Management committees are made up of elected volunteers (often referred to as ‘trustees’) who are ultimately responsible for everything your organisation does. They propose and vote on all major decisions – they are there to ‘lead’ democratically and be responsible for the organisation.
The management committee's responsibilities can be summarised as to:
- Manage the organisation – day-to-day tasks may be done by staff or volunteers but trustees have ultimate responsibility
- Ensure the organisations meets its aims and objectives Formulate policy
- Promote member’s views as well as those of users and the wider community
- Monitor and review
- Be a good employer
- Manage resources
- Meet changing needs.
Named officers, primarily the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer have additional responsibilities that should be fully understood by anyone taking on the roles.
In general, a trustee should not be placed in a position where any personal interest may conflict with their work on the management committee.
New committee members must be elected or invited to join following the procedures set out in your governing document. They should be given a copy of the constitution, and be given information about their role. It is a good idea for committee members to attend a training course on their roles and responsibilities, and many larger agencies offer this kind of training.
The charity commission website has extensive guidance on the role of trustees.
This page is a summary of the information contained in the full online toolkit.
