Become a Trustee

The Alfred Gillett Trust preserves the heritage collections of C & J Clark International Ltd., and the Clark Family who established the company in 1825. We look after over 100,000 items relating to the family and business, including archives, footwear, shoe making machinery, point of sale, shoe catalogues, film and sound archives, fossils, artwork and furniture and costume.

We are looking for new trustees because we have embarked upon an exciting and challenging new phase in our development.

We have secured a capital grant towards a new museum and storage facility in Street to share the rich history of Street’s shoe industry, informing and inspiring the public. The new museum is scheduled to open in 2025 to coincide with the Company’s 200th anniversary. Our vision is to inspire the world with the family and community stories behind Clarks shoes.

To plan our future and help us take our museum and archive forward as a sustainable operation we are seeking to appoint new Trustees to join our governing board who can bring skills and experience of financial management (preferably in the charity/museum sector), fundraising, capital development or social and local history.

We are looking for trustees who are excited by the potential of our project and prepared to work hard to make it a reality.

• Trustee Recruitment Pack
• Charity Details

For an initial informal discussion please contact our Director, Rosie Martin.

Opportunities

As a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation, we require the commitment, experience and energetic contribution of trustees who are able to add value to the work of the trust’s team of staff.

Trustees must be committed to the seven principles of public life – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. In general, trustees should have a keen interest in the Trust’s vision and the ability to contribute to future policy, together with experience and understanding of strategic decision-making and the principles of corporate governance. Excellent communications and advocacy skills are essential, and trustees should have no trouble commanding respect amongst key stakeholders at all levels.

All trustees must have the ability to attract and persuade external partners to contribute funding and other support to the development of the Alfred Gillett Trust’s new museum and archive.

The Alfred Gillett Trust is looking for candidates with significant expertise in the following areas:

1. Finance

The board is responsible for public and charitably given funds. This requires meticulous oversight at both officer and board level to identify issues in advance, track spend, investments, monitor budgets and liaise with AGT’s staff, auditors and its principal funders. As such, it requires robust financial advice and/or guidance and oversight on Charity Commission requirements, SORP, public-sector accounting systems and investment portfolios. With the Trust moving towards a new museum on the site an expertise in museum finance would be useful, including knowledge of Gift Aid and VAT, and the management of a system with constant incomings and outgoings. It is expected that the finance trustee will be a qualified accountant or have significant experience in this field, and would chair the finance sub-committee.

2. Capital Development

The board is responsible for the operation of the Trust and its expansion to create a museum for the maintenance and preservation of the history and heritage of Street. It is also responsible for creating a permanent home for the care and display of the collections. As such, it requires advice on its capital development project, with clear oversight of planning, ensuring key milestones are met and expenditure is managed properly. This trustee will ideally have experience of managing a large capital development project to successful fruition.

3. Fundraising

The board is responsible for delivering the new AGT museum in the next five years. Central to the new museum’s success will be identifying and developing new sources of funding, to complement the funding already received. As such the board requires strategic and detailed fundraising advice. It is expected that the fundraising trustee will have a substantial background as a senior charity fundraiser with a sound understanding and experience of fundraising at a strategic and operational level.