part-time CEO and two part-time roles on our main delivery project, the Youth Discovery NEST. We also have several contracted English teachers. All the Trustees and other team members are voluntary positions, who contribute in various teams, like Housing, Resettlement, Education and Community, that work directly with refugee families. There are also administrative and technical volunteers and several volunteers with professional Trust and Foundation fundraising experience who lead on grant applications.
What are we looking for?
We welcome applications from people with a wide range of skills and backgrounds. We’re particularly keen to hear from anyone with experience in fundraising, community events or communications, as these are areas where we’d love to strengthen the board. We’re also interested in people with skills in finance, legal, HR, or direct experience of the refugee and asylum system, including lived experience of displacement or migration.
We’re committed to building a diverse board and warmly welcome applicants without prior trustee experience. Full induction and support is provided.
Above all, we’re looking for people who share our values. RRN exists because we believe refugees and asylum seekers deserve safety, dignity and a caring welcome. Trustees don’t need to be experts in the refugee sector, but they do need to care about it and be committed to the people we work with.
What difference will you make?
RRN is a small charity with a small staff team and a band of committed volunteers. A new trustee brings skills and perspectives that directly strengthen our ability to support refugee families and young people in Hampshire. The right trustee will get involved in many aspects of our work and governance and be able to understand the direct difference their contribution makes.
At a charity this size, an engaged trustee makes a real difference to everything we do and, importantly, to how refugees experience settling here and how supported and confident the staff and volunteers feel who work alongside them feel.