British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

BACP is a large organisation with approximately 65,000 members, 130 staff, 320 volunteers and an annual turnover of around £10.1m.  The organisation is complex and consequently the role of Trustee and Company Director is equally complex, involving maintaining a balance between the needs of those who use counselling services, the public reputation of counselling, the needs of members and the needs of the organisation.  The board is the governing body of BACP and, as such, monitors all the activities of BACP to make sure they are properly delivered, with financial probity, and are within our charitable aims, objectives and policies. You must be a member of the Association to stand for election. 

As a Trustee/Company Director you have an important role as representative and ambassador for BACP and our members. You’ll attend events within and beyond BACP so that you stay in touch with the needs and concerns of our members; and are able to make our policies and achievements known and recognised as widely as possible.

The Board is responsible for the development of overall strategy and policy. Along with BACP’s Chief Executive and staff, Board members make sure that the delivery of all the Association’s activities have met our strategic planning objectives. Each Board member is answerable to the Charity Commission and the members of BACP. Your focus as Trustee/Company Director, as required by law, is on three key areas:

• Achievement of BACP’s mission within its charitable objectives;
• Ensuring probity, particularly financial probity, in the management of BACP’s activities;
• Development of policy and strategy and monitoring implementation.

Ultimate public accountability for BACP’s activities rests with the you as imposed by the Charities Act 2011 as a trustee, and the Companies Act 2006 as a company director. You are under a general duty to act prudently and in good faith and must exercise your powers for the benefit of the charity. The role of Trustee/Company Director is a voluntary one and reasonable out of pocket expenses for travel, accommodation, subsistence and childcare will be reimbursed by the Association.

To understand what it means to be a Trustee, and your legal responsibilities and liabilities, visit the Charity Commission website. Their guide – The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do – is a useful source of information and guidance. To understand what it means to be a Company Director and your legal responsibilities and liabilities, visit the Companies House webpage.

You can routinely expect to give, under current circumstances, an average of two days a month, in addition to attending approximately four meetings a year, (typically March, July, September and December), usually at BACP’s offices in Lutterworth. Each meeting is held over two consecutive days (Thursdays and Fridays). Board dates are typically set 12 months in advance to support attendance. Further, as a Trustee/Company Director you may be asked to sit on other committees/sub-committees, especially those with delegated responsibility from the Board. These committees also meet up to four times per annum.