Essential Information:
- Work Location: Remote, with occasional meetings and socials in London (or online)
- Minimum commitment: 2 years
- Salary: This is a volunteer role, unremunerated
- Closing date: 9th February 2025
- Time commitment: Four board meetings per year (2 hours each), plus approximately 8-10 hours per month to support the running of the organisation through your skills and expertise
- Working with: CEO, other Directors and tour guides/experience providers
Unseen Tours is a London-based social enterprise on a mission to provide meaningful work opportunities in the tourism, events and cultural heritage sectors for individuals who have experienced homelessness, alongside other forms of discrimination and marginalisation. The majority of our ticket revenue is paid directly to our tour guides, with the rest reinvested back into the business.
Here's what's unique about our approach - the tours provide training and meaningful work opportunities for people affected by homelessness. Tour narratives include the guides' and experience providers' own experiences of homelessness and stories from their communities, making the process individual-led. Through our process, we build the guides' self-confidence, public speaking, storytelling and customer management skills. The conversations with customers on our tours reduce barriers by increasing understanding of homelessness that challenges negative stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue and storytelling.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Ensure the social enterprise complies with its governing document, legal and regulatory requirements, and key objectives with integrity.
- Establish and uphold a clear vision, mission, strategic direction, and governance standards to achieve its goals.
- Safeguard the reputation, values, and financial stability of the enterprise, including proper fund management and fundraising efforts.
- Oversee the effective and efficient administration of the organisation and the performance of its leadership, including appointing and monitoring the CEO.
- Contribute proactively to the organisation's mission through ideas, opinions, and connections, while fostering diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities.
- Understand and embrace the responsibilities, duties, and teamwork required as a Director to uphold the organisation's standards and commitments.
The above list of duties is indicative. Directors are expected to use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have to help the Board make informed decisions.
Benefits of Joining Our Board:
- Sense of fulfilment in knowing your work is having a significant impact on people affected by homelessness and leads to long-term, social impact.
- Personal and professional growth within a cool and youth-led organisation with a unique concept.
- Ability to shape the future of a socially responsible organisation that is ready for growth.
- Learn new skills or find areas of interests outside your day-to-day activities.
- Gain awareness about homelessness and intersecting issues affecting today’s society.
- Build meaningful relations and connections with like-minded people who have a shared goal.
- Bonus perk: join our walking tours and experiences for free and be the first one to test new tours and concepts (in exchange for your honest feedback!)
Role Description:
- Communicate the Unseen Tours growth story and clearly articulate our KPIs and success externally.
- Identify key areas where the brand can improve and grow and help bring these into the business - via partnerships or creative collaborations.
- Train guides and wider team to improve the way they present themselves in the media and on panel discussions, and to find more opportunities for them to engage in such.
- Refine our external communications plan to reflect the organisation’s mission, ethos and values and help increase sales.
- Inform our communications approach across media, social, and influencer advocacy to support the launch of new initiatives and the sale of our products.
- Contribute to building and protecting the organisation’s reputation by building industry contacts and overseeing our communications process.
- Assess, manage and mitigate reputational risk to Unseen Tours.
Person Description:
We are looking for someone who has the following expertise and experience:
Essential Skills:
- Ability to influence people and cultural awareness and connection.
- Experience managing media relations and launching products and services via campaign management and creative storytelling.
- Access to a network of media contacts across industries associated with Unseen Tours, or ability to build one.
- Solid critical thinking skills and the ability to exercise good judgment and solve problems quickly and effectively.
- An understanding of the environment in which Unseen Tours operates.
- Passion for Unseen Tours’ mission and values.
Desirable Skills:
- Experience of managing digital communications campaigns using a variety of channels such as social media, video, and websites.
- Experience of working with vulnerable adults, people with mental health needs or substance misuse.
- Familiarity with key social media platforms and their use to reach diverse target audiences.
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