Lay Trustees (Finance & HR)

Join the Board of a growing £1m charity that serves 11,500 students. We're recruiting a Finance Trustee and an HR Trustee to help deliver our five-year strategy, with early-evening meetings and no previous board experience needed.

Roehampton Students' Union (RSU) is here to make student life better at Roehampton, and we're an organisation with real momentum. We've just grown past £1 million in turnover, and our National Student Survey score has risen three years in a row. In 2025 we launched Foundations for the Future, our five-year strategy through to 2030. Now we're looking for two senior professionals to help us build on that success.

As a Lay Trustee, you'll bring an outside perspective that no student or staff member can. You'll sit alongside elected student officers to set strategy, scrutinise decisions and hold the organisation to account. You'll share full legal responsibility as a trustee and Company Director. This is an active role for someone who asks good questions.

Finance Trustee You'll help keep RSU financially sound and sustainable as we grow. That means shaping our finance, fundraising and reserves strategies, and scrutinising performance against commercial and fundraising targets. You'll make sure the Board has real oversight of how resources are used, working closely with the Chief Executive and senior staff team.

HR Trustee You'll help make RSU a healthy, high-performing place to work. That means contributing to workforce strategy, including pay, wellbeing and staff development, and making sure the Board has proper oversight of HR policy and equality, diversity and inclusion practice. You'll work closely with the Chief Executive and senior leadership team on culture and people.

Who we're looking for

You'll need senior-level professional expertise in finance, or in HR and people management. You don't need previous board experience, because we'll support you to become an effective trustee. We're looking for people who:

A Board that reflects our students Black and Asian people remain significantly under-represented on charity boards, and we're actively working to change that. We particularly welcome applications from Black and Asian candidates, from people who identify as women or non-binary, from disabled candidates, and from anyone who feels under-represented in leadership spaces. If you need any adjustments to apply or interview, just let us know.

What's in it for you

Time commitment

The term is four years, with the option of a second term (up to eight years in total).

Not sure if it's for you? Get in touch with our Chief Executive, Michael Bailey, for an informal conversation.

How to apply

Apply online with your CV, and answer three short questions (up to 300 words each):

Please read the full recruitment pack before applying. Applicants must meet the Charity Commission's eligibility criteria for trustees and agree to our Trustee Code of Conduct.

Key dates