BARING FOUNDATION
Role Description – Chair of the Arts Committee
Job Description
Principal responsibilities••••••

To contribute to all aspects of Trustee Board business and strategic oversight.
To support and question/provide constructive challenge to staff.
To deploy a high level of understanding of the Baring Foundation’s mission andof charity governance.
To Chair the Arts committee ensuring effective scrutiny of Arts programme withcontributions from trustees, staff and advisers.
To contribute to the development of the Arts strategy especially when theFoundation periodically changes focus.
To act as an ambassador for the Foundation, especially at Arts events.

Person Specification
Personal qualities•••••Commitment to the social justice and human rights mission of the Foundation,including equality, diversities and inclusion.
An understanding of governance principles and the need to work supportively
with other trustees, advisers and executive colleagues to high ethical andprofessional standards and in line with their legal responsibilities.
Skilled communicator, experienced in persuading, influencing and advising.
Expertise in participatory arts, preferably across multiple art forms. Although ourcurrent focus is engagement with people with mental health problems this is
likely to change at some point to maximise the effectiveness of the Foundation.
A commitment to learning, improvement and effective performance.

Remuneration• The role of Trustee is not accompanied by any financial remuneration, althoughappropriate expenses may be claimed, as described in our procedure.
Time commitment• Four Trustee Board meetings during the year usually taking two hours each. All
meetings are hybrid though in person attendance is encouraged. The Arts
Committee currently takes place three times a year, also for two hours each.
Meetings normally take place in London on weekday mornings. Some additionaltime will be required for studying papers and there will be some time required forattending events and for helping to provide advice to officers of the charity. As
Chair of the Committee there will be some discussion and liaison outside•

meetings with staff, usually by email. This is likely to amount to roughly a week ayear. Beyond this, trustees are welcome to attend events and visit grant partners
as their time allows but this is not required.
Trustees are expected to attend Board meetings on a regular basis and if
attendance falls below expectations this may result in discussion with the Chairabout capacity to continue. All trustees are also required to agree to abide by theTrustees’ Code of Conduct and to declare as appropriate their relevant interests.

Reporting to• Chair and Board of Trustees.
Term of Appointment••

Appointments are from the Annual General Meeting in June. A period oftrusteeship is three years and can be renewed by the board three times.
The period of office for Chair of a Committee is three years renewable once.

Grant Making Committees and Strategy Development•The long-term approach of the Foundation has been to have three separate
grant making committees, united by our approach to human rights. These areArts, International Development and Strengthening Civil Society (SCS). EachCommittee has one third of the funding we have available for grant making. Thishas tended to amount to £1-£2 million dependent on investment performance.
However, each programme tends to then be supplemented by pooled funds withother funders. Each Committee has a ‘focus’ which usually last for ten years oreven longer. A number of factors are taken into account when selecting a theme
but a major consideration is to find significant areas where modest amounts offunding over the long term might produce strategic change. Our current foci are:creative opportunities for people with mental health problems; the rights of
LGBTI communities in Africa (especially LBTI women) and the use of the law andhuman rights by civil society to achieve positive social change. Therefore it islikely that areas of focus will change during a trustee’s period of office by aprocess initiated and agreed by the Board.

Agreed by Board Chair August 2024.