The Diocese of Ely Multi-Academies Trust — Trustees

The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust seeks to appoint new Trustees to its Board. These Trustees will have strong experience in either the primary education sector, accounting and audit as a qualified chartered accountan, or a strategic view of leadership and HR to bring key skills and knowledge to the Board, as well as providing a high level of scrutiny, challenge and strategic direction. (Deadline 26th July)

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About

The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust (DEMAT) was established in 2013 as the sole sponsor for Church schools within the Diocese of Ely. A period of rapid growth between 2013 and 2019 where the Trust grew from one to 39 schools has now transitioned into a period of consolidation where the focus is on creating the infrastructure and curriculum to accelerate school performance.

DEMAT is committed to providing every child with the highest-quality education and help them achieve their full potential. The Trust consists of 39 primary schools, 7,000 pupils, 1,179 members of staff and 425 trustees and governors. Its ambition is for its children to flourish, build friendships, expand their horizons and contribute to their communities. Most importantly, it is dedicated to providing an exceptional learning experience. It wants to fulfil its five core values – Love, Community, Trust, Respect and Ambition.

The Trust recognises the importance of continually improving the quality of education across its schools. As a result, it aims to invest in developing its curriculum, teaching and wider provision to ensure these improvements are realised. It's an exciting time for the trust as it continues to embed the curriculum reforms and Trust educational principles that will transform the quality of education that the pupils receive. Its focus for the upcoming years is on improving attainment of pupils, diversifying its portfolio to sustain long term provision, as well as investing in people and IT infrastructure.


Role specification

Trustees are both charity trustees and company directors of the Academy Trust. The core functions of their role are: ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; holding executive leaders to account for the educational and financial performance of a charitable company funded by the public purse. More information about the roles and responsibilities of multi-academy trustees can be found here.

The Board of Trustees manages the business of the Academy Trust and may exercise all the powers of the Trust in compliance with its charitable objects, company and charity law.

In the interests of safeguarding and in accordance with DfE requirements, all trustee appointments will be subject to an enhanced disclosure and barring service check.


Person specification

Trustee (Primary Education)

The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust seeks an enthusiastic individual with strong experience of the primary education sector to bring key skills and knowledge to the Board, as well as providing a high level of scrutiny, challenge and strategic direction.

The ideal candidate will have extensive and demonstrable experience of leading an organisation across multiple sites for example, a MAT of equivalent size to The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust. They will bring strategic expertise across primary education and / or education policy. They will feel comfortable bringing challenge to the boardroom, and will test the Board's thinking on strategic planning as well as asking questions to hold leadership to account.

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Trustee (Audit and Accounting)

The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust seeks a new Trustee who will bring senior-level experience in accounting and audit as a qualified chartered accountant. They will advise and provide scrutiny to the Board as the Trust looks towards ensuring its long-term growth and sustainability.

The Board is open to receiving applications from individuals with a senior background in finance, accounting or audit regardless of their sector expertise, as long as they qualify as a chartered accountant. Candidates will possess strong business acumen and strong budget management skills.

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Trustee (HR and Leadership)

The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust is looking for a Trustee who will bring strategic leadership expertise, with senior experience of developing people strategies within a large organisation. This person will advise on various HR and people-related issues as DEMAT continues to expand. The appointed Trustee will have a strong understanding of human resources and add value by providing strategic oversight.

The successful candidate will bring commercial acumen and have a deep understanding of leadership, people management and human resources strategies of large organisations of a similar size to that of the Trust. In addition, candidates should also have an understanding of current market trends in terms of people and employment practices.

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The successful candidates for all positions should be sympathetic to the values of the Church of England, understand the ethos of the Trust and identify with the Trust's educational philosophy. The Trust is open to candidates looking to take on their first board role.


Board composition

Mike Younger, Chair
Adrian Ball
Rev Dr Alex Hughes
Helen Jackson
Keith Carne
John Bradshaw
Wendy Garrard
Canon Andrew Read


Terms of appointment

Trustees are expected to attend five or six Board meetings a year and will join one of the subcommittees. Board meetings usually take place during the day time and, the Trust is open to having one or two of those meetings virtually. The successful candidate is also expected to attend the quarterly audit and risk Sub-Committee meetings virtually and the away day from 10am until 4pm. Trustees are encouraged to visit schools each term, as well as attending the occasional conference day. It is preferred if the candidate would be available for ad hoc advice and calls (around one hour per month). Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed. 


The deadline for consideration is 26th July 2022.

If you would like to register your interest in this role, please fill in the form below. A member of the Nurole team will be in touch ahead of the deadline to let you know whether it would be worth submitting an application and to discuss the process further.