About the organisation
Historic Churches Scotland works in partnership with communities to save historic places of worship at risk through closure, disuse or decay.
Established in 1996 as the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, we have nearly 30 years’ experience safeguarding and regenerating nationally important church buildings. With 9 churches in our care and around 100 volunteers we’re a national building conservation charity firmly rooted in place and locality. Our churches are Scotland-wide from Orkney to Lanarkshire and we also provide support to community groups who own, or aspire to own, their own church buildings.
Our approach is place-based: recognising these important buildings as an integral part of their community and recognising their positive cultural, social, economic and environmental impact. We care about these buildings and their past, present and future meaning to people.
Our aim is to give the church buildings in our care their best ‘next life’ after regular use for worship ends. Most come to us in poor condition and our repair projects secure historic fabric and contents for the future through expert conservation and using traditional skills and materials. We also work to restore a building’s place in the community and people’s active participation and pride in their local heritage. Our churches are open free of charge to visitors and used for a wide variety of cultural and community events and activities as well as occasional services and both secular and religious weddings and funerals.
Our principal funder is Historic Environment Scotland (HES) who has supported our work since 2002 at a level sufficient to support a single member of staff. Major projects such as the £1.2m repair and conservation of Cromarty’s historic East Church have received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), the Listed Places of Worshp Grants Scheme, and trusts and foundations.
Our largest and most ambitious project yet at St Margaret’s Church in Braemar will get underway this year having secured just under £1m from the Community Ownership Fund, NLHF, HES, Pilgrim Trust and others for the development stage of an anticipated £5m regeneration of the Category A-listed former Episcopal church.
With the number of churches in Scotland facing closure increasing by the day, and an estimated 300-400 Church of Scotland churches expected to close by 2028, HES have now ramped up their funding with a Partnership Fund award for 2025-28. We are making good progress in seeking match-funding from a variety of other bodies which, if secured, will take our total complement to 4 staff and enable us to respond even more creatively to the challenges that we face.
About the role
Historic Churches Scotland is seeking a financially qualified and experienced individual to join its board of trustees and chair the Finance and Administration Committee (FAC). The board usually meets for five afternoons a year, with one full strategy day, and the FAC involves three or four online meetings a year of 90 – 120 minutes. In addition, there is some intermittent discussion and briefing by email between meetings.
The bulk of the trustees bring the architectural and heritage knowledge necessary for the organisation to succeed. However, as we continue to grow in size and, we trust, secure more stable long-term funding reflecting both our increasing credibility with external bodies and also the scale of challenge that we face, we also need more general financial, administrative and general management expertise around the trustee table. The role of chair of the FAC, currently undertaken by the chair of Trustees, is important in that regard from both an assurance and developmental perspective.
On the former, the FAC needs to ensure that our governance framework generally is fit for purpose in meeting statutory and funder requirements; the resources we have available are properly managed to ensure maximum value for money (and, to the extent necessary, kept segregated for different purposes); and that those systems and control processes meet the scrutiny of external auditors.
Developmentally, we need help in ensuring that our funding bids are as financially robust as possible; that we have suitable intelligence to ensure that we pay our staff appropriately; and that our expenditure and processes are robust in securing the necessary outcomes, but also proportionate in the effort we can invest in them.
There will also be a role for the appointed trustee working closely with the new office manager/administrator who will have responsibility for the day-to-day control of resources and maintenance of financial information. In short, the role is closer to ‘the coalface’ than would be in many national charities, whilst also requiring proper strategic input as well.
Our ideal candidate
Above all, we want candidates who share our passion for historic church buildings, their imaginative and sustainable ’next lives’, and for the communities of place and interest associated with them. But we are looking for someone who brings a business-like mindset to that passion, focusing on helping to set, manage and respond to the expectations of funding bodies and local communities alike in enabling us to continue to have a large impact from a comparatively small base.
We are therefore seeking somebody, perhaps in the middle stages of their career stepping up into more responsible positions, who remains close enough to operational financial detail to support staff and give assurance to trustees generally about strength of systems, but can also contribute more strategically to decisions about priorities, the management of relationships and development of robust and persuasive bids. If that experience has been gained in heritage or third sector bodies, all to the good, but it is as likely to be gained in the course of a wider managerial role whether in the public or private sector. The same is true of experience in oversight and management of annual financial reporting processes and related liaison with auditors and regulators.
More specific experience in dealing with
preparation of bids for central government, lottery and foundation resources
working with community bodies
tender processes for capital works
are all valuable, but basic commitment, commonsense, core financial skills, ability to challenge whilst being a team player and strong organisational skills to maximise your contribution are much more important.
Please note that we are not a religious charity. Our ideal candidate could be of any faith or denomination – or none at all.
What’s in it for you
Above all, the satisfaction of making the difference as historic church buildings of national importance, facing uncertain futures at best and possible dereliction at worst, are made secure and weathertiight and local communities are engaged in keeping them open for the wider public and using them for community benefit.
For those looking to develop wider interests in the heritage and historic environment sector, whether as a Trustee or in employment, Historic Churches Scotland is a good place to develop wider networks and begin to develop skills useful in both large local bodies and national organisations, both through the application of financial skills and by pairing those with experience of team working with specialist colleagues and wider community, communication and general management tasks.
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