Living with financial insecurity is stressful, exhausting and tough. Recent research shows that over one in five of us in the UK (21%) are in poverty – that’s 14.3m people. Of these, 8.1m are working-age adults, 4.3m are children and 1.9 million are pensioners. Put another way, three in every ten children in the UK are living in poverty, while their parents are often struggling with job insecurity, poor mental and physical health, and the unyielding anxiety that comes from not having the means to support their family.

That’s why Turn2us exist. Turn2us is a national charity tackling poverty and the structural causes of financial insecurity. They want everyone in the UK to have sufficient financial security to thrive. Through direct support, advocacy, and collaboration, Turn2us reduces the stigma around benefits, and ensures access to financial support for those who need it most. At the heart of their approach is the invaluable contribution of people who have current or recent experience of financial hardship, as well as a wide range of partners. They provide people in financial crisis with the means and agency to get back on their feet, build resilience, move forward with their lives and thrive. As part of the Turn2us group, they own eight care homes which operate on a profit for purpose model, benefitting Turn2us. The care homes are named after Elizabeth Finn, who founded the charity in 1897.

We are looking for a new Chair to join their Board of Trustees, helping to lead an organisation with an exceptional track record of real impact and an unshakeable ambition to transform this broken system. It’s a really exciting time to join them: they are successfully delivering their ambitious strategic plan, while also thinking creatively about how to maximise all their resources to increase impact in the coming years.

You’ll have compassion, exceptional convening skills, and an instinct for horizon-scanning and sense-making. Turn2us are openminded as to your background: while a comprehensive understanding of governance is essential, you may have gained this either as a CEO or a non-exec. Either way, experience of leading through a period of change and evolution will be a definite advantage. You’ll be joining an organisation where your contribution really matters. It matters to the single parent who worries about keeping their children warm in winter. It matters to the colleague who falls ill and can no longer work. It matters to the person who lies awake worrying about mounting bills. It matters because none of us should have to face these challenges alone. 

As an equal opportunities employer, Turn2us are committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging and the value people from different backgrounds bring to a team. They are always eager to receive approaches from people with lived experience of financial insecurity. If, like them, you believe everyone has the right to have enough to live on, and you are ambitious about eradicating poverty, join Turn2us and build your career with a charity dedicated to ensuring dignity and equity for all.

Find out more at www.turn2us-chair.co.uk. If you require the candidate materials in an alternative format, or if you have any questions which are not answered on the microsite, please contact Cadence Partners at turn2us@cadencepartners.co.uk. 

Closing date: midnight, 7 April 2025.