Ladies Who L-EARN is looking for a Chair (18.6.14)
Do you want to join a team of committed and passionate trustees to help grow Ladies
Who L-EARN, our amazing charity?
Do you want to work in a trusting and hands on way with the charity’s founding CEO?
Previously operating under the not for profit registered company You Make It, since 2011
Ladies Who L-EARN has been an annual 6 month long empowerment programme for 20
young East End women. Through it they have gained the confidence, professional networks,
experiences, skills and attitude needed to achieve financial independence and greater
integration in our ever exciting capital, but one in which the gaps between rich and poor
grow.
Year after year our high quality and creative programme of work has proven to have real
social impact and has changed the life chances of every young woman who has engaged
with it. Our untypically high retention rates plus the hard and soft outcomes for women has
meant that we’ve been able to attract some incredible supporters.
Take a look at this 10 minute film about a previous programme to get a sense of what we do,
all the amazing people and places we work with, and of the women we benefit:
vimeo.com/63057893
Now that we’re registering Ladies Who L-EARN as a charity in its own right, we seek to
recruit a Chair.
The person will be active in supporting the founding CEO with fundraising, so that we can
reach more young women not only locally with a single annual programme, but more
frequently and widely through replication.
This is a very exciting time for Ladies Who L-EARN. We’re looking for a Chair who is able to:
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Demonstrate clear passion for our mission of empowering young women to succeed
in the social, cultural and economic life of their home cities
Share our passion for equality and social justice, change, creativity and selfempowerment
Establish a trusting and supportive relationship with the founding CEO
Is very well networked and respected in the corporate/ commercial world, with a
strong ability and willing to open doors to increase our funding
Convene and Chair quarterly meetings
Work closely with the founding CEO in between board meetings to advise on the
progression of strategic objectives that are set (meeting once a month in our early
stages of growth, and being available on email, phone or other occasions as
required)
Appraise the founding CEO’s performance
Lead on board development and expansion in agreement with trustees
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Provide leadership for the board, including monitoring and appraisal of trustee
performance
Broker public speaking opportunities for the Founding CEO at events that lead to
greater recognition for and investment into the charity
Advocate for our work outside of structured LWL events
This is a voluntary position, as are all those of trustees on the board. An anticipated time
commitment would be 2-4 hours a month working with the founding CEO, in addition to
Chairing 2 hour-long quarterly board meetings.
Other trustees you would join on the board of Ladies Who L-EARN and who introduce
themselves here are:
Clive Jones I am the former Chief Executive of ITV News and Regions, and Chairman of
GMTV. Currently I am Chairman of Netplay and Energetic Communications, a non-executive
director of S4C Masnachol, and a trustee of the ITV Pension Fund. I am also Chair of the
Disasters Emergency Committee, London Metropolitan University, The Runnymede Trust –
Britain’s leading diversity think tank, and a visiting Professor at the School of Journalism at
Cardiff University. I sit on the board of the Young Vic Theatre and Legacy Trust UK, one of
the main funding bodies for the Cultural Olympics.
Kate Morgan-Locke I retired from Guardian News & Media where I was Consumer Offers
and Services Director, with board and governance experiences. Primarily my responsibility
was for monetising the customer experience to deliver profitability across digital and print
platforms. Outside of my 28 years in Media, my earlier life included voluntary commitments
ranging from running a playgroup for 10 years, spending 5 years as a Relate Counsellor, and
reading in inner city schools for 3 years. More recently I’ve mentored both junior and senior
staff in Guardian News & Media, and I am currently supporting the Commercial Director of
the Battersea Arts Centre.
Ellen O’Hara I have been Development Manager for Cockpit Arts since 2006. I lead Cockpit
Arts’ research projects, which have a focus on craft business models and the impact of
incubation on growth. I previously worked for The Princes Trust, Arts Council England and
Andersen management consultancy. I am on the Board of Directors for CreativePeop!e, a
national network of professional development providers, and This is Not a Gateway, an
organisation that facilitates the production and exchange of current thinking and research in
urbanism.
Reena Sen Gupta I founded RSG Consulting, an international legal strategy consultancy, in
2001. The company is the architect and research partner to the Financial Times Innovative
Lawyers Reports in Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific. I have also been Publishing Director
and Editor of various publications at Chambers & Partners, the legal publisher and regularly
contributes to the FT.
We’re also fortunate to have the input and support of a consultant who works on a pro bono
basis for us:
Gabriel Behr I am a Finance Director on the University Partnerships Programme Group
Holdings Board. A graduate from Queen Mary College and the London School for Economics,
I am a chartered accountant who has developed expertise across a range of sectors over the
last 12 years. My previous role was at Energ Plc, where I was responsible for the financial
management of an international division, acquisition policy, and PFI contracts.
Finally, here’s an introduction from the founding CEO:
Asma Shah Over an 18 year long career I have initiated and led to completion small, medium
and large-scale programmes of work. Prior to self designing, delivering and ensuring funding
for our Ladies Who L-EARN programme in 2011 to date, this has been as Partnership
Consultant for Minor Entertainment; Freelance Director with Faction Films; Freelance
Director of short films about careers in the creative and media industries for the Islington
14-19 Partnership; Young People’s Music Manager at the Roundhouse in Camden; Talent
Adviser at Channel 4; London Development Manager for Skillset; and as Policy Adviser for
ICT and Life Long Learning at the New Opportunities Fund (now Big Lottery Fund). I am also a
fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We’re keen to meet with interested candidates in the coming months with an appointment
this autumn. If you’re keen to find out more and think you match our needs, could you
please email your CV to the founding CEO in the first instance: asma@you-make-it.org
In the meantime, here’s our website: www.you-make-it.org and some other short films links:
Mentoring: https://vimeo.com/97216234
Graduation: https://vimeo.com/97269542
Hazel's Story (enterprise): https://vimeo.com/97216235
Vox pops of LWL 2013-14: http://vimeo.com/91312874
We look forward to hearing from you!