Haven House Children's Hospice first opened its doors in 2003 with the aim of providing specialist care to babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, as well as support for their families, from across North and North East London, West Essex and East Hertfordshire. Its services are wide-ranging and include end-of-life care, symptom management, respite, play and various other therapies, as well as practical and emotional support for wider family members.

Haven House's vision is to provide the best quality care for extraordinary children and their families where and when they choose. This year, the hospice has delivered in excess of 36,000 hours of care, supported over 400 children and carried out over 760 home visits. It is very proud that it offers a responsive 24 / 7 end of life service to its families at such a critical time, providing choice and care either at the Hospice or at home.

This September sees the launch of its new strategy, ‘Delivering the Extraordinary in the Ordinary Day.’ This will be its road map for the next three years, setting out how it will achieve more for children and families at Haven House. The strategy has been co-produced with its families, staff, volunteers, commissioners, and other stakeholders.

The charity has three clear priorities, which are to:

• Provide safe, specialist, personalised children’s nursing care and therapies where and when needed, enabling choice
• Collaborate and partner to improve the way families are supported, building strong pathways, capacity and resilience
• Broaden its reach, and address inequalities and unmet needs

The hospice has five enabling priorities to support the successful implementation of its strategy. These are:

• People – developing strong, expert and compassionate teams
• Sustainable growth in funding and resources
• Investment in infrastructure and technology
• Continuing to be an inspiring local charity of regional significance
• Strong leadership and rigorous governance

Haven House's Values:

• Respectful: recognising that everyone is an individual and treating others as they would expect to be treated
• Safe: creating a positive learning space and doing everything to ensure its services and environment are as safe as possible
• Compassionate: showing warmth and empathy in the most difficult of circumstances, and creating an environment where children and families can create lasting memories
• Professional: acting with integrity and honesty, striving for excellence and being accountable for our actions

Haven House's focus going forward is to invest in growing the services it delivers but also to ensure that it is making investment in its fundraising and infrastructure to increase its reach and impact.

Trustees are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity, developing the organisations aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the governing document, legal and regulatory guidelines.

Responsibilities of the Trustee include the following:

• Acting in the best interests of the organisation
• Respecting the confidential nature of all information relating to the business of the charity in accordance with information governance and data protection policies
• Contributing actively to the Board’s role in giving firm strategic direction to the charity and evaluating performance against agreed targets
• Working together and not pursuing personal or sectional interests at the expense of organisation interests
• Ensuring that the charity’s financial dealings are systematically accounted for, audited, and reviewed regularly
• Ensuring that major risks to which the charity is exposed are reviewed regularly and systems are established to mitigate these risks without the charity becoming risk averse

The successful candidate(s) will have strategic-level expertise with responsibility for one or more of the following areas:

Finance and accounting: Candidates will have experience working directly with financial and accounting issues in either a commercial, public or third-sector context. They should have a solid understanding of finance issues gained in a senior finance or accounting function role.

Legal: Candidates will have in-depth experience of working directly with legal issues. This experience may have been gained as a lawyer, or as a non-lawyer with extensive experience of soliciting legal advice. They will be able to provide counsel on deciding when legal advice needs to be procured.

Clinical: Candidates will be an expert in their field, preferably involving children, palliative care, or other clinical experience relevant to the charity’s service users. They will bring a clear understanding of the governance structures and processes within a clinical provider organisation.

Human resource management: Candidates will bring a deep understanding of human resource strategies of organisations of a similar size to that of the charity. Applicants should also have an understanding of UK employment law as well as a sense of current market trends in terms of people and employment practices.

Fundraising: Candidates will demonstrate a successful track record of strong professional fundraising experience. They will have a strong network within grant-giving charities and foundations or similar, which can be leveraged to raise funds for Haven House Children's Hospice. They will operate at a strategic level and advise on enhancing the charity's profile within local or regional government and related authorities / institutions.

Business development: Candidates will be able to demonstrate experience of leading the business development function of an educational or commercial organisation. They will work with other Trustees to identify opportunities for growth, and advise on releasing funds for reinvestment.

Strategic marketing and communications: The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate responsibility for driving the marketing and communications strategy of an organisation, including overall image and branding. Those with a background in digital marketing will be preferred.

On a personal level, candidates should have a passion and commitment for the cause of the charity and what it aims to achieve. The charity is open to receiving applications from those who are seeking their first board-level role, as long as they are able to work collaboratively and constructively as a member of the Board.

Frances Daley, Chair
Ian Ailles, Chair Designate
Matt Barrett
Rachel Brodie
Emma Devereux
Jonathan Harding
Mohamed Omer
Ghislaine Stephenson

The role is unremunerated but reasonable pre-agreed domestic travel expenses can be reimbursed. The total time commitment for the role is around 12 days per year, which includes four annual Board meetings and quarterly Subcommittee meetings. Meetings will follow a hybrid model of in-person meetings in London as well as virtual meetings. Trustees are expected to join one Committee relevant to their area of expertise. Board appointments are for a term of four years, and all Trustees are eligible to serve for a maximum of two terms.

Meetings will follow a hybrid model of in-person meetings in London as well as virtual meetings.