Board Member

Board of Trustees - Scottish Youth Theatre

The role of the Board

The Board’s role is to provide overall governance and strategic direction, ensuring SYT is well-led, legally compliant and working towards its aims and objectives.  The Board supports the staff team while acting collectively, carefully and in the best interests of the organisation.

Main Responsibilities

The main responsibilities include: 

• ensuring SYT follows all relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements
• upholding trustee duties in a way that maintains public trust and confidence
• seeking professional advice where there is significant risk or potential breach of duty
• setting SYT’s overall direction through good governance and strategic planning
• avoiding personal conflicts of interest

Time Commitment

Board members are expected to attend four Board meetings each year, plus the AGM, usually held online via Zoom. Once a year, the Board and full staff team also meet for training, planning and review.  Board members are encouraged to support young artists by attending performances where possible.

There is a permanent finance sub-group, and Board members may also be asked to contribute their expertise to specific pieces of work, policy development or short-term working groups.  Some Board members act as named leads for areas such as safeguarding, fundraising or environment.

Directors can serve up to three three-year terms, giving a maximum term of office of nine years.

Board skills and expertise

Following a skills audit of the current Board, SYT is looking for new Board members with specific expertise in HR, legal, finance, and marketing/PR.  SYT is not currently recruiting for other skill areas.

Finance specialists may also be invited to consider involvement with the separate Scottish Youth Theatre Trust, which holds reserve funds intended to support SYT Ltd in the unlikely event of closure.  It is usual for at least one person to sit on both the SYT Board and the Trust, and the Trust’s time commitment is minimal, usually one or two online meetings per year.

Expressions of interest

To register your interest in joining the Board of Scottish Youth Theatre, please send an introductory email containing the following:

• A copy of your CV
• Why you are interested in contributing to Scottish Youth Theatre
• What you can bring to the organisation

Please title your email ‘Expression of Interest for the Board of SYT’ and send it to Jacky Hardacre on jacky@scottishyouththeatre.org.

We are happy to accept written, audio or video submissions and offer reasonable adjustments to support people through the full recruitment process.

This is equally a process for you to decide if joining the Scottish Youth Theatre Board is the right fit for you.  If you would like an exploratory conversation before submitting an expression of interest, our Chair or Chief Executive would be happy to arrange a time to do this.  Please send a request to jacky@scottishyouththeatre.org.

 Timeframe and Process 

1. Deadline to submit an expression of interest is 09.00 on Friday 18^th September 2026.
2. Submissions will be reviewed by members of the Board and Chief Executive.  We will be in touch no later than 18:00 on Monday, 28^th September to let you know if we’d like to proceed to an information conversation to learn more about each other and decide if both parties wish to progress things further.   Conversations will take place by mutual agreement in the month of October 2026.
3. The final stage will be a further conversation with the full Board and an opportunity to observe a Board meeting on 7^th December.

This role is advertised as part of TPP's Free Giving Back Services. This volunteer advertisement copy has been supplied to TPP and applicants apply direct to the organisation. Please contact the organisation directly if you have any questions about this volunteer role.