The Position: Board Member (Trustee & Director) with Governance Experience
The board of Carmichael, in line with its succession plan, is seeking to recruit a new board member with strong governance experience to join the Board in June 2023. The candidate should be operating at a senior level in a governance-related role such as Company Secretary or a role related to risk management, compliance or regulation. The candidate should also have a very good understanding of and interest in the nonprofit sector.
There are currently 12 members on the Board of Carmichael with two due to retire and be replaced at the upcoming June AGM. The maximum size of the board is 12. The board meets around 7 times a year. Board meetings are normally held online with at least two meetings per year held in-person in Carmichael House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 from 5pm-7pm on a Tuesday.
The new board member would also be required to be a member of the board’s risk and governance sub-committee which meets online 7 times per year on a Tuesday from 8.00am to 9.00am in advance of the Board meetings. The estimated time commitment of the board member is 8-10 hours per month.
The initial term of office for Carmichael Board members is 3 years, with an opportunity to serve a second 3-year term subject to Board approval.
Carmichael is the leading provider of governance training and supports to nonprofits in Ireland and has an excellent reputation for the quality of the supports it provides. Carmichael’s Board members have an essential role to play in contributing to good governance in Carmichael itself and the wider nonprofit the sector. As a governance expert, the successful candidate will perform an important role in ensuring that Carmichael operates to the highest governance standards.
About the organisation
The Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups (Carmichael) is a registered charity, established in 1990 and is Ireland’s first and largest shared facility for community and voluntary groups. The Centre consists of around 19,000 square feet of office space located in two buildings in Dublin’s North Inner City. It provides office accommodation, meeting rooms, shared facilities, payroll, IT, training and consultancy support services.
The Centre is home to 44 nonprofit organisations who are based in the Centre. We are committed to building stronger charitable, community and voluntary groups nationwide. Carmichael was founded on the core belief that by co-locating in a shared space and by pooling resources, resident members in our Centre can save time, reduce cost, up-skill and thereby, focus on delivering quality services to their beneficiaries.
We work not only with the 44 resident members who are based in the Centre, but also with 100s of groups around the country. We work with boards and management committees on governance issues and in helping them to implement best practice and quality standards.
We provide a mentoring service for CEOs of voluntary organisations, a support network for board chairpersons, information seminars and disseminate articles and practical guides on good governance practice. The Good Governance Awards, the Carmichael Mentoring Programme and the Board Chairs Network are some of the examples of our work to provide support and guidance to nonprofit organisations.
Using Carmichael’s quality and cost effective back-office services, its accommodation services and its training/ capacity building services enable nonprofit organisations to:
- Focus more attention on their core mission activities;
- Reduce their reporting and compliance costs;
- Improve the quality of their financial information and meet the reporting requirements of funders and regulators;
- Improve capacity, competencies and operational efficiencies;
- Divert the resulting monetary and time savings into furthering and enhancing their frontline service delivery.
Over the last 5 years, we have substantially expanded the scope and scale of the training and consulting support we deliver nationwide to include scheduled training workshops, customised training and eLearning modules. In 2022, we delivered customised training to 2,765 participants and scheduled training to 563 participants.
We are working to implement our current strategy (2022-25), and we aim to utilise and leverage our experience gained over the last 30 years, to implement the necessary actions to ensure that Carmichael has a sustainable business model and that it continues to deliver high quality and value-for-money services that meets real needs of both its resident members and those of nonprofit organisations nationwide.
Carmichael adheres to principles of equality, diversity and inclusion in all appointments including Board appointments.
To apply
Please send a CV of no more than 2 pages and a cover letter of no more than one page through Board Match or directly to roisin@carmichaelireland.ie before March 27th. Your application should detail any relevant governance, nonprofit and Board experience.
Interviews are expected to take place online between 5.00pm and 8.00pm on April 19th and 20th.
For more information on the board vacancy or Carmichael, please contact the Executive Assistant to the CEO Róisín McGuigan at roisin@carmichaelireland.ie.
Carmichael is inviting interested parties to submit proposals to review the overall effectiveness of how our Board does its work and how its structures and processes align with the implementation of our Strategy.
It is expected that through desk research, questionnaire, a series of engagements with the board, its sub-committees and other relevant people from the executive, the consultant appointed will complete their work with a report which contains a series of recommendations to improve Carmichael’s Board Effectiveness.
The closing date for receipt of tenders is February 19th 2023.
Tenders should be emailed to Róisín McGuigan (roisin@carmichaelireland.ie)
Please see Request For Tender document attached for detail.
Board Evaluation Request for Tender 2023
Improving Your Nonprofit’s Annual Report February 9th 2023 13.10-14.00
Carmichael is delighted to provide free training webinars on relevant themes for nonprofits. In this webinar nonprofits of all sizes will gain tips and advice from an expert panel on how to improve the content and narrative of their Annual Report.
Sign up for webinar here:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/lunch-learn-improving-your-nonprofits-annual-report-tickets-513824311347
The panel-led session draws on the experience and knowledge of judges and assessors from the Good Governance Awards. They will outline what is required to ensure that your Annual Report is relevant, impactful and engaging.
The panel consists of:
Aedín Morkan: Partner, Audit & Assurance, Mazars
Níall Fitzgerald: Head of Ethics & Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland
Geraldine O’Sullivan: Manager, Kerry Volunteer Centre
Andrew Madden: Learning & Development Manager, Carmichael
The panel will be chaired by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael and Founder of the Good Governance Awards.
We will be taking a break over Christmas and the New Year.
We will close on Friday 23rd December and be back open on Tuesday January 3rd 2023.
If you need anything from us before then please get in touch.
Carmichael Good Governance Awards Winner 2022
The Good Governance Awards recognises and encourages adherence to good governance by non-profit organisations in Ireland. The awards were developed by Carmichael with the support of our partners and leading national bodies in the non-profit sector.
The winners of the Good Governance Awards 2022 were announced at our Awards Ceremony on Thursday November 17th.
Carmichael Good Governance Awards for Non-Profit Organisations
The Good Governance Awards recognises and encourages adherence to good governance by nonprofit organisations in Ireland. The awards were developed by Carmichael with the support of our partners and leading national bodies in the nonprofit sector.
The winners of the Good Governance Awards 2022 will be announced at our Awards Ceremony on Thursday November 17th 18.00-20.00 at Chartered Accountants Ireland, Pearse St, Dublin 2. Book your free ticket here!
Shortlist for Category 1; for volunteer only and organisations with an annual turnover of less than €50,000
Shortlist for Category 2; for volunteer only and organisations with an annual turnover of between €50,000 and €250,000
Shortlist for Category 3; for organisations with an annual turnover of between €250,000 and €1 million
Shortlist for Category 4: for organisations with an annual turnover of between €1 million and €5 million
Shortlist for Category 5: for organisations with an annual turnover of between €5 million and €15 million
Shortlist for Category 6; for organisations with an annual turnover of between €15 million and €50 million.
Shortlist for Category 7; for organisations with an annual turnover of over €50 million.
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday November 17th. Book your tickets here!